- "Roosevelt won't go just after Japan. We'll be at war with Hitler and Mussolini soon enough."
- ―Steve Rogers to Bucky Barnes[src]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the President of the United States of America before and during World War II.
Biography
Governor of New York
Campaign party
In 1931, Franklin Delano Roosevelt held a campaign party in New York, with alcohol provided by Ernest Koenig. Roosevelt gave a speech while wearing braces that helped him walk despite his polio, and then sat back down to enjoy the dinner. He left the dinner early, planning on retrieving his wheelchair from the service entrance. When he was about to sit in his wheelchair, he was approached by Phil Coulson and Daisy Johnson who tried to warn him, however, he was not under attack.
Johnson told confused Roosevelt that Coulson had had too much to drink, and Roosevelt was understanding. Coulson helped Roosevelt into his wheelchair, and they agreed to keep the events of that night between the two of them, shaking hands, before Roosevelt left.[1]
Presidency
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World War II
Creating the SSR
As President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt had to lead his country through turbulent times of World War II. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Roosevelt realized that Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich represent the greatest threat to liberty and justice the free world had ever seen. To counter that threat, in 1940 Roosevelt ordered the formation of the Strategic Scientific Reserve to fight the Nazi Party, even though the United States was still at peace with Germany. To ensure that only the greatest scientists work for the SSR, Roosevelt ordered Chester Phillips to recruit Howard Stark into the agency.[2]
Lend-Lease
- "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most."
"Some would say it brought our country closer to war."
"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here." - ―Tony Stark and Steve Rogers[src]
On March 11, 1941, Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease bill in order to provide aid for the Allied troops in dire times, with a set of fountain pens, which he would later give to Howard Stark. However, some individuals like Steve Rogers would later consider that signing the bill only exacerbated the crisis.[3]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops.[2] The attack on Pearl Harbor served to unify American public opinion in favor of entering World War II, and, on December 8, Congress declared war on Japan with only one dissenting vote. Germany and the other Axis powers promptly declared war on the United States. Roosevelt declared that the United States would build fifty thousand planes to fight the armies of Hirohito and Adolf Hitler.[4]
Meeting Howard Stark
Some time later, Roosevelt personally met Howard Stark, who supported the American war effort by building one hundred thousand planes for the United States Armed Forces.[4]
Fighting HYDRA
- "I spoke to the President this morning. As of today, the SSR is being retasked."
"Colonel?"
"We are taking the fight to HYDRA." - ―Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter[src]
After the assassination of Abraham Erskine and the loss of the Super Soldier Serum in 1943, Roosevelt ordered the SSR to concentrate its efforts on battling HYDRA, the Nazi special weapons division led by the infamous Johann Schmidt.[5]
Yalta Conference
In February 1945, Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference with the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.[6]
Relationships
Family
- Eleanor Roosevelt † - Wife[7]
Allies
- Harry S. Truman † - Successor
- Stark Industries
- Winston Churchill †
- Joseph Stalin †
- Chester Phillips †
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Phil Coulson (Chronicom LMD)
- Daisy Johnson
Enemies
Trivia
- In a rejected scene from Iron Man, Tony Stark says to Christine Everhart that his father, Howard Stark, was commanded by FDR to work on the Manhattan Project and help defeat the Nazis.[8]
