Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) was the 32nd President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945. A Democrat, he led the nation through the Great Depression and most of World War II.
Roosevelt reshaped the federal government's role in the economy through the New Deal, creating programs and institutions such as Social Security, the FDIC, and large-scale public works to relieve unemployment and stabilize finance.
He also guided the United States through World War II, overseeing mobilization, Lend-Lease, and Allied cooperation; his four-term presidency expanded the scope and influence of the executive branch and left a lasting global and domestic legacy, though some initiatives, like the 1937 court-packing plan, provoked controversy.
Implemented New Deal reforms including the Social Security Act; Stabilized banking and created the FDIC and SEC; Established large public works programs (WPA, CCC, TVA); Backed Lend-Lease and led U.S. mobilization in World War II; Elected to four terms, reshaping presidential precedent; Proposed 1937 Supreme Court reorganization (court-packing)
Key highlights and dated events associated with this presidency.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill establishing the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, authorizing women to serve in noncombat Army roles.
Soviet forces launched a major offensive against German Army Group South around Kharkov on the Eastern Front, beginning the Second Battle of Kharkov (May 12–28, 1942).
The five-day carrier battle between U.S./Australian and Japanese forces ended with Japanese invasion plans for Port Moresby thwarted despite Allied carrier losses.
U.S. and Filipino forces on Corregidor Island surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army, ending the last organized Allied resistance in the Philippines campaign.
British forces landed at the Vichy French port of Diego-Suarez, Madagascar, beginning Operation Ironclad to seize the harbor and airfields.
Sixteen B-25 bombers, led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle and launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, struck Tokyo and other targets on April 18, 1942, in the first American air attack on the Japanese home islands.
After prolonged fighting, U.S. and Filipino forces on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942, and began the forced transfer of prisoners now known as the Bataan Death March.
On March 27, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the Second War Powers Act, granting the executive branch expanded authority over procurement, contracts, and the mobilization of resources for the war effort.
The Western Defense Command, under Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, issued civilian exclusion orders implementing Executive Order 9066 that set timetables for the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry from designated military areas on the U.S. West Coast.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9102 creating the War Relocation Authority (WRA) and appointing Milton S. Eisenhower as its first director to administer the relocation and internment program for persons of Japanese ancestry.
On March 11, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur to leave besieged Corregidor, and MacArthur evacuated the Philippines en route to Australia to continue the Allied defense effort.
On February 27, 1942, a combined Allied fleet (primarily Dutch, British, Australian and American ships) under Rear Admiral Karel Doorman engaged Japanese forces in the Java Sea and was routed with heavy losses.