Franklin D. Roosevelt the 32nd POTUS was born on this day 1882.

Ten Notes On Franklin Roosevelt

1. Franklin Roosevelt was 6’1″ blue eyes and dark hair. He was of Dutch ancestry. His middle name Delano was his mother’s maiden name. He graduated from Harvard University, class of 1903.

2. President Franklin Roosevelt is the only POTUS to serve more than two terms. There was no term limits but everyone kind of followed the two term tradition set up by #1 George Washington. FDR broke that tradition. After FDR they set a 2 term limit on the POTUS.  That has probably limited a few presidents. Not saying that they would have ran for a third term but I think one the Republican side Ike and Ronaldus Magnus could have won third terms and on the Democrat side William Jefferson Clinton could have won again. I do not think the other two term POTUS since the term limits George W. Bush would have won in 2008 if he could have run.

3. FDR is the first POTUS whose mother was eligible to vote for him. He was also the first POTUS to appear on television. Not that many people had televisions at the time though. He was also the first POTUS to appear at a nominating convention and the first president-elect to survive an assassination attempt. He was the last POTUS to be inaugurated in March and the first to be inaugurated in January-his second term is when they changed the time a POTUS was inaugurated from March to January.

4. FDR appointed eight Supreme Court justices which is more than any other president save George Washington who appointed ten.

5. In August 1921 FDR’s life changed forever. He was at the family summer home in Campobello, New Brunswick. He went for a swim one day. That afternoon he had a high fever and by the end of the day was paralyzed from the waist down. He had polio. FDR was from a wealthy family. Two things were generally thought now by both friends and opponents. His political career was over and he probably wouldn’t live very long.  Most expected him to live the life of an invalid. He was well off, money wouldn’t be a problem. He would live out the rest of his days and never be heard from again. Also up until this point in time FDR-not quite 40 was looked at as likeable and friendly but a lightweight. Polio changed him in many ways. He didn’t give up. He spent the 1920’s he worked hard at his rehabilitation. He built a spa in Warm Springs, Georgia. The curative waters there he thought would aid his rehabilitation. He always thought in those years that he would be able to walk again without crutches. Something the polio also did was change the character of the man. He was a young man of wealth who had never been denied anything he wanted. He now had more empathy for others. He would also never allow any self-pity to show. As his wife Eleanor later stated “Anyone who has gone through a great suffering is bound to have a greater sympathy and understanding of the problems of mankind.”

6. FDR’s career before he was POTUS- a member of the New York State Senate from 1911-1912. He was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy under POTUS Woodrow Wilson from 1913-1920. He was the Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1920. The Democrat ticket led by James Cox lost but FDR received a lost of national exposure. During the 1920’s he was dealing with polio. In 1929 he made his unlikely political comeback  winning the election as Governor of New York. All along he was following his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt[ Eleanor’s uncle} steps to the White House. The main difference TR was a Republican, FDR a Democrat. In 1932 FDR beat incumbant President Hoover like a rented mule and was elected 32nd POTUS.

7. They say FDR was hard to really know, to read. Someone would come into the White House and after spending time with FDR would leave convinced that FDR was in total agreement with him on an issue then be startled to see him come out opposite on the issue. In reading about him he seemed to me a bit like President Ronaldus Magnus. People said about both that very few people really knew them.

8. Over the years growing up and into my adulthood when talking to grandparents, older relatives, older folks who had been around during the Great Depression and during FDR’s years as president there was no doubt that FDR had a major impact on them. FDR was still their president. I’d say 90% of the older people I have talked to who were around when FDR was POTUS that I had talked to had an overwhelmingly positive attitude of him. When they spoke of FDR you knew better than to disagree with them about it, it would just seem rude to speak ill of him after you heard them go on about the man.

9. I think the measures he took during The Great Depression could be debated forever. Maybe on his birthday next  year I will write on my ideas about that but there is no question in my mind that FDR was a great leader who instilled confidence in the people. He was a great wartime leader. He was the right man in the White House when it came to leading during WWII. He also made a great decision going into his last election dumping Henry Wallace as his Vice-President and replacing him with Harry Truman. From all I’ve read it was dumb luck. FDR was in failing health and when the Democratic Party braintrust put forth Truman, FDR went with it. I think at the time there were people who thought FDR was going to live and be POTUS forever but looking at pictures from the last year of his life it seems clear that there was no way this man was going to make it another 4 years.

10. I haven’t seen an historian who has ranked FDR among the greatest of presidents. Most lists I’ve seen have him ranked right behind Lincoln and Washington. I think even his harshest critics would have to agree even if they wouldn’t rank him high on the list- that he was one of the most significant presidents. Some POTUS have come and gone and they made little impact on the country. For good or ill, FDR made a huge impact on the country that is still being felt and debated.