Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born into a prominent New York family with Democratic roots and entered politics early, winning election to the New York State Senate in 1910 at age 28. He gained attention by opposing Tammany Hall's influence and later served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1920, advocating for naval expansion during World War I. In 1920, he ran as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee but lost to Warren G. Harding. In 1921, at age 39, Roosevelt contracted polio, which paralyzed his legs, forcing him to use a wheelchair in private while maintaining a public image of vigor. He underwent extensive rehabilitation and returned to politics as Governor of New York in 1928, winning reelection in 1930 by a landslide. As governor, he implemented relief programs for the worsening Great Depression, including tax relief for farmers, public utilities reforms, and the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, which aided 10% of New York's families. Nominated for president in 1932, Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover amid economic collapse, taking office in March 1933 with banks failing and 13 million unemployed. His first 'Hundred Days' launched the New Deal, a series of experimental reforms for relief, recovery, and reform. Reelected in 1936, 1940, and 1944—the latter with Harry S. Truman as vice president—FDR shifted focus to World War II after Pearl Harbor in 1941, aiding allies via Lend-Lease and forging alliances at conferences like Casablanca. He helped establish the United Nations framework before dying of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945, just months before victory.