Only In The Mind

1882 - 1945

Well, Franklin D. Roosevelt was no ordinary man, he was a fighter, and he turned his greatest obstacles into his greatest opportunities.

Born in Hyde Park, New York in 1882, the son of James and Sara Delano Roosevelt, Franklin was brought up in an aristocratic upper class family. He received most of his early education from his parents and private tutors.

In his teens he attended the prestigious Groton preparatory school in Massachusetts and then went on to graduate from Harvard University in only three years. He received his BA degree in history. During his college days at Harvard he fell in love with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, a fifth cousin and they were married in 1905. Their mutual uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt gave the bride away.

Roosevelt next studied law at Columbia University in New York and passed the bar exam in 1907. He left school without earning his degree and practiced law with a prominent New York City law firm for the next three years.

In 1910, he entered politics as a Democrat and was elected to the New York State Senate, which was traditionally a Republican home district. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which he served at for seven years.

While on summer vacation in 1921, personal tragedy struck Roosevelt, crippling him with polio. The illness deadened his legs but not his spirit. It also cemented his partnership with wife Eleanor whose own hidden strengths were soon revealed.

In 1928, Roosevelt successfully ran for Governor of New York and served two terms. He created strong programs there during a tough time for Americans, including, child labor laws, unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions which earned him national recognition.

During the Great Depression, in 1932, Roosevelt campaigned for the Democratic Presidential slot and won against Herbert Hoover by over seven million popular votes. The Depression worsened and Roosevelt immediately took charge by initiating his New Deal program during his first 100 days helping America get back on its feet.

In 1941 Roosevelt became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and leader for America and its allies during World War II. He created the great alliance against the Axis powers now known as the United Nations.

In his fourth term as President, Roosevelt died of a stroke on April 12, 1945. He never saw the end of World War II on September 2, 1945, although he was chiefly responsible for leading the United States and its allies to victory.

If the courageous spirit of one man who could not even walk on his own could bring the whole world to its knees in peace, just imagine what each and every one of us can do with our own individual God given talents. It may be true: Our handicaps exist only in the mind.