Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945) was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he was often referred to by his initials, FDR. Roosevelt won his first of four presidential elections in 1932, while the United States was in the depths of the Great Depression. FDR's combination of optimism and economic activism is often credited with keeping the country's economic crisis from developing into a political crisis. He led the United States through most of World War II, and died in office of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly before the war ended.

In his first term (1933-36) FDR launched the New Deal, a very large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce relief (especially government jobs for the unemployed), recovery (of the economy), and reform (by which he meant regulation of Wall Street, banks and transportation). The Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented his packing the Supreme Court or passing much new legislation; it abolished most of the relief programs when unemployment practically ended during World War II. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975-85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which still exists. The major surviving General Welfare clause program is Social Security, which Congress passed in 1935.

As World War II loomed after 1938, with the Japanese invasion of China and the aggressions of Nazi Germany, FDR gave strong diplomatic and financial support to China and Britain, while remaining officially neutral. His goal was to make America the "Arsenal of Democracy"--supplying the munitions while others did the fighting. In March 1941, Roosevelt, with Congressional approval, provided Lend-Lease aid to the countries fighting against Nazi Germany, with Great Britain. He secured a near-unanimous declaration of war against Japan and Germany after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, calling it a "day that will live in infamy." He supervised the mobilization of the US economy to support the Allied war effort, taking criticism for fumbles early on, but saw unemployment evaporate and the industrial economy soar to heights no one ever expected.

Roosevelt dominated the American political scene, not only during the twelve years of his presidency, but for decades afterward. He orchestrated the realignment of voters that created the Fifth Party System. FDR's New Deal Coalition united together labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, welfare recipients, African Americans and the rural white Southern. Roosevelt's diplomatic impact also resonated on the world stage long after his death, with the United Nations and Bretton Woods as examples of his administration's wide ranging impact. Roosevelt is consistently rated by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.

Source: Wikipedia