His political career prolifically began as governor of New York and eventually excelled into the position of presidency of the United States. McKinzie 2In 1921, Roosevelt contracted Polio and was unable to walk without some assistance from the rest of his life. From thereafter, he mostly used a wheelchair. I believe F.D.R.’s energy and charismatic leadership he displayed earlier in his political career, made it impossible for many to understand what they saw. F.D.R. commented on his illness by stating, “Once I spent two years lying in bed, trying to move my big toe. That was the hardest job I ever had to do. After that, everything else seemed easy”(Busch 96). He went through countless hours of therapy to deal with his condition and went on to be inaugurated for president in 1933. On March 4th, F.D.R. took the oath of office as the 32nd President. At this time, America was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in its history. The unemployment rate was one in four and banks were closing their doors. Herbert Hoover, F.D.R.’s predecessor, spent his entire presidency waiting for the economy to correct itself, but it never did. It was now left up to F.D.R. to do something about this crisis. He was not the type of man who waited for events to occur. He believed the nation could not stand by and watch the Great Depression deepen. F.D.R.’s response to this unprecedented crisis was to initiate the New Deal. The New Deal was a series of economic measures designed to alleviate the worst effects of the economy’s recession, and restore the confidence of the American people in their banks and other key institutions. The ultimate goals of the New Deal were relief, reform, and recovery. Today, F.D.R.’s first “Hindered Days” in office had become an American political legend that is used to measure each new president.F.D.R. passed the Banking Act of 1933, which reassured the nat...
