5/31/11 - Historic Hyde Park

The Roosevelts and the Vanderbilts in the Hudson River Valley. After a privileged childhood on the banks of the Hudson River, FDR entered politics only to endure illness and a lifetime of paralysis after a heroic battle with polio. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States. The only president to serve four terms in office from 1933 to 1945 -- he led America out of the greatest economic depression in its history (the Great Depression) and guided the Allied Powers to victory in World War II. Eleanor Roosevelt continued to work for world peace after FDR's death and championed the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.