University of Virginia Miller Center
University of Virginia Miller Center
1882 - 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I call for effort, courage, sacrifice, devotion. Granting the love of freedom, all of these are possible. And the love of freedom is still fierce and steady in the nation today.“Stab in the Back” Speech
Overview
Faced with the Great Depression and World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt, nicknamed “FDR,” guided America through its greatest domestic crisis, with the exception of the Civil War, and its greatest foreign crisis. His presidency—which spanned twelve years—was unparalleled, not only in length but in scope. FDR took office with the country mired in a horrible and debilitating economic depression that not only sapped its material wealth and spiritual strength, but cast a pall over its future. Roosevelt's combination of confidence, optimism, and political savvy—all of which came together in the experimental economic and social programs of the "New Deal"—helped bring about the beginnings of a national recovery.
Life In Depth Essays
- Life in Brief
- Life Before the Presidency
- Campaigns and Elections
- Domestic Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Death of the President
- Family Life
- The American Franchise
- Impact and Legacy
Fast Facts
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Hyde Park, New York
Harvard College (graduated 1903), Columbia Law School
Episcopalian
Public Official, Lawyer
Democrat
“FDR”
March 17, 1905, to Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
Anna Eleanor (1906–1975), James (1907–1991), Franklin Delano Jr. (1909), Elliott (1910–1990), Franklin Delano Jr. (1914–1988), John Aspinwall (1916–1981)
32
Hyde Park, New York
Chicago Style
Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Accessed May 14, 2024. https://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt.
Professor Emeritus of History
William E. Leuchtenburg
Professor Leuchtenburg is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Featured Insights
Speeches
View His Speeches
March 4, 1933: First Inaugural Address
March 9, 1937: Fireside Chat 9: On "Court-Packing"
December 8, 1941: Address to Congress Requesting a Declaration of War
Secret White House Tapes
View all Secret White House Tapes
Press Conference 674
Office Conversation with A. Philip Randolph
Telephone Conversation with Cordell Hull
Featured Video
Play Video
2014-10-22
Why America can’t have (and doesn’t want) another great president
Aaron David Millertakes a journey through presidential history, helping us understand how greatness in the presidency was achieved, why it’s gone, and how we can better come to appreciate the presidents we have rather than be consumed with the ones we want
