Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay Research Paper The

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay, Research Paper

The Life and Times of

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt came from the same line that produced Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin’s father James was a graduate of Harvard, and took over the family’s coal and transportation holdings. He then moved to Hyde Park, an estate on the Hudson River. When his first wife died in 1876, he met and married Sara Delano. She attended school abroad, in London, China, and Paris.

Franklin had a secure childhood. His half -brother was a grown man when Franklin was born, so he had all the attention from his parents. During summers he traveled to Europe, New England or Campobello island, where he developed a love for sailing. Franklin’s academic record was ordinary, and he wasn’t good at sports. He was called the “feather-duster” by some of his classmates who thought he was shallow. Roosevelt then attended Harvard. There he didn’t do much better, but his previous education had prepared him so well that he was able to get his degree in only three years. However, he showed little excitement about his studies.

While at Harvard, Roosevelt fell in love with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin once removed. She was the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt’s brother. By the age of ten both of Eleanor’s parents had died. She was raised by her grandmother, and because of her emotionally abusive parents, she grew up feeling rejected, thinking she was ugly and fat. So, when Franklin, a Harvard man who was two years older than she was, paid her attention she was flattered. On March 17, 1905, the two Roosevelts were married. Eleanor’s uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, gave her away.

In the following eleven years Eleanor had five children. Having been born into wealth, the Roosevelts never lacked money, and moved easily among the upper class. Although, Eleanor was often unhappy in the relationship. She had to live with Franklin’s widowed and domineering mother, who made her do things around the house while Franklin was out with friends, enjoying life. Later, during World War I, Eleanor found out that Franklin was having an affair with their social secretary, a Virginian named Lucy Mercer. Through even this, Eleanor stayed married and loyal to Franklin throughout the 40 years of their marriage. When Franklin contracted polio in 1921, she worked hard to help him in restoring his emotional health and to help him regain his political aspirations. She served as his eyes and ears while he was confined to a wheelchair.

In Franklin’s professional life he felt unfulfilled. He went to the Columbia Law School until 1907. He passed the New York State bar examination, and then quit school, foregoing the degree. He then took a job with the Wall Street Law Firm. Much of their practice was in corporate law, and Roosevelt found the work tedious. By 1910 he was 28, and he was not happy with his profession. He felt politics gave him purpose, so he ran for the New York State Senate in 1910. Party leaders recognized that he had no political experience, but he had two important things. He had the wealth to run a political campaign, and the most well-known political name in the United States. However, it was the democratic party asking Roosevelt to run. He had voted Republican and Theodore Roosevelt was Republican, but his father was a Democrat. He knew it would be an exciting, worthwhile experience, so he decided to do it.

During the campaign, Roosevelt worked as never before. He bought a car and drove all over the county, acquiring support. He got advice from political veterans, and showed skill with his willingness to listen and his ability to make himself agreeable to voters. One thing that he felt like a great asset to him was his growth away from the Republican party, which was badly split in 1910. With the brilliant use of all these things, Roosevelt was won impressively. He took direct action, and made an immediate impact in the legislative session. At that time, United State senators from New York were elected by legislative officials, not by the majority vote of the people. The Democrats had all but decided on William F. Sheehan, who was the choice of Tammany Hall, New York’s powerful political machine. A small minority of Democrats objected to this choice. Roosevelt became the leader of this minority within the Democratic party. Not only did Roosevelt dislike the choice of this party, he didn’t like the fact that Tammany Hall had such an influence on the decisions of the Democrats. Tammany Hall then recanted their support toward Sheehan and directed it toward Judge James O’Gorman, who was a former Tammany Grand Sachem. O’Gorman eventually won the seat to the house, but Roosevelt and allies took some consolation, because they forced a withdrawal of Sheehan and drew national attention in doing so. Roosevelt evoked mixed reactions from other United States officials. Progressive reformers liked his devotion, courage and willingness to work hard. Although, party regulators like Alfred Smith and Robert Wagner considered Roosevelt a lightweight and a headline-seeker.

In 1912 Roosevelt defied Tammany Hall again. He Supported Gov. Woodrow Wilson for the Democratic presidential nomination. When Wilson won Roosevelt ran for re-election to the state senate. During the cam