ELECTING FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
Although the Republicans renom-
inated President Hoover as their candidate, they recognized he had little chance
of winning. Too many Americans blamed Hoover for doing too little about the
depression and wanted a new president. The Democrats pinned their hopes on
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, known popularly as FDR, the two-term governor
of New York and a distant cousin of former president Theodore Roosevelt.
As governor, FDR had proved to be an effective, reform-minded leader, work-
ing to combat the problems of unemployment and poverty. Unlike Hoover,
Roosevelt possessed a “can-do” attitude and projected an air of friendliness and
confidence that attracted voters.
Indeed, Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory, capturing nearly 23 million
votes to Hoover’s nearly 16 million. In the Senate, Democrats claimed a nearly
two-thirds majority. In the House, they won almost three-fourths of the seats,
their greatest victory since before the Civil War.
WAITING FOR ROOSEVELT TO TAKE OVER
Four months would elapse between
Roosevelt’s victory in the November election and his inauguration as president in
March 1933. The 20th Amendment, which moved presidential inaugurations to
January, was not ratified until
February 1933 and did not apply
to the 1932 election.
FDR was not idle during
this waiting period, however. He
worked with his team of care-
fully picked advisers—a select
group of professors, lawyers,
and journalists that came to be
known as the “Brain Trust.”
Roosevelt began to formulate a
set of policies for his new
administration. This program,
designed to alleviate the prob-
lems of the Great Depression,
became known as the New
Deal, a phrase taken from a
campaign speech in which
Roosevelt had promised “a new
deal for the American people.”
New Deal policies focused on
three general goals: relief for the
needy, economic recovery, and
financial reform.
THE HUNDRED DAYS
On tak-
ing office, the Roosevelt admin-
istration launched a period of
intense activity known as the
Hundred Days, lasting from
March 9 to June 16, 1933.
During this period, Congress
passed more than 15 major
pieces of New Deal legislation.
These laws, and others that fol-
lowed, significantly expanded
the federal government’s role in
the nation’s economy.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
1882–1945
Born into an old, wealthy New
Yor k family, Fr a n k l in Delano
Roosevelt entered politics as
a state senator in 1910 and
later became assistant secre-
tary of the navy. In 1921, he
was stricken with polio and
became partially paralyzed
from the waist down. He
struggled to regain the use of
his legs, and he eventually
learned to stand with the help
of leg braces.
Roosevelt became governor
of New York in 1928, and
because he “would not allow
bodily disability to defeat his
will,” he went on to the White
House in 1933. Always inter-
ested in people, Roosevelt
gained greater compassion
for others as a result of his
own physical disability.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
1884–1962
A niece of Theodore Roosevelt
and a distant cousin of her
husband, Franklin, Eleanor
Roosevelt lost her parents at
an early age. She was raised
by a strict grandmother.
As first lady, she often urged
the president to take stands
on controversial issues. A pop-
ular public speaker, Eleanor
was particularly interested in
child welfare, housing reform,
and equal rights for women
and minorities. In presenting a
booklet on human rights to the
United Nations in 1958, she
said, “Where, after all, do
human rights begin? . . . [In]
the world of the individual per-
son: the neighborhood . . . the
school . . . the factory, farm or
office where he works.”
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
A
Summarizing
What plans
did Roosevelt
make in the four
months while he
waited to take
office?
A. Answer He
began to formu-
late a set of
policies to alle-
viate the prob-
lems of the
Depression.
