Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt
"Franklin D. Roosevelt" Part One
Usually ranked in the top tier of American presidents, along with his distant cousin Teddy, and often third, behind Washington and Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt was born into a well to do family in New York. He attended both Harvard and Columbia, where he studied law. He married a distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. He and his wife took an interest in politics, and he was elected to the NY State Senate, which began a long career in public office. He gained state prominence, and even national prominence, by tangling with the Democratic Party bosses in New York. President Woodrow Wilson named him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a position he held throughout World War One, and a position which took him to England and France, where he gained experience in dealing with foreign representatives. In between, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senator from NY, as the Democratic machine he had so often opposed got even with him.
After the war a congressional investigation into a Navy sex scandal brought a denouncement from a Senate investigating committee.^ This all began to take shape as Roosevelt was about to become the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1920. The election was a Republican landslide (Warren Harding was the Republican candidate), but the fact that Roosevelt was on the Democratic ticket showed how far he had come in political matters. By the summer after the election, Roosevelt came down with polio, which left his legs paralyzed. While this disease left him physically crippled for life, it also gave Roosevelt tremendous insight and empathy into the struggles of others, and not just against disease. He wore braces, and with the help of a cane, he learned to walk short distances, although most of the time he was confined to a wheelchair, but this aspect of his life remained out of public view.^^
In 1928, while the Democratic ticket went down to heavy defeat at the hands of Republican Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt was narrowly elected governor of New York. A year later what came to be known as "the Great Depression" began, and Roosevelt implemented progressive policies in New York to help those in distress. He ran for reelection and won by a wide margin in 1930.^^^ With the country mired in depression and the next presidential election on the horizon, with an increasingly unpopular Republican president in office, Roosevelt was seen as a major contender for the Democratic nomination.^^^^
^ Concisely, Navy personnel had been reportedly involved in gay sex (then usually illegal) in Newport, Rhode Island. Roosevelt approved an investigation into the allegations. The Navy's investigation used other Navy personnel as participants in sexual encounters to prove the allegations. The Navy was then accused of abusing these men by allowing them to participate in illegal sex.
^^ For the rest of his life, Roosevelt's affliction was known to the public, as were his attempts to overcome it, but his use of a wheelchair was kept from the public. In those times, for better or for worse, the press didn't get into such stories. The fact remains, however, that Roosevelt was elected as governor of NY and was elected an unprecedented four times as President of the United States. While true that the American public did not know of his physical limitations, it also shows, like him or not, that those limitations did not hinder him in service to his country.
^^^ In those times, many states had two year terms for governors, not the four year terms most common today.
^^^^ Roosevelt and Hoover were friends, both having served together in Woodrow Wilson's administration. Hoover's political affiliation was unknown after World War One, but many "assumed" him to be a Democrat. Hoover's very positive image in those times (post WW I) made him one of the best known and admired Americans in the world, and prompted Roosevelt to suggest it would be a good thing if Hoover were president, a remark later tossed back at him when he was running against incumbent Hoover, whose popularity had plunged in the time of the Great Depression.
WORD HISTORY:
Hot-"Hot" is another word of uncertain origin. It is closely related to "heat" (will be covered in next article). It "could" be a Germanic invention (forms of "hot" are widespread in the Germanic languages), but outside of Germanic, only Lithuanian and Latvian, both Baltic languages, have known forms of the word, and they both "could" have borrowed it from Germanic.^ Old Germanic had "haitaz," which meant "heat," and this gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "hat" (not pronounced like the modern word of that spelling meaning, "head covering," but more so with a long "a"), and with the same general meaning, although also with the additional reference to "temperament" and "fierceness." It wasn't long before it became "hot," which has endured for many centuries. German has "heiss" (rhymes with 'nice'),^^ Dutch and Low German have "heet," Frisian has "hjit," Danish has "hed" (often now used in various compounds), Icelandic has "heitur," Norwegian and Swedish have "het."
^ Of course it could have been the other way around. The Baltic languages of Prussian (now extinct), Lithuanian and Latvian had much contact with Germanic, so a borrowing in either direction is possible, although forms are so widespread in Germanic, it "seems" it came from Germanic. Even then, the question remains, how did Germanic get it? Some believe "hot" traces back to Indo European, but the problem is, why is it present in such a limited field, Germanic and Baltic, and not other Indo European languages? After all, heat sources were important to mankind's development, and it would seem logical that forms of the word would have been carried on by many other branches of Indo European, instead of being replaced by other words, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. The Baltic languages are Indo European, and related to English, but further down the family tree. Some linguists consider Lithuanian to be the closest living relative to original Indo European. Some more modern linguists feel the Baltic languages should be combined with Slavic as the "Balto-Slavic" branch of Indo European.
^^ As the High German dialects developed separately from the Low German dialects, which began to take place not all that long after Anglo-Saxon had taken root in England, the word was "heiz" in the high dialects, with the "z" being pronounced "ts," as in the ending of "hits." Over time, this became an "s" sound. Similar happened with the German form of the verb "(to) bite," which is "beiss(en)," almost like the animal, "bison."
Usually ranked in the top tier of American presidents, along with his distant cousin Teddy, and often third, behind Washington and Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt was born into a well to do family in New York. He attended both Harvard and Columbia, where he studied law. He married a distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. He and his wife took an interest in politics, and he was elected to the NY State Senate, which began a long career in public office. He gained state prominence, and even national prominence, by tangling with the Democratic Party bosses in New York. President Woodrow Wilson named him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a position he held throughout World War One, and a position which took him to England and France, where he gained experience in dealing with foreign representatives. In between, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senator from NY, as the Democratic machine he had so often opposed got even with him.
After the war a congressional investigation into a Navy sex scandal brought a denouncement from a Senate investigating committee.^ This all began to take shape as Roosevelt was about to become the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1920. The election was a Republican landslide (Warren Harding was the Republican candidate), but the fact that Roosevelt was on the Democratic ticket showed how far he had come in political matters. By the summer after the election, Roosevelt came down with polio, which left his legs paralyzed. While this disease left him physically crippled for life, it also gave Roosevelt tremendous insight and empathy into the struggles of others, and not just against disease. He wore braces, and with the help of a cane, he learned to walk short distances, although most of the time he was confined to a wheelchair, but this aspect of his life remained out of public view.^^
In 1928, while the Democratic ticket went down to heavy defeat at the hands of Republican Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt was narrowly elected governor of New York. A year later what came to be known as "the Great Depression" began, and Roosevelt implemented progressive policies in New York to help those in distress. He ran for reelection and won by a wide margin in 1930.^^^ With the country mired in depression and the next presidential election on the horizon, with an increasingly unpopular Republican president in office, Roosevelt was seen as a major contender for the Democratic nomination.^^^^
^ Concisely, Navy personnel had been reportedly involved in gay sex (then usually illegal) in Newport, Rhode Island. Roosevelt approved an investigation into the allegations. The Navy's investigation used other Navy personnel as participants in sexual encounters to prove the allegations. The Navy was then accused of abusing these men by allowing them to participate in illegal sex.
^^ For the rest of his life, Roosevelt's affliction was known to the public, as were his attempts to overcome it, but his use of a wheelchair was kept from the public. In those times, for better or for worse, the press didn't get into such stories. The fact remains, however, that Roosevelt was elected as governor of NY and was elected an unprecedented four times as President of the United States. While true that the American public did not know of his physical limitations, it also shows, like him or not, that those limitations did not hinder him in service to his country.
^^^ In those times, many states had two year terms for governors, not the four year terms most common today.
^^^^ Roosevelt and Hoover were friends, both having served together in Woodrow Wilson's administration. Hoover's political affiliation was unknown after World War One, but many "assumed" him to be a Democrat. Hoover's very positive image in those times (post WW I) made him one of the best known and admired Americans in the world, and prompted Roosevelt to suggest it would be a good thing if Hoover were president, a remark later tossed back at him when he was running against incumbent Hoover, whose popularity had plunged in the time of the Great Depression.
WORD HISTORY:
Hot-"Hot" is another word of uncertain origin. It is closely related to "heat" (will be covered in next article). It "could" be a Germanic invention (forms of "hot" are widespread in the Germanic languages), but outside of Germanic, only Lithuanian and Latvian, both Baltic languages, have known forms of the word, and they both "could" have borrowed it from Germanic.^ Old Germanic had "haitaz," which meant "heat," and this gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "hat" (not pronounced like the modern word of that spelling meaning, "head covering," but more so with a long "a"), and with the same general meaning, although also with the additional reference to "temperament" and "fierceness." It wasn't long before it became "hot," which has endured for many centuries. German has "heiss" (rhymes with 'nice'),^^ Dutch and Low German have "heet," Frisian has "hjit," Danish has "hed" (often now used in various compounds), Icelandic has "heitur," Norwegian and Swedish have "het."
^ Of course it could have been the other way around. The Baltic languages of Prussian (now extinct), Lithuanian and Latvian had much contact with Germanic, so a borrowing in either direction is possible, although forms are so widespread in Germanic, it "seems" it came from Germanic. Even then, the question remains, how did Germanic get it? Some believe "hot" traces back to Indo European, but the problem is, why is it present in such a limited field, Germanic and Baltic, and not other Indo European languages? After all, heat sources were important to mankind's development, and it would seem logical that forms of the word would have been carried on by many other branches of Indo European, instead of being replaced by other words, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. The Baltic languages are Indo European, and related to English, but further down the family tree. Some linguists consider Lithuanian to be the closest living relative to original Indo European. Some more modern linguists feel the Baltic languages should be combined with Slavic as the "Balto-Slavic" branch of Indo European.
^^ As the High German dialects developed separately from the Low German dialects, which began to take place not all that long after Anglo-Saxon had taken root in England, the word was "heiz" in the high dialects, with the "z" being pronounced "ts," as in the ending of "hits." Over time, this became an "s" sound. Similar happened with the German form of the verb "(to) bite," which is "beiss(en)," almost like the animal, "bison."
Labels: English, etymology, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Germanic languages, New York state, the Great Depression
posted by Randy at 1:08 AM
2 Comments:
I was a Republican, but I always liked FDR. He sure looks good in these times.
Very true Johnnie.
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