Each volume in the American Presidents Reference Series is organized around an individual presidency and gathers a host of biographical, analytical, and primary source historical material that will analyze the presidency and bring the president, his administration, and his times to life. The series focuses on key moments in U.S. political history as seen through the eyes of the most influential presidents to take the oath of office. Unique headnotes provide the context to data, tables and excerpted primary source documents.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in 1882. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1910. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the same position his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt held. He was nominated as the vice presidential candidate on the James Cox ticket in 1920, but lost overwhelmingly to Warren Harding. In 1921 he was stricken with polio, which left him severely crippled. Not deterred by his handicap he campaigned and was elected governor of New York. He became the leading Democratic candidate for the presidential election of 1932 and handily defeated Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt worked to end the depression through far-reaching federal programs that became known as the New Deal.

In 1939 Germany invaded Poland and started the Second World War. Roosevelt brought the U.S. into the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After an unprecedented third reelection, with Harry S. Truman as his vice president, Roosevelt began preparing the nation and the world for the post-war realities. On April 12, 1945, not long before the unconditional surrenders of Germany and Japan, Roosevelt died.

This new volume on the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt will cover:

• The Great Depression and The New Deal
• The Supreme Court
• World War II
• Global Politics

"...these works combine original documentation and historical analysis in an accessible writing style that allows readers to identify important issues and draw conclusions about these iconic figures. Summing Up: Recommeded. General readers and lower-division undergraduates."

Robert S. McElvaine is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts and Letters and chair of the Department of History at Millsaps College. He is the autor of eight books, including The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941 and Eve's Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History. His articles appear frequently in such publications as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.