Franklin Delano
Roosevelt
The only thing
we have to fear
is fear itself.
By: Lorin Murphy
This book belongs to:
__________________________________
Fun Facts About Franklin
 He was President of the United States
longer than any other President.
 When he was 39 he could no longer
walk.
 His family was very wealthy, or rich,
and he even had pet ponies!
 Franklin’s cousin Theodore was also
President of the United States.
 Franklin’s face has been on the dime
since 1945.
Franklin Roosevelt Acrostic
D
I
L
I
G
E
N
T
Franklin’s Death
Franklin’s Early Life
On April 12th, 1945, Franklin died at The
Little White House in Warm Springs,
Georgia. Vice President Harry Truman
became President. A few months later, in
August, Japan surrendered and World
War II ended.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR, was
born in Hyde Park, New York in 1882.
He was the only child of a rich, or
wealthy family.
Many people think Franklin was one of our
best presidents ever. The plans he made in
his New Deal have given us many roads,
libraries, dams, and schools that we still use
today. He started groups and laws to help
people who didn’t have a lot of money.
People still get help from Franklin’s
programs today.
Even though Franklin’s family had a lot of
money, Franklin understood that many
people did not. When he was a teenager,
he ran a camp for boys who did not have
enough money to pay to go to camp. He
also helped the elderly, or older people
who did not have much money.
In 1944, Franklin was elected president
for the fourth time. He was tired, but he
wanted to lead America through the end
of the war. He met with other world
leaders and started a group called the
United Nations or U.N. that still
exists today. The U.N. began planning
ways to make the whole world a peaceful
place with no wars.
Why do you think there are so many flags in front of the
United Nations building today?
_______________________________________
One way that Americans cooperated
during the war was by rationing food
and supplies. Rationing meant that each
person could only have a small amount of
certain foods or items. Because of
rationing, there was enough food, warm
clothing, and metal to send to the troops
fighting in World War II.
One Person's Weekly Food Allowance
Butter
4oz
12oz
4oz
2
6oz
2oz
Sugar
Bacon
Eggs
Meat
Tea
How do you think rationing changed life for
Americans during WWII?
_____________________________________
When Franklin was in college, he studied
to be a lawyer. He also met a special
woman who believed in helping others as
much as he did. Her name was Eleanor.
Franklin and Eleanor got married in 1905.
Tough Times for Franklin
The Home Front
By 1921 Franklin Roosevelt was a very
busy man. He was a father who loved to
play with his children. He was a politician
who served in the senate and even ran
for Vice President (and lost). He was a
businessman who ran a big company in
New York. Then, all of a sudden,
something terrible happened to Franklin.
Franklin used his radio speeches to tell
Americans how they could help win the
war. Some people joined the fight as
soldiers. Others grew their own food so
that food grown on farms could be used
to feed soldiers. When men left to fight,
women took over their jobs in factories.
Children collected scraps of metal that
could be used for war supplies. All
Americans cooperated to support the
soldiers.
Add these events to the timeline below: 1905, Franklin marries Eleanor. 1882, Franklin is born in New York. 1921, Franklin finds out he has polio. 1904, Franklin graduates from college. 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920
December 7th, 1941
On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked a
place called Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor
was a place in Hawaii where a lot of
American soldiers lived. Franklin could
not keep the United States out of the
war any longer. We had been attacked
and we had to fight back. America began
fighting in World War II on the side of
the Allied Powers.
Franklin found out that he had a disease
called polio. His disease paralyzed his
legs. Franklin could no longer walk. How
would such a busy man keep going if he
couldn’t even walk?
How do you think polio made life more difficult for
Franklin?
___________________________________
Fortunately, Franklin Roosevelt was a
very diligent person who never gave up.
He exercised his legs to help make them
stronger. He did not give up on his
dreams of helping others, even though he
sometimes needed help himself. Eleanor
helped her husband by making speeches
for him when he could not travel.
A War Begins
In 1939, lots of countries had gone to
war. Dictators, or powerful and unkind
rulers, controlled Italy and Germany.
These dictators were hurting lots of
people all over Europe and taking away
their liberty, or personal freedom. Many
Americans wanted to stay out of the
fighting. No Americans were being hurt,
so they thought the war was not
America’s problem.
Leaders from Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a
pact called the Tripartite Pact. They pledged to fight
and work together against the Allied Powers. They
became known as the Axis Powers.
A Second and Third Term
In 1936, Franklin was reelected to a
second term as president. He was
elected for a third term in 1939. No
president had ever been elected three
times before.
In 1924, Franklin visited a place called
Warms Springs, Georgia. The warm
water in the springs was supposed to
help people with polio. Franklin liked
visiting Warm Springs so much that he
built a house there. You can still go and
visit his “Little White House” today.
FDR was sworn in as president for the first
time on March 4th, 1933. He remained
president until April 12th, 1945. How long
did FDR serve the United States as
president?
Warm Springs
Show your work: About how many miles is it from Atlanta to
Warm Springs?
___________________________________
In 1928 Franklin ran for Governor of
New York. Some voters did not want to
vote for a man who had to use a
wheelchair or crutches to move around,
but most people knew that his disability
would not stop him from being a good
governor. He won the election anyway.
Match the term to its definition. ___1. diligence a. Having lots of money, rich ___2. disability b. Hard work and effort over a long time ___3. Governor c. a physical or mental problem that makes it hard to do every day things ___4. wealthy d. the leader of a state’s executive branch
Franklin and his wife Eleanor had to
cooperate to help American people.
Eleanor traveled around the country
making speeches and helping people stay
hopeful. She came back home and told
Franklin all the things she had seen and
heard. Franklin was a better president
because he knew what was happening all
over the USA.
FDR’s New Deal led to many programs that
improved life for Americans. Fill in the cause and
effect chart below with some of those
improvements.
Cause
The Public Works Administration, or PWA planned for new roads, bridges and hospitals. The Tennesee Valley Authority, or TVA planned to carry electricity to parts of the country that never had electricity before. Effect
The New Deal
The Great Depression
As president, Franklin also wanted to
help Americans by making new laws to
improve their lives. He started a
program to create national parks.
Franklin also planned lots of new roads,
dams, libraries, and schools. He made
plans to bring electricity to places in
America that didn’t have it yet. These
ideas made new jobs for lots of poor
Americans. These Americans felt proud
to make money and support their
families.
The next year, 1929, was the beginning
of a tough time for Americans. The
Great Depression began. During the
depression millions of people lost their
jobs, became very poor, and even lost
their homes.
Franklin wanted to help the people who
were suffering in the hard times of the
Depression. He ran for President of the
United States. When he gave campaign
speeches he promised “a new deal for
the American people.” Americans
believed Franklin would help them. He
beat his opponent by many votes and
became president in 1933.
Franklin got 57% of the votes.
His opponent, Herbert Hoover got 40%.
Color in the bar graph below to show the
votes the two candidates received.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Hoover
Roosevelt
Fireside Chats
Franklin thought he could help
Americans to have courage in hard
times. He started giving weekly speeches
on the radio called fireside chats. He
tried to give people ideas to solve their
problems. He told them, “The only thing
we have to fear is fear itself.”