1933 : FDR inaugurated
On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United
States. In his famous inaugural address, delivered outside the east
wing of the U.S. Capitol, Roosevelt outlined his "New Deal"--an
expansion of the federal government as an instrument of employment
opportunity and welfare--and told Americans that "the only thing we
have to fear is fear itself." Although it was a rainy day in
Washington, and gusts of rain blew over Roosevelt as he spoke, he
delivered a speech that radiated optimism and competence, and a broad
majority of Americans united behind their new president and his
radical economic proposals to lead the nation out of the Great
Depression.
Born into an upper-class family in Hyde Park, New York, in 1882,
Roosevelt was the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as
the 26th U.S. president from 1901 to 1909. In 1905, Franklin
Roosevelt, who was at the time a student at Columbia University Law
School, married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of Theodore
Roosevelt. After three years as a lawyer, he decided to follow his
cousin Theodore's lead and sought public office, winning election to
the New York State Senate in 1910 as a Democrat. He soon won a
reputation as a charismatic politician dedicated to social and
economic reform.
Roosevelt supported the progressive New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson
in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, and after
Wilson's election in 1912 Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary
of the U.S. Navy, a post that Theodore Roosevelt once held. In 1920,
Roosevelt, who had proved himself a gifted administrator, won the
Democratic nomination for vice president on a ticket with James Cox.
The Democrats lost in a landslide to Republicans Warren Harding and
Calvin Coolidge, and Roosevelt returned to his law practice and
undertook several business ventures.
In 1921, he was stricken with poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the
crippling disease of polio. He spent several years recovering from
what was at first nearly total paralysis, and his wife, Eleanor, kept
his name alive in Democratic circles. He never fully covered and was
forced to use braces or a wheelchair to move around for the rest of
his life.
In 1924, Roosevelt returned to politics when he nominated New York
Governor Alfred E. Smith for the presidency with a rousing speech at
the Democratic National Convention. In 1928, he again nominated Smith,
and the outgoing New York governor urged Roosevelt to run for his
gubernatorial seat. Roosevelt campaigned across the state by
automobile and was elected even as the state voted for Republican
Herbert Hoover in the presidential election.
As governor, Roosevelt worked for tax relief for farmers and in 1930
won a resounding electoral victory just as the economic recession
brought on by the October 1929 stock market crash was turning into a
major depression. During his second term, Governor Roosevelt mobilized
the state government to play an active role in providing relief and
spurring economic recovery. His aggressive approach to the economic
crisis, coupled with his obvious political abilities, gave him the
Democratic presidential nomination in 1932.
Roosevelt had no trouble defeating President Herbert Hoover, who many
blamed for the Depression, and the governor carried all but six
states. During the next four months, the economy continued to decline,
and when Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, most banks were
closed, farms were suffering, 13 million workers were unemployed, and
industrial production stood at just over half its 1929 level.
Aided by a Democratic Congress, Roosevelt took prompt, decisive
action, and most of his New Deal proposals, such as the Agricultural
Adjustment Act, National Industrial Recovery Act, and creation of the
Public Works Administration and Tennessee Valley Authority, were
approved within his first 100 days in office. Although criticized by
many in the business community, Roosevelt's progressive legislation
improved America's economic climate, and in 1936 he easily won
reelection.
During his second term, he became increasingly concerned with German
and Japanese aggression and so began a long campaign to awaken America
from its isolationist slumber. In 1940, with World War II raging in
Europe and the Pacific, Roosevelt agreed to run for an unprecedented
third term. Reelected by Americans who valued his strong leadership,
he proved a highly effective commander in chief after the December
1941 U.S. entrance into the war. Under Roosevelt's guidance, America
became, in his own words, the "great arsenal of democracy" and
succeeded in shifting the balance of power in World War II firmly in
the Allies' favor. In 1944, with the war not yet won, he was reelected
to a fourth term.
Three months after his inauguration, while resting at his retreat at
Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage
at the age of 63. Following a solemn parade of his coffin through the
streets of the nation's capital, his body was buried in a family plot
in Hyde Park. Millions of Americans mourned the death of the man who
led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th
century: the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt's
unparalleled 13 years as president led to the passing of the 22nd
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which limited future presidents to
a maximum of two consecutive elected terms in office.
history.com/tdih.do
1933 : FDR inaugurated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6826
1789 : Government under the U.S. Constitution begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4811
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On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United
States. In his famous inaugural address, delivered outside the east
wing of the U.S. Capitol, Roosevelt outlined his "New Deal"--an
expansion of the federal government as an instrument of employment
opportunity and welfare--and told Americans that "the only thing we
have to fear is fear itself." Although it was a rainy day in
Washington, and gusts of rain blew over Roosevelt as he spoke, he
delivered a speech that radiated optimism and competence, and a broad
majority of Americans united behind their new president and his
radical economic proposals to lead the nation out of the Great
Depression.
Born into an upper-class family in Hyde Park, New York, in 1882,
Roosevelt was the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as
the 26th U.S. president from 1901 to 1909. In 1905, Franklin
Roosevelt, who was at the time a student at Columbia University Law
School, married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of Theodore
Roosevelt. After three years as a lawyer, he decided to follow his
cousin Theodore's lead and sought public office, winning election to
the New York State Senate in 1910 as a Democrat. He soon won a
reputation as a charismatic politician dedicated to social and
economic reform.
Roosevelt supported the progressive New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson
in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, and after
Wilson's election in 1912 Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary
of the U.S. Navy, a post that Theodore Roosevelt once held. In 1920,
Roosevelt, who had proved himself a gifted administrator, won the
Democratic nomination for vice president on a ticket with James Cox.
The Democrats lost in a landslide to Republicans Warren Harding and
Calvin Coolidge, and Roosevelt returned to his law practice and
undertook several business ventures.
In 1921, he was stricken with poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the
crippling disease of polio. He spent several years recovering from
what was at first nearly total paralysis, and his wife, Eleanor, kept
his name alive in Democratic circles. He never fully covered and was
forced to use braces or a wheelchair to move around for the rest of
his life.
In 1924, Roosevelt returned to politics when he nominated New York
Governor Alfred E. Smith for the presidency with a rousing speech at
the Democratic National Convention. In 1928, he again nominated Smith,
and the outgoing New York governor urged Roosevelt to run for his
gubernatorial seat. Roosevelt campaigned across the state by
automobile and was elected even as the state voted for Republican
Herbert Hoover in the presidential election.
As governor, Roosevelt worked for tax relief for farmers and in 1930
won a resounding electoral victory just as the economic recession
brought on by the October 1929 stock market crash was turning into a
major depression. During his second term, Governor Roosevelt mobilized
the state government to play an active role in providing relief and
spurring economic recovery. His aggressive approach to the economic
crisis, coupled with his obvious political abilities, gave him the
Democratic presidential nomination in 1932.
Roosevelt had no trouble defeating President Herbert Hoover, who many
blamed for the Depression, and the governor carried all but six
states. During the next four months, the economy continued to decline,
and when Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, most banks were
closed, farms were suffering, 13 million workers were unemployed, and
industrial production stood at just over half its 1929 level.
Aided by a Democratic Congress, Roosevelt took prompt, decisive
action, and most of his New Deal proposals, such as the Agricultural
Adjustment Act, National Industrial Recovery Act, and creation of the
Public Works Administration and Tennessee Valley Authority, were
approved within his first 100 days in office. Although criticized by
many in the business community, Roosevelt's progressive legislation
improved America's economic climate, and in 1936 he easily won
reelection.
During his second term, he became increasingly concerned with German
and Japanese aggression and so began a long campaign to awaken America
from its isolationist slumber. In 1940, with World War II raging in
Europe and the Pacific, Roosevelt agreed to run for an unprecedented
third term. Reelected by Americans who valued his strong leadership,
he proved a highly effective commander in chief after the December
1941 U.S. entrance into the war. Under Roosevelt's guidance, America
became, in his own words, the "great arsenal of democracy" and
succeeded in shifting the balance of power in World War II firmly in
the Allies' favor. In 1944, with the war not yet won, he was reelected
to a fourth term.
Three months after his inauguration, while resting at his retreat at
Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage
at the age of 63. Following a solemn parade of his coffin through the
streets of the nation's capital, his body was buried in a family plot
in Hyde Park. Millions of Americans mourned the death of the man who
led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th
century: the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt's
unparalleled 13 years as president led to the passing of the 22nd
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which limited future presidents to
a maximum of two consecutive elected terms in office.
history.com/tdih.do
1933 : FDR inaugurated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6826
1789 : Government under the U.S. Constitution begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4811
#########################################
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