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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.