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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On September 11, 1941, Roosevelt publicly ordered U.S. naval forces to treat Axis submarines that threatened American vessels as hostile and to attack them on sight.
The U.S. destroyer USS Greer was attacked and fired upon by a German U-boat (U-652) off Iceland after an exchange involving a British aircraft, suffering no loss of life or sinking.
President Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply to implement price controls, rationing, and civilian supply priorities for national defense.
An Allied convoy under Operation Dervish sailed from Iceland on August 21, 1941, initiating the first direct Arctic supply run to the Soviet port of Arkhangelsk to deliver military and humanitarian aid.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation by radio to explain and promote the principles of the Atlantic Charter he and Winston Churchill had issued earlier that day.
Roosevelt and Churchill released the Atlantic Charter, an eight-point joint declaration outlining principles such as no territorial aggrandizement, self-determination, free trade, and disarmament for the postwar world.
After three days of secret meetings at sea, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill concluded the Atlantic Conference aboard HMS Prince of Wales on August 12, 1941.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt met British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard the battleship HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, beginning the secret Atlantic Conference to discuss conduct of the war and postwar objectives.
In response to Japan's occupation of southern French Indochina, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the freezing of Japanese assets in the United States and coordinated with Britain and the Netherlands to impose trade restrictions, including limits on oil and scrap-metal exports to Japan.
Imperial Japanese troops moved into and occupied southern provinces of French Indochina, expanding their military presence beyond earlier northern footholds.
On July 11, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan as Coordinator of Information, creating a central office for U.S. intelligence and analysis.
On July 7, 1941, U.S. forces arrived in Iceland to relieve the British garrison and assume responsibility for the island's defense.