Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945) was affectionately known as "FDR" and served as the thirty-second United States President from 1933 until his death. He was elected to a record four terms in office, a Democrat who governed during a time of worldwide depression and global warfare in the mid-twentieth century. He defined American liberalism with the New Deal, spearheading widespread legislation and government spending through entitlement programs which redefined American politics. The New Deal coalition united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, African Americans, and rural white Southerners in support of the Democratic party. Though the role of government has been reduced by subsequent conservative administrations, Roosevelt's legacy programs include Social Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wagner Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. During World War II, Roosevelt signed the indelibly damaging executive order to inter all Japanese Americans, resulting in loss of their dignity, property and businesses.
You might also enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway's 1923 poem, Roosevelt.
Visit American Literature's American History and the African American Library for other important historical documents and figures which helped shape America.
First Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
State of the Union Address, 1944
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