FDR - President

With all the talk about Social Security I decided to do some research on the man who created it. It has been a long time since I have studied US history and I really did not remember much about President Roosevelt.

We had two Presidents named Roosevelt of course and they were related, very distantly. The first was Theodore or "Teddy" Roosevelt 1901 to 1909. He was made President after the assassination of William McKinley in September of 1901. Teddy Roosevelt was a legendary war hero from the Spanish, American war where he charged up San Juan hill as a Lt. Colonel of the Rough Riders. He was a big game hunter, loved the outdoors and was known as a man's man. One of his most remembered accomplishments in office was creating or setting aside millions of acres of land for our National Parks system here in the USA.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a different sort of man altogether. Born and raised in a wealthy family in New York he attended Harvard and Columbia Law School. He was into politics at a young age and when he was 39 he was stricken with Polio. He struggled but persevered and with the help of the warm waters of a natural spring in Georgia was able to cope with his illness. He eventually bought the place and turned it into a resort for those afflicted with Polio so that they could learn to cope and receive therapy in the healing waters.


FDR, President from 1932 to 1945 was the only American President to serve more than two terms. Soon after he was elected in 1932 we were hit with the great depression and then had to deal with the beginnings of W.W.II. So you see this was a man who was faced with major historical problems right from the start. He obviously was made of strong stuff as he endured and was known as one of the greatest Presidents. His New Deal legislation was key to bringing the nation through the depths of the depression and was the birth of Social Security. The war was also a big boon to the country in helping to bring us out of depression. It is said he did his best to keep us out of the war but eventually had to relent. He is also credited for the creation of the United Nations. He died in 1945 on the eve of a complete military victory in Europe. Perhaps the stress of war and major domestic problems finally took it's toll on him.

To read more about this President you an visit the FDR library website.

Have a blessed day.

Write on!

JD