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A Sheltered Life
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| His name and family connections gave
him a decided advantage when he entered politics, yet the young
Franklin Roosevelt did not seem destined for public office. His
insulated upbringing provided little experience with the kinds
of problems confronting the less affluent. Most young men of
the Hudson Valley gentry were expected to go to college, perhaps
then receiving a grounding in law before entering business or
managing the property they would inherit. Others became full-time
socialites or sportsman, but politics was not usually an option.
The idea of publicly soliciting votes went against the grain
of many in Roosevelt's sheltered world. Even the ascension to
the presidency of Roosevelt's distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt
did not wholly remove the stigma. Nevertheless Roosevelt chose
politics, though his first campaign was not taken too seriously
by many of those around him. Eventually, he came to sympathize
with and support working men and women. As President he took
what were in the 1930's considered almost radical steps to alleviate
their suffering. |
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Roosevelt-Vanderbilt
National Historic Sites
4097 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY 12538
Last updated: May 8, 2001
http://www.nps.gov/hofr/life-txt.html
Author:ROVA
Webmaster
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