Who Was Franklin Roosevelt?

by Margaret Frith

  Sara convinced Franklin that he would be more comfortable at Springwood. So the family moved to Hyde Park. It was hard for Eleanor. Once again, her mother-in-law was in charge.

  The bedrooms at Springwood were on the second floor. There was no way Franklin could use the stairs. Luckily the house had a “trunk lift” for luggage. It was the size of an elevator, so Franklin could fit in it in his wheelchair. It was hauled up and down with ropes and pulleys.

  Franklin tried anything he heard about that might help his legs—sunlamps, electric belts, massages, and pulleys.

  Once, he even tried hanging from the ceiling by a harness. Nothing worked. He couldn’t walk and he was no nearer walking with crutches.

  Still, he made a wonderful discovery. Swimming. He could float without any help. He was sure it was helping his legs.

  In l924, Franklin heard about a place with “miracle waters.” It was called Warm Springs and it was in the backwoods of Georgia. He and Eleanor needed a vacation so they went.

  There was an old hotel, twelve run-down cottages, and a swimming pool. The minute Franklin got in, he beamed. The water was ninety degrees. “How marvelous it feels,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get out.”

  When a newspaper wrote about Franklin’s stay at Warm Springs, other victims of polio started going there. Many of them were children.

  Two years later, Franklin bought the resort and restored it. He kept one of the cottages for himself. He visited whenever he could.

  Franklin had found a second home. Here he could be himself. He didn’t have to pretend everything was all right. He was among people going through what he was going through. They loved Franklin. To them, he was “Rosy.”

  He had wonderful, boisterous times with the children. Loud laughter and splashing meant that Franklin and the children were playing water games in the pool.

  In 1927, Franklin started the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation. It treated victims of polio and became a center for studying the disease.

  As for Franklin, he was learning to live fully despite his crippled legs. His car was adapted so that he could drive using only his hands. He still loved to drive fast. He flew down the roads, stopping to talk to anyone along the way.

  It was on these trips around Georgia that Franklin became aware of what it meant to be poor and struggling—to live without electricity or go to a rundown school. He never forgot what he saw.

  POLIO

  SOME VICTIMS OF POLIO RECOVERED WITH LITTLE OR NO DAMAGE. BUT MANY, LIKE FRANKLIN, WERE NOT SO LUCKY.

  MOST POLIO OUTBREAKS OCCURRED IN THE SUMMER. IN THE EPIDEMIC OF 1916, SIX THOUSAND PEOPLE DIED. THE WORST YEAR WAS IN 1952 WHEN THERE WERE OVER FIFTY-SEVEN THOUSAND CASES.

  IN 1938, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT FOUNDED THE MARCH OF DIMES FOR POLIO RESEARCH. EVERYONE WAS ASKED TO SEND IN A DIME.

  IN 1955, DR. JONAS SALK CAME UP WITH THE FIRST VACCINE TO PREVENT POLIO. SINCE THAT TIME, POLIO HAS BEEN ELIMINATED IN MOST OF THE WORLD. IT IS TOO BAD FRANKLIN DID NOT LIVE TO SEE A POLIO VACCINE.

  AFTER HIS DEATH, HIS PORTRAIT WAS PUT ON THE DIME. HIS PORTRAIT STILL APPEARS ON IT, IN MEMORY OF HIS WORK FOR THE MARCH OF DIMES.

  Chapter 5

  Struggling to Walk

  Franklin was determined to run for office again one day. But he wanted to walk first. It was important for the Democratic Party to remember him. So he kept in touch through letters and phone calls.

  Eleanor was determined to keep Franklin’s name alive. “I don’t want him forgotten,” she said. “I want him to have a voice.” Louis Howe convinced her to attend political meetings. He coached her on how to speak in public. She began to enjoy a political life of her own. Women’s causes were important to her.

  Although Franklin worked as hard as he could, he still couldn’t walk. But he came up with a way of standing and moving forward, swinging one leg, then the other. He would hold tightly to the arm of a person on one side and use a crutch on the other. Eventually he could lean on a cane instead of a crutch. It wasn’t walking, but he made it look like walking.

  In 1924, the Democratic Party asked Franklin to nominate Al Smith, the Governor of New York, to run for president. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

  Franklin wanted to appear strong and confident. He got to the podium with the help of a crutch and his son James. It was a great struggle, but Franklin made it with sweat pouring down his face. He gripped the podium and stood straight and tall. His face lit up with a big smile and the crowd went wild.

  By now, he must have known that he would never walk again. But a life in politics was certainly possible. And when the time came to campaign, he would face the American people, standing tall.

  Four years later, in 1928, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York. He won by only twenty-five thousand votes out of more than four million cast. Still, he won.

  Republicans were in charge of the state government. At his opening address, Franklin was charming and cheerful. He spoke of new laws to protect workers and unions. But the Republicans were not interested in hearing about these issues.

  Then, in October 1929, the unexpected happened. The stock market on Wall Street crashed and the country turned upside down. People lost their money. Then they lost their jobs.

  This was the beginning of the Great Depression.

  By 1932, at least twelve million men and women were out of work. They lined up at soup kitchens for free food. Many lost their homes and had nowhere to live. With only the clothes on their backs, they gathered in “squatter camps”—sometimes called Hoovervilles after the president Herbert Hoover.

  Franklin was convinced that now was the time to run for president. He campaigned across the country on the “Roosevelt Special.” At every stop, this tall, attractive, confident man stood and promised to get people back to work. He offered them a future.

  Americans listened and saw a leader they could count on.

  Franklin beat his opponent, President Herbert Hoover, by a landslide. Out of forty-eight states, he lost only six.

  The Roosevelt era had begun.

  Chapter 6

  Becoming President

  Franklin’s campaign song had been “Happy Days Are Here Again.” After he was sworn in as the thirty-second president of the United States, Franklin spoke to the nation. He promised them: “Action and action now.” He was going to start new programs to help them. He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

  People were certainly afraid. They no longer trusted banks to keep their money safe. So they lined up to take out their savings. Without money, banks were collapsing all over the country.

  Immediately, Franklin declared a four-day bank holiday. No one could take out money because banks were closed. Franklin hoped this “time-out” would calm people down. The holiday worked, but Franklin had no way of knowing that beforehand.

  All his life, Franklin was willing to experiment. If he tried something and it didn’t work, he would try something else. He wanted to hear ideas and opinions from lots of people. “Above all, try something.”

  Franklin gave his first “fireside chat” on the radio. He wanted everyone to understand what he was doing to fix the banks. “It is safer for you to keep your money in a reopened bank than to keep it under the mattress,” he told them.

  The White House received thousands of letters and telegrams. The fireside chat was a huge success. The president had spoken to people as a friend. They felt he cared about their problems.

  FIRESIDE CHATS ON THE RADIO

  IN THE YEARS THAT FRANKLIN WAS PRESIDENT, HE HELD THIRTY-ONE OF HIS FAMOUS “FIRESIDE CHATS.” THEY ALLOWED FRANKLIN TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS DOING AND WHY. HE WANTED TO REACH AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. HIS TALKS WERE USUALLY BROADCAST ON SUNDAY EVENINGS AT NINE O’CLOCK WHEN MOST AMERICANS LISTENED TO THE RADIO.

  FDR WOULD BEGIN BY SAYING, “. . . I WANT TO TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES . . .”

  HE WORKED HARD ON WHAT
HE SAID AND HOW HE WOULD SAY IT. “I’LL JUST THINK OUT LOUD,” HE WOULD TELL HIS SECRETARY, “AND YOU WRITE IT DOWN.” DURING A FIRESIDE CHAT, FRANKLIN HAD PEOPLE SITTING IN THE ROOM WITH HIM. HE COULD LOOK AT THEM AND IMAGINE AMERICANS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY LISTENING TO HIM ON THE RADIO. AND, INDEED, THEY FELT AS IF FRANKLIN WAS RIGHT IN THEIR HOMES TALKING DIRECTLY TO THEM, AS A FRIEND.

  ONE TIME HE HEARD A WHISTLING SOUND COMING THROUGH A GAP BETWEEN HIS FRONT TEETH. HE DIDN’T LIKE IT, SO HE HAD A SPECIAL BRIDGE MADE JUST FOR HIS “FIRESIDE CHATS.”

  In the first hundred days, Congress passed fifteen major laws to help people get back to work. The programs Franklin had promised were getting underway. They became known across the country as the “New Deal.”

  He started many new agencies to get working on solutions.

  The CCC sent young, out-of-work men to national parks and forests to plant trees, build fire stations, and put out fires.

  The AAA helped farmers unable to sell their crops or pay their rent or mortgages.

  The WPA built roads, hospitals, schools, and other public buildings. Artists, writers, and musicians were asked to paint murals in public buildings, write books, and perform in concerts around the country.

  The NRA drew up rules to help businesses and workers get along. Rules for prices, wages, and hours of work were set and workers could join unions to bargain with companies.

  The TVA brought electricity and other improvements to rural areas in seven southern states. Franklin hadn’t forgotten all those people in Georgia living without electricity.

  More programs were added later. An important one that still exists today is the SSA created in 1935. The government mailed checks to retired people over sixty-five, the disabled, the unemployed, and needy children. The government got the money from workers’ payroll taxes and company taxes.

  These new programs cost the government a lot of money. Some people said too much money. And they didn’t like the government running things that they thought should be done by private companies. They didn’t like paying higher taxes, either. But these were unusual times. Franklin was sure he was doing the right thing. And the voters thought so, too.

  In 1936, Franklin ran again. He won in an even bigger landslide. This time he only lost two states, Maine and Vermont.

  TURN ON THE LIGHTS!

  THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA) IMPROVED THE LIVES OF POOR FAMILIES IN THE SOUTH IN MANY WAYS. IT HELPED FARMERS GROW BETTER CROPS. IT BUILT FACTORIES THAT CREATED THOUSANDS OF JOBS. IT BROUGHT ELECTRICITY INTO THE HOMES OF PEOPLE WHO, UNTIL THEN, HAD TO DEPEND ON CANDLELIGHT OR GASLIGHT. THIS WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY GIANT DAMS THAT PROVIDED HYDROELECTRIC POWER TO SEVEN TVA STATES—MOST OF TENNESSEE, PART OF ALABAMA, KENTUCKY AND MISSISSIPPI, AND A SMALL BIT OF GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA, AND VIRGINIA.

  THE TVA STILL OPERATES TODAY.

  Although voters and Congress approved of the New Deal, Franklin faced a big stumbling block with the Supreme Court. If a law passed by Congress goes against the Constitution, it is the Supreme Court’s job to strike it down. It did just that with some of the “alphabet” programs, especially the AAA and the NRA. The court said the government did not have the right to start them or pay for them.

  Franklin was furious. He had not appointed any of these judges to the Court. They were all conservative judges who believed in as little government as possible. Franklin wanted liberal judges who believed that it was the government’s job to be involved. Besides, seven out of the nine judges were over seventy years old and appointed for life. He claimed they weren’t getting enough work done fast enough. Franklin decided to pack the Court by appointing an additional judge for every judge over seventy.

  To Franklin’s surprise, Congress didn’t like this idea at all. And neither did the people. Thousands of letters of protest came in. It was not often that Franklin lost a battle. But this time he did.

  Over time he did get to choose seven judges. But his power had been checked.

  Chapter 7

  Living in the White House

  “How do you like being president?” a reporter once asked Franklin.

  “I love it!” he answered in a great, booming voice.

  Franklin also liked living in the White House.

  Eleanor wasn’t so sure. She once told a friend, “I never wanted to be a president’s wife.” The First Lady had to host dinners for foreign visitors and parties for members of Congress and other people in government. She would stand for hours shaking hands.

  Sometimes, however, Eleanor found being the First Lady fun. When the famous pilot Amelia Earhart came to town, she took Eleanor flying. “It was like being on top of the world,” Eleanor said.

  Eleanor also traveled around the country for Franklin. He needed someone he could trust to see how his New Deal was working. He said that she was “his eyes and ears.”

  In West Virginia, she went down into a coal mine to talk to the miners.

  When Sara heard about this, she wrote to Franklin. “I see she has emerged from the mine . . . That is something to be thankful for.”

  Traveling gave Eleanor a chance to speak about her own causes. She was a champion of the rights of African Americans and women. She urged Franklin to appoint more African Americans and women to government jobs—and he did.

  Eleanor constantly wrote memos to Franklin about things she wanted him to do. They were put in a basket in his room each night. He’d read them before bed. The pile got so high that he told her she could only give him three memos a night.

  Eleanor and Franklin were not the only Roosevelts living in the White House. It was home to their two youngest boys who were students at Groton. Their daughter, Anna, moved in with her children. So did their son James.

  Louis Howe had the Lincoln bedroom. Missy LeHand, who had been Franklin’s loyal secretary for thirteen years, also came.

  Franklin’s Scottie, Fala, was there, too, roaming the White House by day and sleeping in his bedroom at night.

  Franklin’s bedroom was on the second floor along with his private study where no one went without being asked. He kept his stamp collection on a desk near the door. Being president had its advantages. He asked the State Department to send him stamps on letters from other countries. Every Saturday, a package arrived at the White House.

  Franklin woke around eight every morning. He ate his breakfast and read the newspapers in bed. Only his grandchildren were allowed in. He didn’t mind at all if they jumped on his bed. He enjoyed it. Then he dressed and went over his schedule with Louis Howe. At ten o’clock, he went down to his office. Each visitor was only supposed to stay around fifteen minutes. But Franklin loved to talk and he loved to listen. That’s how he learned a lot. So he hardly ever kept to the schedule.

  He had lunch around one. Depending on the day, he met with his cabinet or advisors. In the late afternoon he took care of letters and paperwork before going for a swim in the pool.

  Then it was cocktail hour. He loved relaxing with family and friends. After dinner, he often worked on his stamp collection or watched a movie.

  Franklin enjoyed meetings with reporters. On Wednesday mornings, he talked to reporters from the morning papers and, on Fridays afternoons, to reporters from the evening papers.

  Reporters liked Franklin. He sat at his desk and they all crowded around filling up the Oval Office. Sometimes a reporter would fall right onto his desk from all the pushing to get to the front. Unlike other presidents, he didn’t ask to see questions beforehand. They could ask whatever they wanted. Sometimes he didn’t want to answer. But he knew how to charm them so they didn’t hold it against him.

  MARIAN ANDERSON SINGS

  IN 1939, MARIAN ANDERSON, A FAMOUS AFRICAN-AMERICAN SINGER, WAS TO GIVE A CONCERT IN CONSTITUTION HALL, IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE HALL WAS OWNED BY A WOMEN’S GROUP CALLED THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (DAR). THEY REFUSED TO LET AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORM THERE. ELEANOR HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE DAR. BUT NOW, NOT ONLY DID SHE RESIGN, SHE ALSO FOUND ANOTHER PLACE
FOR MARIAN ANDERSON’S CONCERT—THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL. ON EASTER SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND BLACKS AND WHITES CROWDED ALONG THE EDGE OF THE REFLECTION POOL TO HEAR MARIAN ANDERSON. MILLIONS MORE LISTENED FROM HOME ON THEIR RADIOS. MARIAN ANDERSON OPENED THE CONCERT WITH “AMERICA.”

  His life as president was exciting. Still, from the moment he took office, his goal had been to get people back to work. By the mid-1930s, times were getting better, but the county was not out of the Depression.

  Then another problem—a big one—loomed across the Atlantic Ocean.

  Chapter 8

  Going to War

  In 1933, Adolf Hitler had become chancellor of Germany. This was the same year that Franklin became president.

  Hitler built up a mighty army. His aim was to conquer countries all over Europe. Germany would be the most powerful nation on earth.

  In 1938, the German army rolled into Austria. During the next two years, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and finally France, fell to Germany. The people of Britain knew they could be next.