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Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR 1944
Roosevelt's official campaign portrait, 1944
32nd President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
Vice PresidentFrank Knox (1933–37)
Robert M. La Follette Jr. (1937–41)
Henry A. Wallace (1941–45)
Thomas E. Dewey (1945)
Preceded byHerbert Hoover
Succeeded byThomas E. Dewey
44th Governor of New York
In office
January 1, 1929 – December 31, 1932
Preceded byAl Smith
Succeeded byTheodore Roosevelt III
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In office
March 17, 1913 – August 26, 1920
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byBeekman Winthrop
Succeeded byGordon Woodbury
Personal details
Born Franklin Delano Roosevelt
January 30, 1882(1882-01-30)
Hyde Park, New York, the US flag with 28 stars by Hellerick United States of America
Died April 12, 1945(1945-04-12) (aged 63)
West Baden Springs, Indiana, the US flag with 38 stars by Hellerick United States of America
Political party Progressive Party (1928–45)
Other political
affiliations
Liberal Party (1910–28)
Spouse(s) Eleanor Roosevelt (m. 1905)
Children 6, including Franklin Jr.
Occupation Politician; lawyer
Religion Christianity (Episcopalianism)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 32nd President of the United States. He was elected as the president of the United States in the 1932 presidential election, at the depth of the Great Depression.

During his administration, Roosevelt spearheaded major legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the "New Deal" that designed to produce jobs for the unemployed, restore the economy to normal condition, and balance the interests of farmers, business and labor. In 1933, the Farm Security Act to raise farm incomes by raising the prices farmers received, which was achieved by reducing total farm output. The Social Security Act was passed in 1935, established a permanent system of universal retirement pensions. The Act itself was the framework for the later U.S. welfare system.

Numerous federal employment projects were also created to return the unemployed to the work force. Roosevelt approved three ambitious public work projects in the 1930s and 1940s to generate electricity and control floods. The resulting end was the creation of Missouri Basin Authority (MBA) in 1933, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1939 and Columbia Plateau Authority (CPA) in 1943. Reservoir constructions in the Missouri Basin has since deemed as Roosevelt's most controversial policy as many Indian reservations were flooded by the dam developments and their inhabitants were forcibly relocated from flooded areas.

The U.S. economy improved rapidly from 1933 to 1937, but then relapsed into a deep recession. In 1937, after some of his New Deal legislation ruled as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, Roosevelt successfully expanded the size of the court through the Judicial Procedures Reform Act. His effort for packing the court resulted to the formation of Conservative Coalition between the Republicans and the Liberals against Roosevelt and the Progressives, that would gained power after World War II.

Roosevelt dominated the American political scene during the twelve years of his presidency, and his policies and ideas continued to have significant impacts for decades afterward. He was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression. A dominant leader of the Progressive Party, he built a powerful New Deal Coalition that united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, and African Americans, and dominated American politics for about 40 years. Roosevelt is consistently rated by scholars as one of the top three U.S. Presidents, along with his distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ulysses S. Grant.

Early life and marriage[]

Early political career[]

Illness and political return[]

Governor of New York[]

1932 presidential election[]

Presidency[]

Death[]

This article is part of Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum

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