VOICE ONE:
I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we
tell about one of the greatest American presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
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VOICE ONE:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the most influential presidents in
American history. He was elected president four times. He served more than
twelve years, longer than any other president. He led the nation through its
worst economic crisis, and through one of its worst wars.
Franklin Roosevelt was first elected president in nineteen thirty-two. As the
Democratic candidate, he defeated President Herbert Hoover. Americans were
suffering through a terrible economic depression. About twenty-five percent of
American workers had lost their jobs. They had no money. They had no hope.
They waited in long lines to receive free food.
Americans did not know if the new president could end the economic crisis.
VOICE TWO:
The new president, Franklin Roosevelt, was fifty-one years old. His family
name was well known to the American public. Theodore Roosevelt, a distant
relation, had been president of the United States thirty years before.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in eighteen eighty-two to a rich and
important family in Hyde Park, New York. He was the only child of James and
Sara Roosevelt. His mother tried to control Franklin's life as long as she
lived. His father made sure his son had the best of everything. But he also
taught Franklin that being rich brought with it the responsibility of helping
people who were not so lucky.
VOICE ONE:
Franklin married Eleanor Roosevelt in nineteen-oh-five. They were distant
relations. In the next eleven years, they had six children.
In nineteen ten, Mister Roosevelt was elected to the New York state
legislature. He showed he had great political skills as a state senator. His
next job was in the federal government as assistant secretary of the navy
under President Woodrow Wilson. Then in nineteen twenty, he was the Democratic
Party's unsuccessful candidate for vice president.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen twenty-one, Franklin Roosevelt suffered a personal tragedy. He was
with his family at their summer home. He began feeling very tired. Then he
felt severe pain in his back and legs. He could not move. For weeks, he was
forced to lie on his back.
His doctors discovered that he was a victim of the disabling disease polio. He
lost the use of his legs. Franklin Roosevelt was thirty-nine years old. He had
always been an active man who loved sports. But now he would never walk again
without help.
VOICE ONE:
Many Americans thought the sickness would end Franklin Roosevelt's political
dreams. But they were wrong. He showed an inner strength that people
respected. He was elected governor of New York state in nineteen twenty-eight
and re-elected two years later. Franklin Roosevelt always appeared strong and
friendly in public. He loved to laugh and enjoy life. But his friendly face
hid a strong will. Throughout his life, Mister Roosevelt worked hard to
improve life for the common man. He believed government had the power and
responsibility to improve the lives of its citizens.
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VOICE TWO:
That music, "Happy Days Are Here Again," was played during Franklin
Roosevelt's presidential campaign in nineteen thirty-two. A large majority of
voters decided that maybe he could make that song come true. On Inauguration
Day in nineteen thirty-three, the nation waited to hear what the new president
would say about the economic future of their country. This is what he said:
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT: “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will
revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
VOICE ONE:
President Roosevelt promised to end the Depression. He promised to put
Americans back to work. He said the federal government would take an active
part in creating jobs. During the next three months, he led Congress in
passing more major new programs than the nation had seen for many years.
President Roosevelt called his reform program "The New Deal."
These are some of the programs created during this time: A National Recovery
Administration allowed companies to cooperate to increase production. A Works
Progress Administration provided jobs for unemployed workers. A Civilian
Conservation Corps put young men to work protecting the nation's natural
resources. The Tennessee Valley Authority built dams, cleared rivers, expanded
forests and provided electricity in the southeastern part of the country.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen thirty-five, Congress passed two laws that would change the lives
of working Americans for years to come. The National Labor Relations Act
strengthened the rights of workers and gave more power to labor unions. The
Social Security Act created a federal system to provide money for workers
after they retired.
Franklin Roosevelt became one of the most loved and most hated presidents in
the history of the country. The majority of Americans believed he was trying
to save the country and protect common people. Opponents charged he was giving
the federal government too much power and destroying private businesses.
VOICE ONE:
Franklin Roosevelt tried to establish a close relationship with the American
people. He became known by the first letters of his full name -- FDR. He
talked to the American people by radio to explain what actions were being
taken and what he planned for the future. These radio broadcasts helped him
gain widespread support for his programs.
President Roosevelt ran for re-election in nineteen thirty-six. He defeated
the Republican candidate Alfred Landon by one of the largest majorities in the
nation's history.
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VOICE TWO:
In the late nineteen thirties, another crisis was growing more serious every
day. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party in Germany threatened central Europe.
Japanese forces carried out new aggression in Asia and the Pacific area. FDR
warned Americans that a victory by these forces would threaten democracy
everywhere in the world.
World War Two began in nineteen thirty-nine when Germany invaded Poland.
Americans hoped Britain, France and the other Allied powers would defeat Nazi
Germany and Fascist Italy. Yet Congress passed a law declaring the United
States would remain neutral.
VOICE ONE:
FDR was re-elected in nineteen forty. He was the only president to win a third
term in the White House. On December seventh, nineteen forty-one, Japanese
planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United
States was forced to enter the war. President Roosevelt cooperated closely
with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the war effort. He discussed
war efforts with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
VOICE TWO:
FDR was re-elected president for the fourth time in nineteen forty-four. Most
Americans believed the country should not change its leader in the middle of a
war. When he was sworn in, President Roosevelt's speech lasted only six
minutes. He declared that America had learned "that we cannot live alone at
peace, that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far
away."
President Roosevelt did not live to see the victory of the Allies and the end
of World War Two. He died less than three months later, on April twelfth,
nineteen forty-five, in Warm Springs, Georgia.
VOICE ONE:
Winston Churchill wrote about the day he heard the news of the death of his
close friend: "I felt as if I had been struck with a physical blow. My
relations with this shining man had played so large a part in the long,
terrible years we had worked together. Now that had come to an end. And I was
overpowered by a sense of deep and permanent loss." Millions of people around
the world joined Winston Churchill in mourning the death of America's thirty-
second president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I
’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week when we tell about Franklin
Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, on People in America in VOA Special
English.
