Franklin+D.+Roosevelt



= __Franklin D. Roosevelt__  =

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, NY, on January 30th, 1882. Roosevelt's family was very wealthy and his childhood consisted of very expensive tutors. He went to college at Harvard University and Columbia Law School. In 1905, Roosevelt married his cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. Both were democrats and had a strong interest for politics.

When Roosevelt was elected for a third term as president of the United States, World War II was occuring. Roosevelt became one of the three great Allied leaders against Germany (along with Winston Churchill of Great Britian and Joseph Stalin of Russia.) These three leaders held the allies together in what was said to be their darkest time, and led them to victory with the Nazi Germans and Japanese. After the fall of Czechoslovakia to Germany in 1938, Roosevelt was positive the Europe would erupt into war and drag the U.S. in. In 1938, the U.S. was nowhere near ready for war. Roosevelt began to take steps to prepare the U.S. In November 1938, Roosevelt advocated the production of 10,000 military aircraft by 1940 and the ability to make 10,000 planes per year thereafter. In July 1939, Roosevelt ordered the military to report directly to the president instead of to the official government department heads. This caused confusion and the president to gain personal relationshops with miltary cheifs. In September 1940, the Selective Service Act was passed and Americans began to be drafted. In early 1941, the Roosevelt had Congress pass the Lend-Lease Act which provided Britain and Russia with arms via lease but with no conditions for repayment. All of this slowly prepared the U.S. for WWII.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and on December 11, Germany declared war on the U.S. At the beginning of the war Roosevelt wrote Churchill and the two began a warm friendship that lasted until Roosevelts death. During WWII, Roosevelt served as the Commander-In-Cheif of the U.S. allied forces. He is put responsible for leading the U.S. through the great depression of the '30s and World War II. He died on April 12, 1945, two weeks before Hitler and a month before Germany surrendered.