On March 17, 1905 he got engaged to Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin (Schuster 102). Soon after he decided to study law at Columbia University, although he did not graduate with a degree, he was fortunately able to pass the law bar exam in 1907 (Schuster 112).He remained in New York practicing law for the following three years.
In 1932, he defeated Republican Herbert Hoover in the race for Presidency. By this time America had 13 million unemployed Americans as well as a severe economic collapse. Franklin worked diligently for his country and by 1936, the economy showed signs of improvement through unemployment rates that decreased from 25 to 14 (Schuster 327). Despite this, he still faced criticism for increased government spending and unbalanced budgets. When the 1940 election came around, Franklin felt as though he was the only one suitable for the job. In November of that same year, Franklin received the nomination from the people in the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He would then continue on and defeat the Republican candidate Wendell Willkie (Schuster 524). During this time, Franklin would face one of the most devastating attacks to U.S Soil in American history.
Later, in March of 1944, hospital tests indicated he had atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure (Schuster 710). He would not allow this to stop him from running for his fourth term. He then selected Harry S. Truman as his running mate and together they defeated Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey (Schuster 726). Due to his complications, Roosevelt then moved back to Warm Springs, Georgia to focus on post war reorganization. On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Franklin suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and died (Schuster 769). Franklin Delano Roosevelt ultimately served twelve years as the American president; He expanded presidential power and redefined liberalism, proved our strength in World War II, and will always be remembered as one of the best Presidents that had served our country.