Steven Tran
Genevieve Zuidervaart
English 99
12/10/14
Day of Infamy
Who is a strong man who overcame illness and disability to lead a nation through war? Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) writer of the speech “Pearl Harbor Address” and the President of the United States of America declared war on Japan in December 8, 1941 after “December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy” (Roosevelt). A speech analysis on Franklin D. Roosevelt reveals that through his dialogue and actions, his trait - confident, strong, and intelligent emerge. “Franklin Delano Roosevelt will remain a historical figure to be studied and respected by many generations to come” (National Archives Trust Fund Board 8 (NATFB)).
FDR was born an only child from a wealthy family on January 30, 1882 in New York. He was taught at home until the age of 14. He later went to Harvard to study as a lawyer. At the same time, he went into a relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, and the two became engaged on November 22, 1903. After his law career, Roosevelt entered politics as a Democrat. His well-known relative, Teddy, and many others were Republicans. Roosevelt quickly climbed the Democratic ranks to become the assistant secretary of the Navy during World War I. In 1920, he ran as vice president on the unsuccessful Democratic ticket. After his vice presidential defeat, Roosevelt came across what was diagnosed as Polio in 1921 while on vacation in Canada. He was paralyzed from the waist down ever since. Thousands of
When presenting the question of who deserves the title of best President of the United States, one would not be surprised to find Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, and FDR as the frontrunners. While each of these presidents was undisputedly successful and groundbreaking in their own right, all fall short to America’s first modern president- Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, assuming office at the turn of the century, redefined and reimagined the role of the president and the executive officialdom. By expanding the powers of the presidency, Roosevelt was able to move the country forward in both the international arena and on the home front. Roosevelt’s vast success can greatly be attributed to his charisma, character, and persuasion skills. He understood that the art of governing was truly the power to persuade, and he mastered the trade. Roosevelt not only improved life domestically as he fought against inequality and corrupt business practices, but he also achieved his goal of gaining influence abroad, thus earning the United States a powerful platform on the global stage. Roosevelt’s natural leadership, charm, bravery, and compassion combined with his thorough understanding of the country’s needs, both for the individual and for the long-term well being of the country, made him the most successful president in United States history.
He went to Groton at fourteen years old granted he gradated doing very well academically, he went his whole four years there as a lonely outsider. He entered Harvard in 1900 with a new outlook look on life and tried hard to make friends. Roosevelt found himself being attracted to his distant cousin Eleanor Roosevelt while attending Harvard. In 1905 he married Eleanor and they together had six children. Roosevelt attended Columbia Law School, although he did not meet all the requirements he passed his bar exams and started practicing law in New York. Later, Franklin had an affair with his wife’s social secretary Lucy Mercer. Eleanor discovered their relationship in 1918 by finding letters between the two of them. Roosevelt served eight years as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1910 in New York. He was also governor of New York in 1928 and again in 1930. Roosevelt was paralyzed in both legs due to him having polio in 1921 ceasing him to be able to enjoy his favorite activities. Roosevelt would try to disguise his paralysis in public by wearing heavy leg braces to help him walk. In 1932 he was nominated for president with his opponent being Herbert Hoover. Winning the election he promised that he would conduct the war against the depression. When winning presidency Roosevelt took on an immense amount of stress all at once. The world was in an incredible crisis due to the economy depression. Roosevelt
He worked with and through his military advisors… and took an active role in choosing field commanders and in making decisions regarding wartime strategy” (FDR Presidential Library and Museum 3). A great leader should not only be able to take care of his country’s financial and domestic problems on the home front, he should be able to lead his country to victory during wartime. Roosevelt was obviously successful in both of these areas. As a result of his great leadership, Roosevelt is believed as the greatest president of all time.
president to be elected four times, Franklin D. Roosevelt led a strong presidency and overcame multiple challenges throughout his terms. The banking crisis in which the banking sector had undergone a meltdown leading up to the closure of approximately 11,000 banks was the immediate challenge Roosevelt encountered after his inauguration on March 4, 1933. Widespread fear and panic was caused among the people who had lost their life savings overnight. Another large challenge that Roosevelt faced was the lost faith of the people. The American population had lost total faith in government and were faced with questions based on its capacity to make sound economic and financial decisions. At this point he had to create a means of installing the lost confidence of the people that was caused mainly by the depression. Through President Roosevelt's New Deal, the people were reassured that everything was going to be okay and even though the political, social, and economic situation was desperate, he was going to continue to protect them in all means necessary. Prior to his election, Roosevelt was vacationing in Canada and was diagnosed as having contracted polio. Originally it was difficult for him to accept that he was permanently paralyzed, so he tried multiple therapies to enhance his performance and did almost anything to find a cure. Despite all of his hard work and dedication, he never regained the use of his legs. Over the next several years, he worked to improve his physical and political image. He did this by only using a wheelchair when he was not in public and by walking short distances with braces on his legs. He worked through his illness and never let it affect the way he ran the country; always putting his people before himself. Despite all of the roadblocks that Franklin D. Roosevelt may have encountered, he forged through and accomplished many amazing
When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to his first term as president of the United States in 1932, America was in a severe depression. When Franklin Roosevelt took office in March of 1933, President Hoover handed the problems of the Great Depression over to Roosevelt. Upon taking office, Franklin Roosevelt issued a bank holiday which forced all banks to close from March 6 to March 10 while he met with Congress to pass the Emergency Banking Act to allow banks with enough money to reopen and for the Federal Government to help the banks that did not have enough money (A Bank). This act was a prerequisite to many other programs that would develop under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. Under
When President Hoover entered office in 1929, stock market prices were at all time highs and the American economy prospered. Suddenly, in October of 1929, the stock market crashed and thousands of Americans lost their entire life savings. The crash sparked the most horrific and devastating economic crisis of all time. In the tedious years to follow, records suggest that stock prices fell “about 80% from their highs in the late 1920s” (Stock Market Crash). Soon after Black Tuesday, the United States economy crumbled to pieces. Many people became unemployed and homeless. Through the course of a decade, Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt tried and failed to bring an end to the Great Depression with their own domestic policies and political ideals. Before Hoover’s election, federal administrators praised his humanitarian spirit. When Hoover became president, he fell short of his glowing reputation and failed to recognize the severity of the situation America was facing. The nation felt out of touch with their commander-in-chief and in the presidential election of 1932, Hoover was squarely defeated by his popular Democratic opponent, Franklin Delano Roosevelt who promised a “New Deal” to the suffering American people. The Great Depression was a long and difficult time for many Americans ended only by the beginning of World War II. Two utterly different presidents guided America through the worst financial crisis ever seen with two different policies, two
My president’s name is Theodore Roosevelt. His nickname is Teddy. Did you know the Teddy Bear was named after him? President Roosevelt was in office from September 14, 1901 until March 4, 1909. He was the 26th president of the United States. President Roosevelt was in the Republican Progressive Party.
When thinking about the numerous, dynamic leaders that America has had over the course of the nation’s history, it can become troublesome to fairly compare these respective heads of state. Though each American president has unquestionably left their own unique legacy from their time in office, when comparing leaders from similar times, certain consistencies can present themselves. While the Presidency is of course beholden to constructs of political normativity subjective to the era they presided in, by choosing two POTUS’ from the same era, we can more adequately synthesize comparable actions and philosophies between the two. To this end, we will analyze the terms of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, cutting through narratives of their tenures to truly delineate their comparability. Through a comprehensive analysis of these two leaders on the subjects of foreign policy, we begin to parse out many similarities and differences between these two early 20th century leaders.
Roosevelt grew up in a wealthy New York family, and was offered every opportunity of success. He took advantage of this and became educated at Harvard College and Columbia Law School; from here, he became an accomplished a successful career as a lawyer and politician. In August of 1921, he contracted Polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. Due to his extreme optimism that he gained throughout his privileged life, he used his Polio to this to his advantage when he ran for President by showing that he was part of a minority, the disabled, he became more relatable to the general public. He was seen as a man of action and without fear. This mentality was demonstrated during his inaugural address when he stated that “The
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the fortieth president of the United States of America. He was a member of the Republican party. He served two terms as the president. He was shot in attempted assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. These are the simple facts that most everybody knows. But what was his personal life like? Did he ever have a family? Was he always a politician, or more specifically was he always a member of the Republican party? These are the questions that not everybody knows the answers to.
Theodore Roosevelt is the twenty-sixth president of the United States. He inherits the presidency due to the assassination of the former president, William Mckinley. One thing that stood out the most about President Roosevelt was that he had quite the overwhelming presence. To capture how people felt in his presence, Edmund Morris, the author of “Currents of the Progressive Era: Theodore Roosevelt, President,” (a chapter from the book entitled Portrait of America) writes that “people actually tingled in his company” and that “there was something sensually stimulating about him.” (Morris 95) . Something about his personality drew people to him. This is especially seen in the chapter when Morris expresses this view by including a comment Woodrow Wilson made about Roosevelt stating that “there is a sweetness about him that is very compelling.” (Morris 95). Roosevelt had a personality that was truly infectious to anyone nearby.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is commonly thought of as a liberal and President Herbert C. Hoover as a conservative. To what extent are there characterizations valid?
Roosevelt was born in New York City, New York on October 11, 1884. As a child, she was shy. Also during her young age, she lost her mother in 1892 and her father died two years later. In her teens, Roosevelt attended a school in England, which caused her to be less shy. She then later married Franklin D. Roosevelt, her distant cousin. The Roosevelts had six children, but three of her children died as infants. During WWII, Roosevelt became active in public services and also worked for American Red Cross. E. Roosevelt helper F. Roosevelt with his political career after he suffered a polio attack. After she started helping her husband with his political career, people started to realize that the First Lady is important. Roosevelt gave press conferences
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ("TheodoreRoosevelt."BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2014. 17 November2014.http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/theodorero103482.html ) The reason why this quote relates to what he did is he did not stop and quit , although the catastrophes . He still managed to keep going and it is saying that its easier to at least try in success .Although life was tuff he went very far in the political life and down in history. So the point is to never give up no matter what. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was an important figure in American history because he was the youngest President in the history of the U.S. , he was a strong leader in the congress. He also won a Nobel Peace Prize for drafting an agreement in the Russo-Japanese War.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was a man of unusual charm and great optimism, which he was able to communicate to others. He had a broad smile and was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the nation through its darkest moments during crisis like the Great Depression and World War II. He became one of the most beloved of U.S. presidents for four terms in office. But beneath his outward friendliness was an inner reserve and an iron will. His admirers emphasized the way in which he met the nation's problems. They praised him for insisting that the federal government must help the underprivileged and that the United States must share in the responsibility for preserving world