Franklin D. Roosevelt in Postwar Suburbia
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) was the 32nd President of the United States and the only chief executive to be elected to more than two terms in office. Roosevelt held the presidency from 1934 to 1945, leading the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. His legislative program, the New Deal, greatly expanded the role of the federal government in American society.
Roosevelt's New Deal programs made tremendous contributions to the course of development in postwar America. The president himself oversaw the creation of the Homeowners Loan Corporation to serve urban needs and protect small homeowners from foreclosure, a particular problem that poor and working-class Americans faced during the Great Depression.
One of Roosevelt's most influential programs was the Federal Housing Administration, which provided employment, enabled Americans to invest safely in real estate, and gave millions of Americans their first opportunity at homeownership.