Facts About Franklin Roosevelt

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was born on January 30, 1882, in New York. He attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School for his education. He served the public through politics. He was the 32nd President of the United States from 1933-1945, and was the only president serving four terms.  He led the United States during the tumultuous periods of the economic depression and World War II.

Fact 1.  In the summer of 1921, when he was 39, poliomyelitis struck FDR.  This led to a deep involvement in charity causes for medical ailments leading to the forming of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. The foundation was renamed the March of Dimes.

Fact 2.   There were an estimated 13 million Americans unemployed when FDR entered his first term as President in 1932. During the first hundred days, FDR introduced the New Deal Program encompassing banking and economic reforms.

Fact 3. On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act of 1935 was signed. The act protected 30 million Americans from unemployment, old age, and ill health.

Fact 4.  When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt proclaimed war on Japan. This was the beginning of the U.S.’s direct involvement in World War II.

Fact 5.  The Monroe Doctrine was intended to keep European nations out of Latin America, but the Roosevelt corollary was used as a justification for U.S. intervention in Latin America. This was to ensure that Latin American governments practiced good governance in credit-debt management.

Fact 6. The Manhattan Project was a plan approved by Roosevelt for the development of the atomic bomb. During World War II, this was the largest secret project ever undertaken by the U.S. government.

Fact 7.  Roosevelt initiated the court packing plan or the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 in February, 1937 to increase judiciary support for the New Deal reforms. On August 26, 1937, the Senate passed an amended version of the Judiciary Reorganization Bill that did not include a provision to increase the number of Supreme Court justices.

Fact 8.  FDR gave the United Nations its name. It was first used in the Declaration by the United Nations of  January 1, 1942, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting against the Axis Powers.

Fact 9. Roosevelt first visited the Warm Springs Health Spa in 1924 and found relief in its naturally heated waters. He purchased the facility in 1926 and transformed it into a treatment center for those suffering from polio.

Fact 10. Roosevelt died at 1:00 p.m. on April 12,1945 in his cottage in Warm Springs spa due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He was one of eight presidents who died while in office.

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