Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , born on January 30, 1882, was the only child of Sara Delano Roosevelt and James Roosevelt and was raised in a  “pampered childhood” (05:07 Barnes) and later on by his widowed mother. He first went to Groton, a school that was “modeled on the English Victorian public schools” (05:13 Barnes), then onto Harvard, and finally into a Manhattan Law firm. He would eventually marry Eleanor who was his “fifth cousin once removed “ (05:29 Barnes). They would have six kids over the next eleven years with one perishing before their first birthday. During World War, I, Franklin Delano Roosevelt because of Assistant Secretary of the Navy after rising up through New York State politics. During the war, he was inspired by Woodrow Wilson’s political ideas while also being “haunted by Wilson’s personal tragedy” (07:22 Barnes) where a massive stroke “which paralyzed him and the remainder of his presidency. (07:09 Barnes )

At age 38 in 1920, Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for vice-president on the Democratic Party ticket, although they lost “he was clearly a rising star” (07:34 Barnes). However, in 1921 a devastating setback hit Franklin Delano Roosevelt , who was struck with Poliomyelitis a disease known as “ ‘infantile paralysis,’ because it particularly afflicted children, causing them to scream in agony and lose control of their bodily functions.” (10:35-10:46 Barnes). However, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began to recover albeit painful “But his thighs and legs remained unusable and he was confined to a wheelchair” ( 10:51-10:53 Barnes). Since he hated the “hospital variety” he had wheels put on ordinary wooden chairs, which he felt were less obtrusive. “He had a special card made, which he could drive without using any foot pedals.” ( 11:02-11:04 Barnes) Ramps were installed at his home in Springwood, as well as using a pulley lift to move between floors located in the servants quarters. “He was now a man who could not dress or undress, who had to be heaved into bed or placed on a toilet. In the language of the time, he was now a “cripple” at the age of 39 (11:33-11:48 Barnes). His mother felt he should retire from public view and retreat to the Hudson to which Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to obey as he intended to make a political comeback. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was “sustained by an underlying belief that Providence was watching over him” (13:02-13:04 Barnes) He would often tell himself in the many sleepless nights he had that he was experiencing “trial by fire” to test his moral fiber for upcoming challenges, as he said later in his lifetime”Once you have spent two years trying to wiggle one toe, everything is in proportion” (13:28-13:31 Barnes, Franklin Delano Roosevelt )

In 1939 he was caricatured as the Sphinx by the Washington press corps, as even the people closest to him only understood a small portion of his mind and little to none of his heart. “He often said he never let his left hand know what his right was doing”(14:23-14:28 Barnes) Roosevelt’s motion would soon be “Divide and rule” in private life as well as politics. He was “fitted with a heavy steel corset and braces” (15:23-15:26 Barnes) to allow him to stand when the braces are locked. Every morning he would vow “I must get down the driveway today” to which he would attempt, however, he would be covered in sweat after a few steps. Other times he would crash and would have to be assisted back onto his wheelchair in fumes. After a couple years of failure, it was clear he needed to con the public into believing that he could walk freely. In the election campaign of 1924, he was booked to give the nominating address at the Democratic party convention in New York on behalf of candidate Al Smith. He would practice for hours with his son, “Behind the scenes, Roosevelt was helped to his feet and his leg braces locked in place. Then James gave him his crutches. FDR slowly heaved himself across the stage… When he reached the rostrum, Roosevelt handed back his crutches, He held on to the podium for dear life, grinning broadly as the crowd cheered.(17:12-18:23 Barnes) He would then speak for a full half-hour with “energy and animation” as if he were to glow in the spotlights. He would then praise Al Smith as the “happy warrior of the political battlefield” but the press reaction made it clear that the “happy warrior” that stood out that day was not Al Smith, but Roosevelt himself.
Smith would, however, fail to win the Presidency in 1924, but tried again in 1928, with Roosevelt making the speech nomination once more in Houston, Texas. At this time he was an accomplished public speaker as well as a “public walker.” This time fitted only with steel braces and gripping his son Elliott’s arms, he would only walk to the podium using a cane this time. To Americans it would seem that he has completely recovered, he was “no longer crippled, merely a bit lame. (19:35-19:38 Barnes) In 1932 with America hit by the worst depression in history, Roosevelt ran for president and landed a landslide victory. At this time most Americans never discovered his secret, photographers, and press kept a discreet silence about his disability.  However, his appearance did not alter reality. He was “the wheelchair president”, and he was attempting to lead the country through its most testing times in its history. In his first two terms, he was preoccupied with his “New Deal” for America by bringing the country out of the Depression by spending massively on infrastructure and social programs. He could do little to change the isolationist attitudes in America during the 1930s. However, the 1940s brought the German conquest of Westen Europe causing a global crisis. America was the brought into the war by the assault on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in December 1941. During the years of 1942 and 1943, America allied with Britan engaged the Germans in North Africa, and then Italy as well as Japan in the Pacific. However the war would soon bring new challenges to Roosevelt , he wanted more than victory , he wanted to shape the enduring worldwide peace, something Woodrow Wilson could not do due to the failure of the Leauge of Nations , “But Roosevelt had to persuade Winston Churchill the British Prime Minister (27:38-27:48 Barnes). In 1944 Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term, however on April 12th, 1945 he suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m.
Throughout his lifetime Franklin Delano Roosevelt was set for failure by his polio, a disease that most people would not recover from and would “scream in agony” as they lost control of their own body. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, after being elected in a landslide victory in 1932, dug America out of the Depression using his New Deal programs and then straight into war after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He is the only president to this day to win an unprecedented fourth term. During the war, he leads the Allies to victory as well as attempting to win the peace that followed the war until his death on April 12th, 1945.