Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in a wealthy family and was taught by tutors and governesses until the age of 14. Then in 1896, he attended Groton School for boys. There he did not fit in as most of the boys excelled in sports when he did not. Instead he studied even more. After school, he went to Harvard University. Even though he was a "C" student, he was the editor of a newspaper and received his degree in three years. During this time he married his 5th cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. He passed the bar exam in 1907, but he did not want his career to be law. Instead he was invited to run for the NY state senator and won. He was then reelected in 1912 where he was the "second chair" to Josephus Daniels who wasn't as enthusiastic as Roosevelt was. So he decided to go for Daniels spot, and was crushed! Even though he was crushed he gained exposure. During this, he had an affair with Lucy Mercer, Eleanor Roosevelt social secretary. Eleanor said he had to leave Lucy or she would file a divorce. Franklin agreed but secretly saw Lucy over the years. Next, Roosevelt attempted to run for vice president, but was crushed once again. Even though he was crushed, he got even more national exposure. Sadly, in 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio and couldn't walk. He wanted to give up, but his family pushed him onward. He was very careful to keep his good image and not let the public see him in a wheelchair. Despite his polio, he became the governor of New York. Then the Great Depression began and everyone blamed it on the Republicans. Roosevelt saw this as a chance and ran for president as he was a Democrat. He had an upbeat attitude and a positive approach to America's problems. With this attitude, he beat Herbert Hoover and became president in 1933. When he got into office, 13 million Americans were out of a job and looked towards him for help. So he created the "New Deal". This was a series of events that worked to help America's economy thrive once again. He created many organizations to help regulate America economy such as the AAA, the CCC and the NRA. By 1936, things were improving but Roosevelt was being criticized by increasing government spending, unbalanced budgets and many people said he was starting socialism. His New Deal acts he made in his 2 years as president were said to be unconstitutional by the U.S Supreme Court. Despite these criticisms, he was elected again in 1940 for a third time. When WWII began, Roosevelt tried very hard to leave America out of the war in his 3rd year. On top of polio, he developed atherosclerosis which is a coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. He was then elected again for a 4th time, which is the most times any president has been reelected. Sadly, in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage. This surprised and saddened the nation as he had lead America through the Great Depression and World War II.