30 Quotes From FDR to Uplift and Inspire All Americans on President's Day and Every Day

  • 2 years ago
30 Quotes From FDR to Uplift and Inspire All Americans on President's Day and Every Day

When Presidents Day rolls around, the two former Commanders in Chief who probably get mentioned most often are George Washington, the first president, and Abraham Lincoln, the one who preserved the Union during the Civil War. However, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president, isn’t one to be overlooked: He helped shepherd the U.S. out of the greatest economic collapse in its history, created social programs that are still essential to the American fabric and led the country through the second World War. He remains the only person elected more than twice to be U.S. President, winning four elections handily and doing so while dealing with a disability that left him unable to walk. With so many hugely impressive achievements to his name, it’s no wonder that FDR is also one of our most often quoted Presidents.
The future leader of the free world grew up in a privileged home in the state of New York and earned a degree in history at Harvard University. At the age of 23, on St. Patrick’s Day 1905, he married his fifth cousin once removed, Eleanor. Their relative, Theodore Roosevelt, who happened to be president at the time, gave her away. Franklin and Eleanor knew each other practically as long as they had lived; they first met when she was only 2 and he was 4 years old. The two raised five children, losing one as a baby, and Eleanor became an influential, invaluable ally while FDR was in the White House. She encouraged him to hire people like Frances Perkins, the first woman Cabinet member, appeared on his behalf in public and spoke out on humanitarian, racial justice and philanthropic issues.

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