Political Leaders 2

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in New York, and is best known for being the 32nd President of the United States of America. Roosevelt studied at Harvard College and Columbia Law School before practicing Law in New York City. In 1910 he was elected to the New York State Senate, and during WW1 was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy under US President Woodrow Wilson. While in this post, Franklin D. Roosevelt was present during the keel laying of USS Arizona on March 16, 1914. In August 1921, Roosevelt contracted an illness that left him paralyzed from the waist down. In 1928, after a spell away from politics, Roosevelt was elected as the 44th Governor of New York. He remained in this position until he was elected President of the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt remained as President for twelve years, becoming the only President to serve more than two terms. In 1940, Roosevelt re-commissioned the famous American frigate USS Constitution. Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia, from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945.

George Washington
George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732, (Gregorian calendar) in Popes Creek, Colony of Virginia, British America. He received a basic school education from various tutors and an Anglican school. In 1749 he became a professional surveyor, after gaining experience with a friend, and later became the surveyor of Culpeper County. George Washington’s military career began in the Virginia Militia where he was appointed adjutant in 1753, and in 1755 he became Colonel of the Virginia Regiment. During the American Revolution the Second Continental Congress appointed Washington Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, a position from which he resigned when victory was completed. Washington chaired the 1787 Constitutional Convention which drafted the United States Constitution and formulated a federal government for the United States. The Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington as the first President of the United States of America in 1789, and again at the next presidential election. Washington gave the name USS Constitution to the famous American frigate which remains a commissioned naval vessel to this day. George Washington died on December 14, 1799. There has been much speculation as to the actual cause of his death although, in the hours leading up to it, he had difficulty breathing and was unable to speak or swallow.

John Adams
John Adams, best known for being a Founding Father and second President of the United States, was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. He was educated at a Dame school before attending Braintree Latin School and, in 1751, went to Harvard College. Taking the decision to become a lawyer, Adams earned a Master of Arts from Harvard in 1758 and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts a year later. As a representative of Massachusetts, John Adams played a major part in persuading Congress to declare independence. In 1776 he helped Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence and became it’s leading supporter in Congress. Adams took part in the negotiations that helped to secure peace with Great Britain (1783 Treaty of Paris) while serving as the United States Minister to the Netherlands. John Adams served two terms as Vice President to George Washington before becoming the second President of the United States, and the first president to reside in the White House. On September 20, 1797, Adams attended  the launching of the American frigate USS Constitution in Boston. John Adams died in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1826; the same day as Thomas Jefferson.