History UsefulNotes / FranklinDRoosevelt

Roosevelt is often considered one of the greatest American presidents, right up there with George Washington and Abe Lincoln, though he's criticized for his internment of Japanese Americans (yes, American citizens) and his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. It also helps that he served twice as long as other presidents, ensuring that when WWII rolled around and ended the Great Depression, he would get plenty of credit, and also that despite his unprecedented winning streak with the Electoral College he intended to retire at the end of the war, before that "[[HeadacheOfDoom terrific pain in the back of [his] head]]" forced him out about a month earlier than he had planned. He remains not only the only sitting US president to die of {{retirony}}, but also the only sitting president to become a casualty of war (if away from the battlefield); as the ''United News'' newsreel "Japan Surrenders" would put it later in the year, "Years of brave responsibility took their toll. A grateful world honors him today."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. The tenth president from the Democratic Party, he was also the longest-tenured president in American history, serving three full terms and being just over a month into a fourth at the time of his death. Roosevelt was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for his Vice President, UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman, following his death in office. No other president before him had even won a third term, and no president since has challenged--or will, thanks to the 22nd Amendment, be ''able'' to challenge--his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of said amendment being repealed).

He is often considered one of the greatest American presidents, right up there with George Washington and Abe Lincoln, though he's criticized for his internment of Japanese Americans (yes, American citizens) and his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. It also helps that he served twice as long as other presidents, ensuring that when WWII rolled around and ended the Great Depression, he would get plenty of credit, and also that despite his unprecedented winning streak with the Electoral College he intended to retire at the end of the war, before that "[[HeadacheOfDoom terrific pain in the back of [his] head]]" forced him out about a month earlier than he had planned. He remains not only the only sitting President to die of {{retirony}}, but also the only sitting President to become an official casualty of war (as ''United News'' newsreel "Japan Surrenders" put it later in the year, "Years of brave responsibility took their toll. A grateful world honors him today.").

Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents. In fact, his partial debilitation had silver linings: he was facing serious political scandal about undercover Military Police agents entrapping homosexuals in the Navy through oral sex and no one wanted to then press too hard to a person so seriously ill. More importantly Franklin developed a considerable empathy for people enduring misfortune for no fault of their own, with occasional blindspots[[note]]Such as not supporting Federal anti-lynching bills because he felt there was not enough political support when he had to get broader legislation passed, giving in to wartime racist hysteria and setting up internment for Japanese-Americans and not doing nearly enough to specifically interfere with UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust[[/note]], that would be sorely needed in the global hardships he would face as President. The fact that his wife, Eleanor, was a determined activist for the underdog, was a major influence on him as well, even if his continual two-timing with other women was an irritant that permanently cooled their marriage.

Roosevelt is, to date, the only physically-disabled President.[[note]](though UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was nearly there, having a hormonal disorder called Addison's disease, likely caused by an underlying lifelong autoimmune disorder, that left him weak, and a debilitating back injury that he got playing football in college and then exacerbated in the Navy). While FDR was susceptible to a lot of illnesses, likely including his paralytic one, due to being an isolated only child, ''pre''-paralysis he was far healthier than JFK, [[IllMan who'd had numerous hospitalizations and brushes with death]] by about the same age. Kennedy also took scrupulous care to hide his medical issues from the public, projecting an image of health and "vigor". The "bad back" was about all he admitted.[[/note]] In the summer of 1921, he became gravely ill a few weeks after he took his sons to the annual Boy Scout jamboree. He was diagnosed with polio but is now believed to have had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness Guillain–Barré syndrome]], due to his symptoms and the circumstances in which he got it. It took him until the end of the year to recover, but he remained permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He did his best to keep the extent of his illness secret from the public, insisting on being photographed from the waist up (to hide his wheelchair), standing with the surreptitious assistance of aides at public functions, and using his truly impressive upper body strength to hold himself up at podiums.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. The tenth president from the Democratic Party, he was also the longest-tenured president in American history, serving three full terms and being just over a month into a fourth at the time of his death. Roosevelt was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for his Vice President, UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman, following his death in office. No other president before him had even won a third term, and no president since has challenged -- or will, thanks to the 22nd Amendment, be ''able'' to challenge -- his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of said amendment being repealed).

Roosevelt was the only physically disabled President[[note]](though UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was nearly there, having a hormonal disorder called Addison's disease, likely caused by an underlying lifelong autoimmune disorder, that left him weak, and a debilitating back injury that he got playing football in college and then exacerbated in the Navy). While FDR was susceptible to a lot of illnesses, likely including his paralytic one, due to being an isolated only child, ''pre''-paralysis he was far healthier than JFK, [[IllMan who'd had numerous hospitalizations and brushes with death]] by about the same age. Kennedy also took scrupulous care to hide his medical issues from the public, projecting an image of health and "vigor". The "bad back" was about all he admitted.[[/note]] In the summer of 1921, he became gravely ill a few weeks after he took his sons to the annual Boy Scout jamboree. He was diagnosed with polio but is now believed to have had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness Guillain–Barré syndrome]], due to his symptoms and the circumstances in which he got it. It took him until the end of the year to recover, but he remained permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He did his best to keep the extent of his illness secret from the public, insisting on being photographed from the waist up (to hide his wheelchair), standing with the surreptitious assistance of aides at public functions, and using his truly impressive upper body strength to hold himself up at podiums.

Roosevelt led the country through TheGreatDepression and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and his domestic reforms and foreign policy accomplishments have forever changed the United States. By the end of his life, the United States of America became the premier world superpower, a position it maintains to this very day, and his policies in peace and war played no small part in bringing out that transformation. As a liberal, his presidency is credited to starting a shift in American politics, taking the Democratic Party to a more progressive left-wing direction, and in the process beginning a polarization that led to the Republican Party and the Democratic Party taking their modern positions.

[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fdr-chair1251310553.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:FDR in one of the few pictures of him in his wheelchair. [[HandicappedBadass Doesn't make him any less awesome]].]]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was also the longest-serving President in American history, serving three full terms and three months into a fourth when he died. He was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman, his Vice President, after his death in office. He was the tenth President from the Democratic Party. No other President had even won a third term, and thanks to the 22nd Amendment, no President since will be able to challenge his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of the 22nd being repealed).

* An episode of ''Western/Animation/RickAndMorty'''s Season 5 shows that FDR still lives under the White House... as a monstrous human-spider hybrid (the result of the polio vaccine and genetic experiments meant to let him walk again). Morty burns him to death while making a pun on the "Fireside Chats".

** Played in the film version by Edward Herrmann, who had previously portrayed him in the made-for-TV biopics ''Eleanor and Franklin'' and ''Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years''.

Roosevelt was the only physically disabled President[[note]](though UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was also pretty close to it having a hormonal disorder called Addison's disease that left him weak and a debilitating back injury that he got playing football in college and then exacerbated in the Navy).[[/note]] In the summer of 1921, he became gravely ill a few weeks after he took his sons to the annual Boy Scout jamboree. It took him until the end of the year to recover but was paralyzed from the waist down. He was diagnosed with polio but is now believed to have been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness Guillain–Barré syndrome]] due to his symptoms and the circumstances in which he got it. He did his best to keep the extent of his illness secret from the public, insisting on being photographed from the waist up (to hide his wheelchair), standing with the surreptitious assistance of aides at public functions, and using his truly impressive upper body strength to hold himself up at podiums.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was also the longest-serving President in American history, serving three full terms and three months into a fourth when he died. He was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for UsefulNotes/HarryTruman, his Vice President, after his death in office. He was the tenth President from the Democratic Party. No other President had even won a third term, and thanks to the 22nd Amendment, no President since will be able to challenge his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of the 22nd being repealed).

'''Franklin Delano Roosevelt''' (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was also the longest-serving President in American history, serving three full terms and three months into a fourth when he died. He was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for UsefulNotes/HarryTruman, his Vice President, after his death in office. He was the tenth President from the Democratic Party. No other President had even won a third term, and thanks to the 22nd Amendment, no President since will be able to challenge his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of the 22nd being repealed).

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fdr-chair1251310553.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:330:FDR in one of the few pictures of him in his wheelchair. [[HandicappedBadass Doesn't make him any less awesome]].]]-]

* One episode of Histeria! has FDR, Churchill, Stalin, and one of the kids from the show team up as the Freedom League against the Axis, represented by Mussolini, a short Japanese guy, and Satan Hitler.

Roosevelt was the only physically disabled President (though UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was also pretty close to it having a hormonal disorder called Addison's disease that left him weak and a debilitating back injury that he got playing football in college and then exacerbated in the Navy). In the summer of 1921, he became gravely ill a few weeks after he took his sons to the annual Boy Scout jamboree. It took him until the end of the year to recover but was paralyzed from the waist down. He was diagnosed with polio but is now believed to have been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness Guillain–Barré syndrome]] due to his symptoms and the circumstances in which he got it. He did his best to keep the extent of his illness secret from the public, insisting on being photographed from the waist up (to hide his wheelchair), standing with the surreptitious assistance of aides at public functions, and using his truly impressive upper body strength to hold himself up at podiums.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials of FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was also the longest-serving President in American history, serving three full terms and three months into a fourth when he died. He was President from [[TheThirties 1933]] to [[TheForties 1945]], succeeding UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and making way for UsefulNotes/HarryTruman, his Vice President, after his death in office. He was the tenth President from the Democratic Party. No other President had even won a third term, and thanks to the 22nd Amendment, no President since will be able to challenge his length of service (barring the ''very'' unlikely event of the 22nd being repealed).

* Shows up as America's boss in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia''...although his face is hardly seen.

To further his goals, Roosevelt revolutionized the office's communication with the public with the aid of technology. Most famously, instead of the typical bellowing speeches to a mass audience of old before microphones, he would have a series of more conversational radio addresses called the "Fireside Chats." With that relatively soft-spoken approach, Roosevelt proved capable of winning over many to his policies, such as his first one that persuaded much of the public to take money they were hoarding under their mattresses after the wave of bank failures to put it back into those financial institutions after the national "banking holiday" which banks were closed for days to allow for sufficient funds and organizational reforms could be put in place to restore confidence in them.

Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents. In fact, his partial debilitation had silver linings: he was facing serious political scandal about undercover Military Police agents entrapping homosexuals in the Navy through oral sex and no one wanted to then press too hard to a person so seriously ill. More importantly Franklin developed a considerable empathy for people enduring misfortune for no fault of their own, with occasional blindspots[[note]]Such as not supporting Federal anti-lynching bills because he felt there was not enough political support when he had to get broader legislation passed, giving in to wartime racist hysteria and setting up internment for Japanese-Americans and doing nearly enough to specifically interfere with UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust[[/note]], that would be sorely needed in the global hardships he would face as President. The fact that his wife, Eleanor, was a determined activist for the underdog, was a major influence on him as well, even if his continual two-timing with other women was an irritant that permanently cooled their marriage.

Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents. In fact, his partial debilitation had silver linings: he was facing serious political scandal about undercover Military Police agents entrapping homosexuals in the Navy through oral sex and no one wanted to then press too hard to a person so seriously ill. More importantly Franklin developed a considerable empathy for people enduring misfortune for no fault of their own, with occasional blindspots, that would be sorely needed in the global hardships he would face as President. The fact that his wife, Eleanor, was a determined activist for the underdog, was a major influence on him as well, even if his continual two-timing with other women was an irritant that permanently cooled their marriage.

Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents. In fact, his partial debilitation had silver linings: he was facing serious political scandal about undercover Military Police agents entrapping homosexuals in the Navy through oral sex and no one wanted to then press too hard to a person so seriously ill. More importantly Franklin developed a considerable empathy for people enduring misfortune for no fault of their own, with occasional blindspots, that would be sorely needed in the global hardships he would face as President.

Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents. In fact, his partial debilitation had silver linings: he was facing serious political scandal about undercover MPs entrapping homosexuals in the Navy and no one wanted to then press too hard to a person so seriously ill. More importantly Franklin developed a considerable empathy for people enduring misfortune for no fault of their own, with occasional blindspots, that would be sorely needed in the global hardships he would face as President.

Roosevelt was the only physically disabled President (though UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was also pretty close to it having a hormonal disorder called Addison's disease that left him weak and a debilitating back injury that he got playing football in college and then exacerbated in the Navy). In the summer of 1921, he became gravely ill a few weeks after he took his sons to the annual Boy Scout jamboree. It took him until the end of the year to recover but was paralyzed from the waist down. He was diagnosed with polio but is now believed to have been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness Guillain–Barré syndrome]] due to his symptoms and the circumstances in which he got it. He did his best to keep the extent of his illness secret from the public, insisting on being photographed from the waist up (to hide his wheelchair), standing with the surreptitious assistance of aides at public functions, and using his truly impressive upper body strength to hold himself up at podiums. Using leg braces and canes, he was able to stand and even walk short distances. He was also a fierce SlaveToPR, taking good care on how he presented himself to the public, and cultivating friendships with the press corps, who on account of CodeOfHonor, or because they bought into his platform, refrained from making his disability into an issue. Nonetheless, the fact that he was wheelchair bound was [[http://ideas.time.com/2013/07/12/the-myth-of-fdrs-secret-disability/ more or less an]] OpenSecret, with more than a few leaks to the public, and yet either because of the scale of TheGreatDepression, the lack of 24/7 News coverage in the pre-television era or his personal popularity, this never quite mattered to either him, the public or his political opponents.

He is often considered one of the greatest American presidents, right up there with George Washington and Abe Lincoln, though he's criticized for his internment of Japanese Americans (yes, American citizens) and his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. It also helps that he served twice as long as other presidents, ensuring that when WWII rolled around and ended the Great Depression, he would get plenty of credit, and also that despite his unprecedented winning streak with the Electoral College he intended to retire at the end of the war, before that "terrific pain in the back of [his] head" forced him out about a month earlier than he had planned. He remains not only the only sitting President to die of {{retirony}}, but also the only sitting President to become an official casualty of war (as ''United News'' newsreel "Japan Surrenders" put it later in the year, "Years of brave responsibility took their toll. A grateful world honors him today.").