Background of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression and total war. A dominant leader of the Democratic Party and the only American president elected to more than two terms, he built a New Deal Coalition that realigned American politics after 1932, as his domestic policies defined American liberalism for the middle third of the 20th century.
As World War II loomed after 1938, with the Japanese invasion of China and the aggression of Nazi Germany, FDR gave strong diplomatic and financial support to China and Great Britain, while remaining officially neutral. His goal was to make America the "Arsenal of Democracy" which would supply munitions to the Allies. In March 1941, Roosevelt, with Congressional approval, provided Lend-Lease aid to the countries fighting against Nazi Germany with Britain. With very strong national support, he made war on Japan and Germany after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, calling it a "date which will live in infamy". He supervised the mobilization of the U.S. economy to support the Allied war effort. As an active military leader, Roosevelt implemented an overall war strategy on two fronts that ended in the defeat of the Axis Powers and the development of the world's first atom bomb. In 1942 Roosevelt ordered the internment of 100,000 Japanese American civilians. Unemployment dropped to 2%, relief programs largely ended, and the industrial economy grew rapidly to new heights as millions of people moved to new jobs in war centers, and 16 million men and 300,000 women were drafted or volunteered for military service.
As World War II loomed after 1938, with the Japanese invasion of China and the aggression of Nazi Germany, FDR gave strong diplomatic and financial support to China and Great Britain, while remaining officially neutral. His goal was to make America the "Arsenal of Democracy" which would supply munitions to the Allies. In March 1941, Roosevelt, with Congressional approval, provided Lend-Lease aid to the countries fighting against Nazi Germany with Britain. With very strong national support, he made war on Japan and Germany after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, calling it a "date which will live in infamy". He supervised the mobilization of the U.S. economy to support the Allied war effort. As an active military leader, Roosevelt implemented an overall war strategy on two fronts that ended in the defeat of the Axis Powers and the development of the world's first atom bomb. In 1942 Roosevelt ordered the internment of 100,000 Japanese American civilians. Unemployment dropped to 2%, relief programs largely ended, and the industrial economy grew rapidly to new heights as millions of people moved to new jobs in war centers, and 16 million men and 300,000 women were drafted or volunteered for military service.
FDR Time Line
Jan 30, 1882 Franklin Roosevelt is born in Hyde Park, NY. 1896 Franklin Roosevelt leaves home to attend Groton School in Groton,
Massachusetts. 1900 Franklin Roosevelt moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard College. 1905 Franklin Roosevelt moves to New York City, marries Eleanor Roosevelt, and enters Columbia Law School.
Nov 8, 1910 Franklin Roosevelt is elected to the New York State Senate.
1913 Franklin Roosevelt is appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. 1920 Franklin Roosevelt runs as the Democratic candidate for Vice-President, alongside James M. Cox. The ticket is defeated by Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
1921 Franklin Roosevelt contracts a paralytic disease while swimming in Maine.
1926 Franklin Roosevelt establishes a polio treatment center in Warm Springs, Georgia. Nov 6, 1928 Franklin Roosevelt is elected governor of New York. Oct 29, 1929 The New York Stock Exchange crashes, one of a series of events leading to the Great Depression in the United States.
Nov 8, 1932 Franklin Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover to become the 32nd President of the United States, receiving 57.4% of the popular vote.51 1933 In the "First 100 Days," FDR pushes fifteen legislative proposals through Congress; these form the basis of the New Deal.
1933 In the First New Deal, the federal government provides "immediate relief" from the Depression by creating new public agencies to employ civilians, as well as regulate the banking industry.
1935 In the Second New Deal, the federal government establishes additional agencies and programs including the WPA, Social Security, and the National Labor Relations Board.
Nov 3, 1936 Franklin Roosevelt defeats Alfred Landon, winning re-election to a second term. He wins by a landslide in the popular vote (60.8%) and trounces Landon in the Electoral College 523 to 8.52
Sep 1, 1939 Hitler invades Poland, sparking World War II. Nov 5, 1940 Franklin Roosevelt is re-elected to a third term with 54.7% of the vote,53 campaigning on a promise not to send American troops into foreign wars.
Mar 11, 1940 Under President Roosevelt, Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act, allowing the US to aid the Allied Powers without entering into the war.
Dec 7, 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; US declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Feb 19, 1942 Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, imprisoning many Japanese-Americans living on American soil.
Jun 6, 1944 On D-Day, the first of nearly 3 million Allied soldiers arrive on the northern shores of France.
Nov 7, 1944 Franklin Roosevelt is elected to a fourth term with 53.4% of the popular vote.54
Feb 11, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt meets with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in Yalta to negotiate the post-war future of Europe.
Apr 12, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Massachusetts. 1900 Franklin Roosevelt moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard College. 1905 Franklin Roosevelt moves to New York City, marries Eleanor Roosevelt, and enters Columbia Law School.
Nov 8, 1910 Franklin Roosevelt is elected to the New York State Senate.
1913 Franklin Roosevelt is appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. 1920 Franklin Roosevelt runs as the Democratic candidate for Vice-President, alongside James M. Cox. The ticket is defeated by Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
1921 Franklin Roosevelt contracts a paralytic disease while swimming in Maine.
1926 Franklin Roosevelt establishes a polio treatment center in Warm Springs, Georgia. Nov 6, 1928 Franklin Roosevelt is elected governor of New York. Oct 29, 1929 The New York Stock Exchange crashes, one of a series of events leading to the Great Depression in the United States.
Nov 8, 1932 Franklin Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover to become the 32nd President of the United States, receiving 57.4% of the popular vote.51 1933 In the "First 100 Days," FDR pushes fifteen legislative proposals through Congress; these form the basis of the New Deal.
1933 In the First New Deal, the federal government provides "immediate relief" from the Depression by creating new public agencies to employ civilians, as well as regulate the banking industry.
1935 In the Second New Deal, the federal government establishes additional agencies and programs including the WPA, Social Security, and the National Labor Relations Board.
Nov 3, 1936 Franklin Roosevelt defeats Alfred Landon, winning re-election to a second term. He wins by a landslide in the popular vote (60.8%) and trounces Landon in the Electoral College 523 to 8.52
Sep 1, 1939 Hitler invades Poland, sparking World War II. Nov 5, 1940 Franklin Roosevelt is re-elected to a third term with 54.7% of the vote,53 campaigning on a promise not to send American troops into foreign wars.
Mar 11, 1940 Under President Roosevelt, Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act, allowing the US to aid the Allied Powers without entering into the war.
Dec 7, 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; US declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Feb 19, 1942 Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, imprisoning many Japanese-Americans living on American soil.
Jun 6, 1944 On D-Day, the first of nearly 3 million Allied soldiers arrive on the northern shores of France.
Nov 7, 1944 Franklin Roosevelt is elected to a fourth term with 53.4% of the popular vote.54
Feb 11, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt meets with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in Yalta to negotiate the post-war future of Europe.
Apr 12, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia.