Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the son of James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano, James Roosevelt was a merchant, and Sara Ann Delano, his second wife. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in the Hudson Valley village of Hyde Park, New York. His parents, the Roosevelts, the Aspinwall's, and the Delanos, who were sixth cousins, all came from affluent, well-known New York families. In the 17th century, Roosevelt's paternal ancestor moved to New Amsterdam, where the Roosevelt family prospered as merchants and landowners. The Delano family prospered as merchants and shipbuilders in Massachusetts after Philip Delano, the family patriarch, sailed to the New World on the Fortune in 1621. James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt, Franklin's half-brother, was the product of his father's previous union.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's father receive his education from Harvard Law School and got his degree in year 1851, but after receiving the degree from his grandfather James Roosevelt, he decided not to practise law in his future. Franklin Roosevelt was once sent to visit Grover Cleveland by Roosevelt's father, a well-known Bourbon Democrat, who said to Franklin: "I have a peculiar wish for you, little man. You might never become the United States president; that's the problem." The primary caregiver for Franklin during his formative years once remarked, "My kid Franklin is a Delano, not at all a Roosevelt." Some people thought James, who was fifty-four when Franklin was born, was a distant father, but according to writer James MacGregor Burns, James engaged with his son more frequently than was customary at the period. Roosevelt learned to horse riding, shooting, sailing, and playing polo, tennis, and golf.

Education and Early career

From when he was two years old until he was fifteen, Roosevelt frequently travelled to Europe, which helped him pick up German and French. Except for the nine-year-old year he spent in a public school in Germany, Roosevelt was tutored at home until the age of fourteen. Later, Roosevelt went to the Episcopal boarding school Groton School in city of Groton, Massachusetts. He was not one of the Groton students who were more well-liked, better athletic, and more rebellious. Endicott Peabody, the school's principal, talked about how Christians are responsible for assisting the less fortunate and encouraged his pupils to work in government. Peabody continued to have a significant impact on Roosevelt throughout his life, serving as the wedding's officiant and paying him visits as president.

Roosevelt attended Harvard College, much like most of his Groton classmates. He participated in the function of cheerleading and he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, the Fly Club, and many other organisations in the school fifth. Roosevelt was not particularly notable as a student or athlete. Still, he rose to become editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson, a job that demanded drive, ambition, and the capacity to lead others. Later, he claimed, "I studied economics for four years in college, and everything I learned was incorrect."

In 1900, Roosevelt's father passed away, which devastated him deeply. Theodore Rooseveltwas the fifth cousin of Roosevelt, and he was elected as a President of the United States. Franklin viewed Theodore as a role model and hero because of his tenacious leadership style and reforming enthusiasm. Franklin earned an A.B. in history from Harvard in 1903. He took admission at Columbia University's law school in 1904 but left after passing the New York Bar Exam in 1907. He accepted a position in the admiralty law division of the prominent law firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn in 1908.

Marriage, family, and affairs

He meets Boston Heir Alice Sohier during his second year of college and proposed to her, but she declined his proposal. After his mother's opposition, Franklin proposed to Eleanor in 1903, and on March 17, 1905, they were wed. Eleanor's uncle Theodore, the president at the time, escorted the bride because her father, Elliott, had passed away. The young couple settled in Springwood, and Sara Roosevelt built a home next door for herself. Franklin and Sara Roosevelt also gave some of his townhouse in the New York City. However, Eleanor liked the family's holiday property on Campobello Island, which Sara gave the couple goals. Eleanor never felt at home in Hyde Park or New York properties. According to Burns, the youthful Roosevelt was confident and at ease in society, whereas Eleanor was a shy and despised social life at the time and first kept at home to raise their children.

Like his father, Franklin left his wife to raise the kids, and Eleanor assigned carers. Later, she admitted that she had "no idea how to handle or feed a baby." Despite Eleanor's belief that sexual activity should be endured, she and Franklin produced six children. The years 1906, 1907, and 1910 saw the births of Anna, James, and Elliott, respectively. Franklin, the couple's second child, passed away in infancy in 1909. The youngest kid, John, was born in 1916, and a second boy named Franklin was born in 1914. Roosevelt had multiple extramarital relationships, including one that Eleanor found out about in 1918 involving her social secretary Lucy Mercer, who had been employed in 1914. Franklin was debating divorcing Eleanor, but Sara disapproved, and Lucy refused to wed a divorced father of five. Roosevelt vowed never to see Lucy again, and Franklin and Eleanor remained wed. Their marriage evolved into a political alliance since Eleanor never forgave him.

Soon after, Eleanor built a separate residence at Val-Kill in Hyde Park and devoted herself to social and political concerns apart from her husband. When Roosevelt begged Eleanor to return home and live with him again in 1942 due to his deteriorating health, the emotional rupture in their marriage was so profound that she refused. Roosevelt did not always know when Eleanor visited the White House; for a while, it was difficult for her to get in touch with him on the phone without his secretary's assistance. Roosevelt did not go to Eleanor's New York City apartment until late 1944.

As he and Lucy kept a formal contact, Franklin broke his pledge to Eleanor and started dating again in 1941 or early. Elliott Roosevelt said his father had a 20-year romance with Marguerite "Missy" LeHand, his secretary. Crown Princess Märtha of Norway lived in the White House for a time during World War II, and another son, James, claimed that "there is a strong probability that a romantic relationship developed" between his father and her. At the time, aides started referring to her as "the president's girlfriend", and press rumours tying the two romantically started to circulate.

Early political career (1910-1920)

New York state senator (1910-1913)

Roosevelt expressed his intention to pursue politics and little interest in law practice to acquaintances. Franklin shared his father's affinity for the Democratic Party, despite his fondness for his cousin Theodore. Before the 1910 elections, the party sought out Roosevelt to run for a seat in the New York State Assembly. Roosevelt was a convincing party recruit. He had the charisma, the drive, and the resources to finance his campaign. However, Roosevelt's bid for the state assembly ended when Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, the incumbent Democrat, decided to run for re-election. Roosevelt decided to run for a position in the state senate rather than shelve his political aspirations. The Putnam, Columbia, and Dutchess counties make up the senate district, which leans heavily Republican. Roosevelt worried that Theodore's opposition might end his campaign, but despite their political disagreements, Theodore supported him. When few people could afford a car, Roosevelt drove himself around the senate district as his campaign manager. Roosevelt unexpectedly won the 1910 U.S. elections thanks to his brutal campaign, his name recognition in the Hudson Valley, and the Democratic landslide.

Roosevelt handled his new post as a full-time career despite the brief legislative sessions. After taking office on January 1, 1911, Roosevelt quickly rose to prominence as the head of a group of "Insurgents" fighting against the Tammany Hall organisation that controlled the state Democratic Party. Roosevelt and nineteen other Democrats stalemated the 1911 U.S. Senate election, which was decided in a joint session of the New York state legislature, by rejecting several Tammany-backed candidates. James A. O'Gorman, a well-regarded judge who Roosevelt deemed acceptable, received support from Tammany and went on to win the election in late March. Roosevelt gained popularity among New York Democrats as a result of this. News reports and caricatures predicted "the second coming of a Roosevelt," which "sent chills up Tammany's spine."

Roosevelt challenged Tammany Hall by endorsing Woodrow Wilson's successful 1912 Democratic primary run as governor of New Jersey. Theodore Roosevelt's decision to defect from the Republican Party and run a third-party campaign against Wilson and incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft turned the election into a three-way race. Except for Theodore, certain members of Franklin's family were offended by his choice to support Wilson over his cousin in the general election.

After recovering from a case of typhoid sickness, Roosevelt won re-election in the 1912 elections with the assistance of writer Louis McHenry Howe. Roosevelt has been chosen over the committee of Agriculture after the election, and his collaborations with farm and labour measures served as a model for his New Deal policies after many years. After it he had become more consistently progressive in support of labour, farmand social welfare programs.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913-1919)

Wilson was appointed as the second-ranking officer in the department of Navy after Secretary Josephus Daniels. The latter gave little attention in March 1913 due to Roosevelt's backing for Wilson. Roosevelt had a soft spot for the Navy, was knowledgeable about the topic, and was a fervent advocate for a sizable, compelling force. Daniels and Roosevelt implemented a merit-based promotion system and other reforms with Wilson's backing to increase civilian authority over the independent departments of the Navy. Roosevelt managed the civilian staff of the Navy, and union leaders respected him for his impartiality in resolving conflicts. During his more than seven years in the position, there were no strikes, and he obtained significant expertise in labour matters, wartime administration, navy matters, and logistics. Roosevelt ran for the New York Senate seat by retiring Republican Elihu Root. Despite having the support of Governor Martin H. Glynn and Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, James W. Gerard of Tammany-Hall was a powerful opponent.

Wilson's backing was also absent since the president required Tammany's forces for his legislation and 1916 re-election. Gerard handily defeated Roosevelt in the Democratic primary, and James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr., a Republican, trounced him in the general election. He discovered that the White House was unnecessary for federal patronage to succeed against a powerful local organisation. Following the election, he and Charles Francis Murphy, the leader of Tammany Hall, sought a compromise and allied themselves.

In August 1914, when the First World War broke out in Europe, Roosevelt refocused on the Navy Department. Roosevelt sympathised with the Preparedness Movement, whose leaders fervently supported the Allied Powers and sought a military build-up, despite continuing to outwardly back Wilson. After a German submarine sank the RMS Lusitania, the Wilson administration expanded the Navy. Congress accepted Wilson's request for a declaration of war against Germany in the month of April 1917, following German indications that it would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare and attacks on many American ships.

Wilson urged that Roosevelt stay on as Assistant Secretary despite Roosevelt's plea to be allowed to serve as a naval commander. As the Navy doubled in size the following year, Roosevelt stayed in Washington to oversee the deployment of military personnel and warships. Roosevelt visited Europe in 1918 to look at naval facilities and speak with French and British authorities. He arrived back in the U.S. on the USS Leviathan in September.

The pandemic influenza virus attacked during the 11-day trip and killed many passengers. Roosevelt developed severe influenza and complicated pneumonia, but he was well enough to board the ship and arrive in New York. In November 1918, Germany agreed to a truce, and Daniels and Roosevelt oversaw the Navy's demobilisation. Roosevelt personally ordered the retention of the Navy's Aviation Division in defiance of senior leaders like Admiral William Benson, who asserted he could not "conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation." Roosevelt began preparing for his future run for politics as the Wilson era was drawing to a close. With Roosevelt serving as his running mate, he approached Herbert Hoover about seeking the Democratic presidential candidacy in 1920.

Campaign for vice president (1920)

Hoover publicly identifying as a Republican caused Roosevelt's plan for him to run for the candidacy to fail. Therefore, Roosevelt decided to go for the 1920 vice presidential nomination instead. Ohio Governor James M. Cox choose Roosevelt as his walking mate, and the Democratic National Convention unanimously elected to nominate him for president after Cox secured the party's presidential nomination in 1920. He balanced the ticket as a moderate, a Wilsonian, and a prohibitionist with a well-known name, even though most people were shocked by his candidacy.

After the Democratic convention, Roosevelt, who was 38 at the time, resigned as Assistant Secretary and ran for the party's ticket across the country. The ties and goodwill that Roosevelt created during the 1920 campaign proved to be a key benefit in his 1932 campaign, and he accepted the defeat without complaint.