President Roosevelt touched the American soul, the singular, working, American soul. Through his fireside chats, which were now broadcasted on the national radio, the American people felt like they were having a conversation with the president. He was able to reach out to the people and talk to them, almost like friends having a conversation.
Before the 1936 election, tensions were lower than ever. In all public addresses, Roosevelt addressed his Republican opponent, Alf Landon, as "my opponent" rather than by his name, just to not have any competition in his speeches. The 1936 election was a clean sweep, and Roosevelt won the second-most electoral votes ever (second only to Reagan, which got 2 more votes than him), with the final count being 523 to 8.
In 1940, President Roosevelt ran again and won, becoming the first president ever to be elected to more than two terms. Although it is a common misconception that it was unconstitutional to be elected more than twice, this was a precedent set by George Washington and was only put into law in 1951, with the 22nd Amendment.
A shocking fact to most people who are not familiar with the time period is that President Roosevelt was handicapped and could not walk on his own. In over 95% of photos from his presidency, Roosevelt was either in a chair or holding on to a railing or someone. Roosevelt made it clear to the press that he appreciated their work, and decided to be on their side rather than be an adversary, which gave them no reason to expose his disability.
Finally, in 1944, after a couple years of U.S. fighting in World War II and the end in sight, President Roosevelt was re-elected to a fourth term. He became the first president ever to win four elections, but just months later, tragedy struck. President Roosevelt suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and fell unconscious. After many attempts to save him, Roosevelt eventually passed away two hours later, but the legacy of his New Deal, charming character, and his historical term count, lives on today.
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| 1936 Presidential Election |
Sources:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/franklin-d-roosevelt/
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/fireside-chats
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_United_States_presidential_election
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-dies
This article gives deeper understanding to the scope and impact of FDR. As you stated above, President Roosevelt was the only handicapped president in history. He was diagnosed with polio at the age of 39, 12 years before he was elected as President. It is believed that he caught the virus at a Boy Scout Camp, but nobody knows were exactly he contracted the virus. After he was first diagnosed with polio, FDR removed himself from politics to focus on his rehabilitation and well being. After 7 years, Roosevelt ran and became the governor of New York and subsequently the 4 term President that we all know him for today.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.fdrlibrary.org/polio
This blog gave me a deeper understanding. I was never aware of his 3rd and almost 4th term which helps me better understand his immense popularity which was never seen before. This was partially because he addressed many issues that were highlighted during the Great Depression, specifically the reliance on a few greed men controlling our economy. As a reaction to this, as well as emerging understandings of macroeconomics he heightened government spending to increase jobs and therefore strengthen the economy of the United States.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned, Roosevelt was the only handicapped president, but managed to hide his physical disability from the public. This is quite interesting because with the media in general being completely different nowadays than back then, it is very unlikely a recent or future president would be able to pull off the same deception.
ReplyDeleteI think this blog is very well written because it gives us a lot of insight into what the people thought of Roosevelt. In this blog, you mention the firesides chats which during his Presidency were a very effective way of transmitting his ideas to the public. FDR believed that his administrations success depended on a favorable dialogue with the general public. With new technology developed, Roosevelt was able to hold these chats over the radio so millions of Americans could hear him. By having these chats over the radio, he was able to explain his policies and quell rumors. This was especially important during the time of the Depression so that he could have the people's support and communicate self-assurance during a time of chaos and despair.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireside_chats
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