Presidency and Personal Life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt as we know through history class, documentaries, and other media sources, was the 32nd President of the United States. Before going into his presidency and what he accomplished for this country and citizens, let us take a look at his earlier life. Roosevelt was born into a well-to-do family on January 30, 1882. His father James Roosevelt l, and his mother Sara Ann Delano, his father’s second wife, were sixth cousins. He had a half-brother from his father’s first marriage who was 26 years old at the time of his birth.

The Roosevelt’s came to America in the 17th century and became wealthy as merchants and landowners. The Delano’s came to America on the Mayflower and became wealthy as merchants and shipbuilders. Franklin’s mother had a strong impact on Franklin’s early years growing up, but as we go on into his later years we will see that she still had a strong impact on his life.

As basically an only child, since his half-brother was so much older than him, Franklin had a very prestigious upbringing. His parents took him with them on their trips to Europe from the time he was 2 years old to age 15. During this time he learned to converse in French and German. He also attended a public school in Germany when he was nine. Franklin went to a boarding school in Massachusetts, where the headmaster, Endicott Peabody, taught his students to help those who were not as fortunate as they were and to go into public service.

Franklin remained in contact with Peabody throughout his life. Franklin went on to Harvard College after boarding school, and though he did not distinguish himself academically or athletically, he did become editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper. Franklin graduated from Harvard in 1903, and went to Columbia Law School in 1904.

After passing the bar exam he worked in the admiralty law division at the Wall Street firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn. In 1902, Franklin began what we would now call dating, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who was his fifth cousin once removed. They dated and wrote letters to one another for a little over two years. Franklin’s mother was against this, and tried to get Franklin to stop seeing Eleanor and not marry her.

As stated earlier, Sara was a strong influence in her son’s life, but in this instance he did not side with his mother and married Eleanor on March 17, 1905. Endicott Peabody, the headmaster at the boarding school in Massachusetts, performed the ceremony. They had six children, and Franklin basically left the upbringing of the children to Eleanor, and she basically relied on caregivers. Even though the Roosevelt’s had six children, Eleanor did not like sex and considered it something that had to be endured. This could be the reason Franklin had affairs. The most talked about affair is the one he had with Eleanor’s social secretary, Lucy Mercer, which has been said lasted 30 years, and she was with Franklin when he died, not Eleanor. In 1918, Eleanor found out about the affair after finding love letters in his suitcase.

Franklin had discussed divorce with Eleanor so that he could be with Lucy, and Eleanor was agreeable to it. Franklin’s mother was adamant about him not divorcing Eleanor, which was probably due to her not wanting their social standing tarnished, and told him if he did divorce that he would be cut off from his inheritance.

This time he did listen to his mother and he and Eleanor remained married even though it was more of a partnership than marriage. It was speculated that he had other affairs which included his private secretary Missy LeHand, distant cousin Daisy Suckley, and Dorothy Schiff. Franklin was always interested in politics. He was a Democrat and his political career began in 1910 - 1912, when he became New York State senator. During this time he became more supportive of labor and social welfare for women and children. From 1913 to 1919, Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which helped him to gain experience labor issues, resolving disputes, naval issues, and government management during wartime

In 1920 he ran for vice president with James Cox for president, but they were defeated, so he went back to practicing law in New York City and building support for the 1922 elections. Due to an illness, which was thought to be polio, that he contracted while on vacation, he was unable to run for presidency at that time. Franklin was paralyzed from the waist down and wearing iron braces, he worked hard to teach himself how to walk again even though it was only for short distances. He was determined to continue with his political career. He did not want to be seen as weak, so he convinced people that he was improving and took precautions to not be seen using his wheelchair.