7 Fascinating Facts About Franklin D. Roosevelt

From the Great Depression注1 to World War II， President Franklin D. Roosevelt guided the United States through challenging times. He sought to help the American people in many different ways， including creating social safety nets for the elderly and the unemployed. In 1935， FDR注2 signed the Social Security Act注3 to provide aid to the countrys most senior citizens and others in need.

FDR considered the Social Security Act to be one of his greatest accomplishments. In a 1934 speech to Congress[国会]， he said “I place the security of the men， women and children of the Nation first.” FDR believed that “the American people deserved some safeguard[保护措施] against misfortunes which cannot be wholly eliminated[消除] in this man-made world of ours.”He accomplished this goal with the creation of Social Security. Lets learn more about the man behind these impressive achievements.

从经济大萧条到第二次世界大战，美国总统富兰克林·罗斯福带领着整个美国度过了一段极具挑战性的日子。他寻求多种多样的方式来帮助美国人民渡过难关，其中就包括为老年人和失业人士建立的社会保障制度。1935年，罗斯福签署了《社会保障法案》，帮助了全国绝大多数老年人和其他有需要的民众。

罗斯福认为《社会保障法案》的签署是他最伟大的成就之一。1934年，罗斯福在国会演讲中提到：“我会把美国男人、女人和小孩的安全保障放在第一位。”罗斯福认为“在这个由人类造成的厄运难以完全消除的世界，美国人民更需要安全保障”。随着社会保障体系的创立，罗斯福实现了他的目标。让我们进一步了解在这些伟大成就背后的美国总统罗斯福。

1 FDR had a half-brother.罗斯福有一个同父异母的兄弟。

He was the only child of Sara Delano and James Roosevelt， but he was not， however， his fathers only child. James did have a much older son， also named James， from his first marriage to Rebecca Howland. FDRs brother， nicknamed[绰号为] “Rosy，” was born in 1854—the same year as FDRs mother.

By the time FDR was born in 1882， Rosy was already grown up and had a family. FDR and Rosys daughter Helen and son James were even close in age. He played with them when Rosys family visited Springwood， the familys estate[庄园] in Hyde Park， New York.

罗斯福是莎拉·德拉诺和詹姆斯·罗斯福的独生子。然而，他并非其父亲唯一的孩子。他父亲还有个比罗斯福大很多的儿子，同样叫詹姆斯，是和第一任妻子丽贝卡·豪兰生下的。罗斯福哥哥的小名叫“罗斯”，1854年出生，和罗斯福的生母一样大。

早在1882年罗斯福出生以前，罗斯就已经长大成人并且组建了家庭。罗斯的女儿海伦以及儿子詹姆斯同罗斯福甚至年纪相当。因此，每当罗斯一家到纽约海德公园的斯普林伍德庄园度假时，罗斯福都会和他的小孩们一起玩耍。

2 Collecting stamps was a nearly lifelong passion for FDR. 集郵是罗斯福的终身爱好。

He started up[开始] with this hobby around the age of 8. FDRs mother encouraged this activity， having been a collector herself as a child. When FDR contracted[感染] polio[小儿麻痹症] in 1921， he turned to his stamps as a distraction[消遣] during his bedridden[卧床不起的] days. He once said “I owe my life to my hobbies—especially stamp collecting.”

In the White House， FDR found working on his collection is a form of stress relief[减轻] from the demands of his presidency[总统职位]. He even had the State Department[美国国务院] send over envelopes it received so that he could review the stamps. FDR took an active role in the creation of new stamps as well. He approved more than 200 new stamps during his time in office.

大约八岁的时候，罗斯福开始了这一爱好。他妈妈儿时也是集邮爱好者，所以非常鼓励他。1921年，罗斯福感染了小儿麻痹症，于是在卧床不起的日子里，罗斯福就靠收集邮票来打发时光。他曾说：“我的爱好对我的一生影响很大——尤其是集邮。”

在白宫，罗斯福觉得集邮能够有效缓解他总统工作的压力。他甚至让国务院把收到的信件都转给他，这样他就可以看看信封上的邮票了。罗斯福还致力于制造新邮票。在他任职期间，他批准发行了超过200种新邮票。

3 FDR dropped out of退学 law school.罗斯福从学院退学。

His undergrad[本科生的] studies seemed to be a piece of cake for him. He only took three years to earn a bachelors[学士] degree in history from Harvard. FDR then enrolled[入学] at Columbia Universitys school. But he abandoned[抛弃] his legal studies in 1907 after he passed his bar exam[律师资格考试]. FDR only practiced for a few years before jumping into[一头扎进] politics. In 1910， he won his first election[选举] to the New York State Senate[参议院].

本科学习对罗斯福来说简直是小菜一碟。他仅仅花了三年时间就拿到了哈佛大学的历史学士学位。接着，罗斯福入读哥伦比亚大学。可是他在1907年通过司法考试后就放弃了法律系的学业。罗斯福仅仅经过几年的历练就投身政界。1910年，他在首次竞选中赢得了纽约州参议院的一席。

4 For FDR， love was a family affair家务事.对罗斯福來说，爱情是家事。

He married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt on March 17th， 1905. Eleanor was the niece of another of FDRs distant relatives， President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt actually walked Eleanor down the aisle[走道] at her wedding to FDR， filling in for[代替] Eleanors late father[先父].

1905年3月17日，罗斯福迎娶安娜·艾莉诺·罗斯福为妻。艾莉诺是罗斯福另一个远房亲戚、总统西奥多·罗斯福的侄女。西奥多·罗斯福总统也代替了艾莉诺的先父，领着她走向婚姻的殿堂。

5 FDRs first attempt at winning a nationnal offce was a flop失败.罗斯福第一次尝试竞选国家要职以失败告终。

FDR won the Democratic[民主党] nomination[提名] for vice[副的] president in 1920 with James M. Cox， governor of Ohio， as the partys presidential pick. The pair lost out to[被……取代] Republican[共和党的] Warren Harding and his running mate[竞选伙伴] Calvin Coolidge. Their victory was a decisive[举足轻重的] one， with Harding taking roughly 60 percent of the popular vote and roughly 76 percent of the electoral votes[选举人票数].

When running for president himself， FDR would score several substantial[重要的] wins of his own. The 1936 election was perhaps his greatest victory， picking up roughly 98 percent of the electoral votes. His opponent， Republican Alfred Landon， only won two states， Maine and Vermont.

1920年，罗斯福连同俄亥俄州州长詹姆斯·考克斯赢得了民主党参选副总统的提名。随后，民主党在与共和党候选人哈丁和柯立芝的竞争中落败。共和党的胜利是必然的，因为哈丁赢得了约60%的大众选票和76%的选举人票数。

之后，罗斯福个人竞选总统，打了几场极为重要的胜仗。1936年的竞选或许是他最伟大的胜利。当年，他赢取了约98%的选举人票数。他的对手、共和党候选人阿尔弗莱德·兰登仅仅获得了两个州的选票，缅因州和佛蒙特州。

6 FDR made history when he appointed任命 frances perkins to his cabinet内阁in 1993.1993年，罗斯福委任帕金斯为他的内阁成员，创造了历史。

Selected as secretary of labor[劳工部部长]， Perkins became the first woman to hold a cabinet post in a U.S. presidential administration[行政机构]. She was instrumental in[有帮助的] helping Roosevelt with many of his programs， including Social Security. This was the second time FDR had tapped[挖掘] Perkins for a government post. As governor of New York， he picked her to be the states labor commissioner[行政长官].

帕金斯被选为劳工部部长，成为了美国總统办公厅第一位女性内阁成员。她帮助罗斯福实行了很多计划，其中就包括社会保障制度。这是罗斯福第二次起用帕金斯作为助手，第一次是在罗斯福担任纽约州州长的时候，他任命帕金斯为州劳工部长官。

7 FDR holds the record for the longest-serving American president.罗斯福保持着美国总统任期最长的记录。

In 1944， FDR was elected to his fourth term. And no one can ever challenge this feat. In 1951， the 22nd Amendment[修正案] was passed， which limited future presidents to only two terms.

1944年，罗斯福第四次当选美国总统。没人能挑战这一功绩。1951年，《美国宪法第二十二次修正案》通过，法案规定，任何人当选总统职务不得超过两届。

注1：大萧条（Great Depression），指1929年至1933年之间发源于美国的经济危机。

注2：富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福（Franklin Delano Roosevelt）的简称。

注3：罗斯福政府于1935年颁布的《社会保障法案》是美国有史以来第一部关于社会保障问题的法案。社会保障制度的建立从根本上解决了人们的后顾之忧、增强了人们的消费信心。