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HistoryCentral · American Biography

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The only president elected four times — he led the United States through its two greatest crises of the twentieth century, the Great Depression and the Second World War. His life, in chapters.

1882–1945A Life
4Terms as President
32ndPresident
Chapter One

The Making of a Leader

His privileged boyhood, education, marriage, and the polio that nearly ended his career.

Chapter Two

President in Crisis

Winning the White House in the depths of the Depression and remaking the federal government.

Chapter Three

The Gathering Storm

As war loomed in Europe and Asia, FDR steered a divided, isolationist nation toward readiness.

Chapter Four

Commander in Chief

From Pearl Harbor through the great wartime conferences to his death on the eve of victory.

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