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Birth
Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in the Hudson Valley town of Hyde Park, New York, to businessman James Roosevelt I and Sara Ann Delano. His parents were sixth cousins and both were from wealthy old New York families. -
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From Birth to the Death of a President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born January 30th, 1882 and died at the age of 63 on April 12th, 1945. In his life he became one of the top 3 presidents, along side George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. -
School
Roosevelt left home in 1896 to attend school at Groton. He was strongly influenced by its headmaster, Endicott Peabody, who preached the duty of Christians to help the less fortunate and urged his students to enter public service. -
Marrige
Roosevelt married Eleanor despite the fierce resistance from his mother. His mother did not dislike Eleanor but instead though Franklin was too young to marry, so she attempted to break the marriage. President Theodore Roosevelt stood in for Eleanor's deceased father at the wedding. -
Political Career
Roosevelt ran for the New York State Senate from the district around Hyde Park in Dutchess County, which was strongly Republican, having elected one Democrat since 1856. Surprising almost everyone, due to his aggressive and effective campaign, the Roosevelt name's influence in the Hudson Valley, and the Democratic landslide that year, Roosevelt won the election. -
Polio
While the Roosevelts were vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada in August 1921, Roosevelt fell ill and was diagnosed with polio. It left him with permanent paralysis from the waist down. -
1932 Presidential Election
Roosevelt's strong base in the most populous state in the nation made him an obvious candidate for the Democratic nomination, which was hotly contested in light of incumbent Herbert Hoover's vulnerability. Roosevelt won 57% of the vote and carried all but six states. -
The New Deal
Roosevelt's "First 100 Days" concentrated on the first part of his strategy: immediate relief. From March 9 to June 16, 1933, he sent Congress a record number of bills, all of which passed easily. -
Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese struck the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor with a surprise attack, knocking out the main American battleship fleet and killing 2,403 American servicemen and civilians. Roosevelt called for war in his famous "Infamy Speech" to Congress, in which he said: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." -
Death
On March 29, 1945, Roosevelt went to the Little White House at Warm Springs, Georgia, to rest before his anticipated appearance at the founding conference of the United Nations. On the afternoon of April 12, Roosevelt said, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was carried into his bedroom. At 3:35 p.m. that day, Roosevelt died. -
Legacy
The rapid expansion of government programs that occurred during Roosevelt's term redefined the role of the government in the United States, and Roosevelt's advocacy of government social programs was instrumental in redefining liberalism for coming generations.
Roosevelt established the United States' leadership role on the world stage, with his role in shaping and financing World War II. His isolationist critics faded away, and even the Republicans joined in his overall policies.
