The American Modernization 1: Franklin D. Roosevelt

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also commonly referred to using simply his initials as FDR, will be the topic of today’s discussion. Fighting countless personal and political battles throughout his long career is politics, FDR is regarded as one of the finest Presidents to date — the only one to be elected for more than two terms.

To begin the story of a marriage that involved no name change, the most photographed dog in the world, and a man who will forever be remembered as a kingpin of remodeled America, we begin in  his early life. Roosevelt descended from a distinguished family — many of you know Teddy Roosevelt, but many others on both sides of the family contributed to the enormous estate. On the side of Franklin’s maternal relatives, Warren Delano made a fortune in countless opium and tea trades with China.

Franklin married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905, despite the fierce resistance of his mother. The feelings of his mother did not at all relate to the person Franklin would marry, she simply believe he was far too young, and attempted to stop the engagement multiple times. However, Franklin and Eleanor were wed — intimacy did not remain in their marriage very long, however. We’ll pick up on that later.

FDR’s early career began as he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy due to his support of Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 election. Roosevelt’s affection to the navy was something that would remain with him his entire life — he claimed to own 10,000 naval books, and to have read “all but one”.

In 1920, a major leap came for him as the Democratic Party nominated him as the Vice President for the ticket of James Cox. Cox and Roosevelt, however, lost in a crushing margin to Warren G. Harding — following this, FDR returned to New York to practice law. After two bids as Governor of New York, Roosevelt was nominated in 1932 by the Democratic Party for President of the United States.

Describing his political position as “a little left of center” throughout his career, Roosevelt took hard of the major public hate for incumbent President Herbert Hoover as a worldwide economic depression raged on. At this point in American History, the liberals influence skyrocketed due to their platforms involving getting the poor back to work. As you’ll see if you take a look at modern times, the policies and beliefs of Democrats and Republicans have not really changed much, it all comes down to what is best applied in a certain era. Winning the 1932 election by a landslide, FDR promised this in his acceptance speech,

“I PLEDGE YOU, I PLEDGE MYSELF TO A NEW DEAL FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE… THIS IS MORE THAN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. IT IS A CALL TO ARMS.”

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Only 32 days prior, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. In the next installment of The American Modernization, the beginnings of World War II approach and some unlikely alliances are formed among World Leaders. Adolf Hitler establishes himself as a threat with his promise to bring Germany to power. Stay tuned. 

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