Franklin Roosevelt's Background

Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, N.Y. on Jan. 30, 1882 into a wealthy family and because of this, he led a very sheltered life. At Harvard, he attended Law school. After being accepted into the New York Bar, he dropped out. Although considered a Democrat, he admired Uncle Teddy's progressivism and was inspired to begin a political career. He first started gaining quick recognition by his leadership In a fight against Tammany Hall's nominee for the US Senate. After coming back into a suitable condition after his fight with polio, Roosevelt came back to politics. He first gave his happy warrior speech which put Governor Alfred E. Smith in nomination for president. Smith persuaded Roosevelt Run for the governorship of NY. Although Smith lost the presidency, Roosevelt proved his willpower and forged a narrow victory for the Governor of N.Y.

After the Stock Market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt saw that banks were in trouble too. People had borrowed money from the bank to buy stocks that were now worthless. Because of these bad loans, people were beginning to fear that the banks we're losing their money. Account holders who had put money in a bank rushed to get their cash out in what is known as Bank runs. Banks couldn't keep up with the demand and procure enough cash. Bank runs were one of the driving points for the Fireside chats. Because just one week after his inauguration, it was the first topic he covered in the Fireside Chats. ”My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking”.

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