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Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, was from a wealthy, well-known family. As a child, he attended private school, had private tutors, and traveled with his parents to Europe. He attended Harvard University, and afterward studied law. At age 5 39 Roosevelt suddenly developed polio, a disease that left him without the full use of his legs for the rest of his life. Even through the worst of his illness, however, he continued his life in politics. In 1924 he appeared at the Democratic National Convention to nominate Al Smith for president, and eight years after that he himself was 10 nominated for the same office. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency during the Great Depression of the 1930s, at a time when more than 5,000 banks had failed and thousands of people were out of work. Roosevelt took action. First he declared a bank holiday that closed all the banks so no more could fail; then he reopened the banks little 15 by little with government support. Roosevelt believed in using the full power of government to help what he called the "forgotten people." And it was these workers, the wage earners, who felt the strongest affection toward Roosevelt. There were others, however, who felt that Roosevelt's policies were destroying the American system of 20 government, and they opposed him in the same intense way that others admired him.

In 1940 the Democrats nominated Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. No president in American history had ever served three terms, 25 but Roosevelt felt an obligation not to quit while the United States' entry into World War II was looming in the future. He accepted the nomination and went on to an easy victory.