Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Thirty Second President of the United States

Introduction

Roy Jenkins, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, provides a brief overlook of Roosevelt’s life. As a foreigner, Jenkins is able to view Franklin’s accomplishments and failures from a rational view point. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the thirty-second president of the United States, and the only one to be elected more than twice. Even though he entered the presidency during an economic crisis, Roosevelt made a huge on the United States.

Body

Jenkins begins the biography with some of the Roosevelt family history. The family split into two different branches: Oyster Bay Roosevelts and Hyde Park Roosevelts. Both braches had different political view points. The Oyster Bay Roosevelts were Republicans while the Hyde Park Roosevelts were Democrats.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt also informs the reader on FDR’s marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin. At first Franklin and Eleanor had a strong friendship before Franklin showed a romantic interest in her. They kept their engagement a secret for a year because they did not want his mother, Sara Roosevelt, to find out. Sara was jealous of having to share Franklin and when her husband died, she became an obsessive mother. Despite their differences, FDR was determinedly taken with Eleanor. Eleanor would go away for long summers to Campobello or Hyde Park. She was there when the first polio epidemic and FDR dissuaded her from bringing any likely infection. It is assumed that this is probably the summer than Franklin began his infatuation with Lucy Mercer, his wife’s part-time social secretary. Even though FDR was young, his health was not very good. During multiple illnesses, such as typhoid fever, sinus trouble, and influenza, Eleanor would come back from Campobe...

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...lkie and carried thirty-eight states to give him an Electoral College vote of 449 to 82. He had become the most popular and the most vilified of the thirty-two presidents to date.

End

Franklin’s death.

Although I had already studied FDR in a past history course, it is always good to review and possibly learn more. I got to relearn smaller details of Franklin Roosevelt’s life, such as the struggles with his marriage and his obsessive mother.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a book that I would recommend to anyone that is interested in learning more about a United States president. It is important to learn about the accomplishments and struggles of Franklin Roosevelt, as well as, any other president. Studying the history of what has succeeded and not succeeded dealing with our government is extremely important so crises are not repeated, such as the Great Depression.