羅斯福有許多婚外的感情,埃莉諾的社交秘書露西·默塞尔·拉瑟弗德便是與其有染的幾個女人之一。他们的關係從1914年露西剛被雇用後不久即開始。1918年9月,埃莉諾在剛從第一次世界大戰歸來的羅斯福行李中發現兩人的信件,風流韻事因此被揭發。根據羅斯福家族記載,埃莉諾想和羅斯福離婚,这样他就可以與他所愛的女人在一起了。但是露西是個天主教徒,不能把自己嫁給一位離過婚還外帶有五個子女的男子。另一方面,露西的親屬则堅持認為她想結婚,但「埃莉諾不願意讓步」。根據羅斯福傳記作家让·爱德华·史密斯表示,一般大眾較傾向埃莉諾確實愿意「給羅斯福自由」[10]。不過,他們在羅斯福顧問路易斯·麦克亨利·豪(英语:Louis McHenry Howe)非正式地調停下勉强合好,並且羅斯福答應永不再見到露西。羅斯福母親莎拉亦加入調停,並且告訴羅斯福說如果他離婚的話,家族會因此而蒙羞,並且「不會再給他一分錢」[10]。埃莉諾在瓦尔基爾的海德公园建造了一幢獨立的房屋獨自居住。他們的婚姻在美國被稱做「權宜婚姻(marriage of convenience)」[11]。
在1930年州长選举期間,為了能够再次當選,羅斯福需要紐約市坦慕尼協會的善意支持;但是他的共和黨對手查爾斯·H·塔特爾(英语:Charles H. Tuttle),使用坦慕尼協會的腐敗作為羅斯福的軟肋以攻擊之。隨著選舉的逼近,羅斯福成立了一個司法調查小組以調查州政府的腐敗問題。最终,他再次當選,與對手差距超過70萬票[25]。
最终,羅斯福贏得57%的选票,並拿下了除6个州以外的其他所有州,選舉人票贏得472張,較胡佛的59張多。歷史學家和政治學家認為1932年至1936年的選舉為政治重組,該選舉結束自林肯1860年當選總統以來共和黨的長期執政,為民主黨創造了一個新多數聯盟,從而使美國政治開始所謂的「新政政黨制度」或(由政治學家所稱的)第五政黨制度(英语:Fifth party system)[34]。
羅斯福的「新就任百日」集中在他戰略裡的第一部分:緊急救援。自1933年3月9日到6月16日為止,他向國會提交了史無前例、大量的法案,所有這些法案皆輕鬆過關。為了要提出計劃,羅斯福得倚賴國會裡幾位參議員領袖,如喬治·諾里斯(英语:George W. Norris)、羅伯特·華格纳和雨果·布萊克,以及他的學者顧問智囊團。跟胡佛看法類似,他認為之所以造成大蕭條,一部分原因是由於人們不再支出或投資,因為他們害怕失去手頭的錢。
羅斯福以削減經常性聯邦預算的方式,試圖保持其競選承諾。其中包括削減40%退伍軍人福利和削減整體軍事開支。他將50萬退伍軍人和寡婦從退休津貼裡除名,並削減剩下符合資格者的福利。這項措施引发了由海外戰爭退伍軍人協會(英语:Veterans of Foreign Wars)的抗議。雖然羅斯福堅持其立場,但是憤怒的退伍軍人還是讓羅斯福遭到了挫敗,他們與參議員休伊·皮尔斯·朗結盟,並促使國會通過一個巨大紅利法案而壓過了總統的否決權。另一方面他成功地削減聯邦政府雇員薪資,及陸軍和海軍的預算。他也減少了在研究和教育上的開支。
雖然1933年新政第一階段已受到大多數部門的廣泛支持,新政第二階段挑戰的目標卻是商業界。阿爾·史密斯率領保守民主黨人組成美國自由聯盟(英语:American Liberty League),展開對羅斯福兇猛的反擊。他們把羅斯福和馬克思與列寧相提並論。[51]不過史密斯過分高估手上的牌,而且他華而不實的修辭讓羅斯福得以孤立他的對手,並將他們定位為富裕並反對新政施行的既得利益者。這讓羅斯福在1936年大選大獲全勝。[52]相形之下,工會受華格納法的雨露滋潤,簽署加入的新會員數以百萬計,並成為1936年、1940年和1944年總統改選時羅斯福的主要支持者。[53]
羅斯福利用他的個人魅力,以建立支持干預的政治勢力。他這樣告訴他的爐邊談話聽眾說,美國應該是「民主國家的兵工廠」。[80]1940年9月2日,羅斯福公然違抗中立法案,通過了基地驅逐艦協定(英语:Destroyers for Bases Agreement)(Destroyers for Bases Agreement)。這讓美國提供50艘驅逐艦給英國,以換取在英屬加勒比島嶼和紐芬蘭的軍事基本權利。這是1941年3月租借條款的先驅,意味著美國開始直接大規模的軍事和經濟援助同盟國。對於外國政策諮詢,羅斯福則向哈里·霍普金斯求教。當時霍普金斯擔任他的戰時首席顧問。他們尋求創新的方式,以幫助英國。英國在1940年年底時財政資源就已經用盡了,當時參眾兩院的孤立主義情緒已消退,而美國國會在1941年3月通過租借法案,允許美國向英國、中華民國和後來的蘇聯輸送軍用物資。國會表決承諾自1941年至1945年間投資500億美元的軍事物資。與此形成鮮明對比的是第一次世界大戰的貸款計畫,租借法案戰後不需要歸還。羅斯福是一個終身的自由貿易和反帝國主義人士,結束歐洲殖民主義是他的人生目標之一。
^Collins, Robert. More: The Politics of Economic Growth in Postwar America. Oxford University Press. 2002-04-04: 5. ISBN 978-0195152630(英语).
^Sternsher, Bernard. The Emergence of the New Deal Party System: A Problem in Historical Analysis of Voter Behavio. Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 1975, 6 (1): 第127–149頁 (英语).
^Darby, Michael R. Three and a half million U.S. Employees have been mislaid: or, an Explanation of Unemployment, 1934–1941. Journal of Political Economy. 1976, 84 (1): 第1–16頁 (英语).
^Fried, Albert. FDR and His Enemies. Palgrave Macmillan. 2001-01-06: 第120–123頁. ISBN 978-0312238278(英语).
^達比計算WPA工人當作在職人口數;列伯卡德(Lebergott)則根據後面資料來源計算失業人數:Smiley. Historical Statistics US ((1976) D-86). 1983 (英语).與Smiley, Gene. Recent Unemployment Rate Estimates for the 1920s and 1930s. Journal of Economic History. June 1983, 43: 第487–93頁 (英语).
^Keylor, William. VIII France and the Illusion of American Support, 1919-1940. Joel Blatt (编). The French Defeat of 1940 Reassessments. Berghahn Books. 2001: 第234–235頁. ISBN 9781571812261(英语).
^Roosevelt, Franklin. Aug. 24, 1944 message from F. D. Roosevelt to Winston Churchill. Warsaw Uprising Documents, Roosevelt Papers, Map Room Papers, Box 6. Project InPosterum. [2008-02-10]. (原始内容存档于2019-01-31) (英语). I do not consider it advantageous to the long range general war prospect for me to join with you in the proposed message to U.J. [Uncle Joe].
^於許多研究如Arthur Morse的While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy (New York, 1968), David S. Wyman's Paper Walls: America and the Refugee Crisis, 1938–1941 (Boston, 1968),以及Henry L. Feingold的The Politics of Rescue: The Roosevelt Administration and the Holocaust, 1938–1945 (New Brunswick, NJ, 1970)
^Bailey, Thomas A. Presidential Greatness. APPLETON CENTURY CROFTS. 1966. ASIN: B000Q9HM2O (英语).,一本由主流史學家的非計量評估; Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents--6th Edition: Includes Material through 2005 第四版. Barricade Books. 2005-10-25. ISBN 978-1569802861(英语).,包含1962年和1982次民調的結果; Faber, Charles F.; Faber, Richard B., American Presidents Ranked by Performance, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005-12-06, ISBN 978-0786426102; Felzenberg, Alvin S.“There You Go Again: Liberal Historians and the New York Times Deny Ronald Reagan His Due,”Policy Review, March—April 1997; The American Mayor: The Best & the Worst Big-City Leaders. Pennsylvania State University Press. April 1999. ISBN 978-0271018775(英语).Authors list列表中的|first1=缺少|last1= (帮助); Miller, Nathan. Star-Spangled Men America's Ten Worst Presidents. Scribner. 1999-02-25. ISBN 978-0684852065(英语).; Murray, Robert K.; Blessing, Tim H., Greatness in the White House: Rating the Presidents, from Washington Through Ronald Reagan 2 Updated edition, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988-12-31, ISBN 978-0271024868 引文格式1维护:冗余文本 (link); Pfiffner, James P. Ranking the Presidents: Continuity and Volatility. White House Studies. 2003, 3: 第23頁後 (英语).; Ridings, William J., Jr.; McIver, Stuart B., Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent, Citadel, March 1997, ISBN 0-8065-1799-9; Schlesinger, Jr. Arthur M. Ranking the Presidents: From Washington to Clinton. Political Science Quarterly. 1997, (112): 第179–90頁 (英语).; Skidmore, Max J. Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review. McFarland & Company. May 2004. ISBN 978-0786418206(英语).; Skidmore, Max J. Ranking and Evaluating Presidents: The Case of Theodore Roosevelt. White House Studies. 2001, 1 (4): 第495+ 頁 (英语).; Taranto, James; Leo, Leonard (编), Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and Worst in the White House, Free Press, 2004-06-01, ISBN 0-7432-5433-3,華盛頓特區聯邦主義者協會民調結果; Vedder, Richard; Gallaway, Lowell, Rating Presidential Performance, Denson, John V. (编), Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom, Mises Institute, June 2001, ISBN 0945466293。
^Leuchtenburg, William E. Chapter 1. The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy. Columbia University Press. 1995 [2008-12-31]. ASIN: B000OPKU06. (原始内容存档于2011-11-02) (英语).
^Schlesinger, Arthur Jr. Liberalism in America: A Note for Europeans. The Politics of Hope. 波士頓: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1962-01-01 [2008-12-31]. ASIN: B001K24R5G. (原始内容存档于2019-06-01) (英语).
美国人口调查局,Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1951 (1951)完整而有用的資料;線上存取(页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)
美国人口调查局,Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 (1976)
Cantril, Hadley and Mildred Strunk, eds.; Public Opinion, 1935–1946 (1951),美國許多民意調查的大規模彙整
Gallup, George Horace, ed. The Gallup Poll; Public Opinion, 1935–1971 3 vol (1972)報紙報導的每次民調結果總結。
Loewenheim, Francis L. et al, eds; Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime Correspondence (1975)
Moley, Raymond. After Seven Years (1939),智囊團關鍵時刻回憶錄
Nixon, Edgar B. ed. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Foreign Affairs (3 vol 1969),涵蓋1933年至1937年。2nd series 1937–39 available on microfiche and in a 14 vol print edition at some academic libraries.
Roosevelt, Franklin D.; Rosenman, Samuel Irving, ed. The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt (13 vol, 1938, 1945);僅包括公開資料(不包含信件);涵蓋1928年到1945年
Zevin, B. D. ed.; Nothing to Fear: The Selected Addresses of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1932–1945 (1946)演說精選
Roosevelt, Franklin D.; Myron C. Taylor, ed. Wartime Correspondence Between President Roosevelt and Pope Pius XII.由教宗庇護十二世與哈利·S·杜鲁门。Kessinger Publishing(1947出版,2005年重印). ISBN 978-1-4191-6654-9
傳記
Black, Conrad. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, 2003.
Burns, James MacGregor. Roosevelt (1956, 1970), 2 vol;解釋性質的學術性傳記,側重於政治;第二冊側重於戰時
Coker, Jeffrey W. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Biography. Greenwood, 2005. 172 pp.
Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny (1990),單冊的學術性傳記。涵蓋其一生
Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt (4 vol 1952–73),最詳細的學術性傳記。結束於1934年。
Davis, Kenneth S. FDR: The Beckoning of Destiny, 1982–1928 (1972)
Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (1995)
Jenkins, Roy. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (2003)英國觀點的短篇傳記
Lash, Joseph P. Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship Based on Eleanor Roosevelt's Private Papers (1971),婚姻史
Morgan, Ted, FDR: A biography, (1985),一本廣受歡迎的傳記
Ward, Geoffrey C. Before The Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882–1905 (1985); A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, (1992),涵蓋1905年至1932年
學術性次要來源
Alter, Jonathan. The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope (2006),一般史
Beasley, Maurine, et al eds. The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia(2001)線上閱讀(页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)
Bellush, Bernard; Franklin D. Roosevelt as Governor of New York(1955)線上閱讀(页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)
Graham, Otis L. and Meghan Robinson Wander, eds. Franklin D. Roosevelt: His Life and Times. (1985)。百科全書
Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945. (1999),關於廣泛的國家事務民調
Leuchtenburg, William E. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940. (1963)。對該時代的沿革詮釋
Leuchtenburg, William E. In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman (2001),他的長遠影響
Leuchtenburg, William E. "Showdown on the Court." Smithsonian 2005 36(2): 106–113. Issn: 0037-7333 Fulltext: at Ebsco
McMahon, Kevin J. Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown. U. of Chicago Press, 2004. 298 pp.
Parmet, Herbert S. and Marie B. Hecht; Never Again: A President Runs for a Third Term (1968)1940年大選
Ritchie, Donald A,; Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932 U. Press of Kansas, 2007.
Rosen, Elliot A. Roosevelt, the Great Depression, and the Economics of Recovery. U. Press of Virginia, 2005. 308 pp.
Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., The Age of Roosevelt, 3 vols, (1957–1960),古典敘事史。強烈支持羅斯福。線上閱讀 vol 2vol 3
Shaw, Stephen K.; Pederson, William D.; and Williams, Frank J., eds. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Transformation of the Supreme Court. Sharpe, 2004.
Sitkoff, Harvard, ed. Fifty Years Later: The New Deal Evaluated (1985)
Hakim, Joy. A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995: 100–104. ISBN 0-19-509514-6.
外交政策與二次大戰
Beschloss, Michael R. The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941–1945 (2002).
Burns, James MacGregor. Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom (1970),第2卷涵蓋戰爭年代
Wayne S. Cole, "American Entry into World War II: A Historiographical Appraisal," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 43, No. 4. (Mar., 1957), pp. 595–617.
Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932–1945 (2nd ed. 1995)外交政策的廣泛民調反應
Glantz, Mary E. FDR and the Soviet Union: The President's Battles over Foreign Policy. U. Press of Kansas, 2005. 253 pp.
Heinrichs, Waldo. Threshold of War. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and American Entry into World War II (1988).
Kimball, Warren. The Juggler: Franklin Roosevelt as World Statesman (1991)
Langer, William and S. Everett Gleason. The Challenge to Isolation, 1937–1940 (1952). The Undeclared War, 1940–1941 (1953)。很有影響力的兩卷半官方史
Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War.羅斯福如何處理戰爭的歷史
Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (1994)。總體戰爭史,強調羅斯福和其他主要領導人的外交
Woods, Randall Bennett. A Changing of the Guard: Anglo-American Relations, 1941–1946 (1990)
批評
Barnes, Harry Elmer. Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: A Critical Examination of the Foreign Policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Its Aftermath (1953)。「修正主義者」指責羅斯福煽動日本攻擊。
Best, Gary Dean. The Retreat from Liberalism: Collectivists versus Progressives in the New Deal Years (2002)批評支持羅斯福的知識分子。
Best, Gary Dean. Pride, Prejudice, and Politics: Roosevelt Versus Recovery, 1933–1938 Praeger Publishers. 1991;總結報刊社論。
Conkin, Paul K. New Deal (1975),來自左派的批評。
Doenecke, Justus D. and Stoler, Mark A. Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt's Foreign Policies, 1933–1945. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 248 pp.
Flynn, John T. The Roosevelt Myth (1948),前社會主義人士譴責羅斯福所有觀點。
Moley, Raymond. After Seven Years (1939)轉成保守派的前智囊團內部回憶錄。
Russett, Bruce M. No Clear and Present Danger: A Skeptical View of the United States Entry into World War II 2nd ed. (1997)敘述美國應該讓蘇聯和德國互相毀滅。
Powell, Jim. FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression. (2003),對羅斯福所有政策的攻擊。
Robinson, Greg. By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans (2001)說羅斯福的種族主義是主要該譴責的地方。
Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. Three New Deals: Reflections on Roosevelt's America, Mussolini's Italy, and Hitler's Germany, 1933–1939 (2006)比較家長主義者和平民主義者的特性。
Smiley, Gene. Rethinking the Great Depression (1993)經濟學家的短文著作,同時指責胡佛和羅斯福的政策。
Wyman, David S. The Abandonment Of The Jews: America and the Holocaust Pantheon Books, 1984.攻擊羅斯福消極性共謀姑息,讓大屠殺發生。
羅斯福發表的言論
Braden, Waldo W., and Earnest Brandenburg. "Roosevelt's Fireside Chats." Communication Monographs' 22 (1955): 290–302.
Buhite, Russell D. and David W. Levy, eds. FDR's Fireside Chats (1993)
Craig, Douglas B. Fireside Politics: Radio and Political Culture in the United States, 1920–1940 (2005)
Crowell, Laura. "Building the "Four Freedoms" Speech." Communication Monographs 22 (1952): 266–283.
Crowell, Laura. "Franklin D. Roosevelt's Audience Persuasion in the 1936 Campaign." Communication Monographs 17 (1950): 48–64
Houck, Davis W. F. D. R. and Fear Itself: The First Inaugural Address. Texas A&M UP, 2002.
Houck, Davis W. Rhetoric as Currency: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression. Texas A&M UP, 2001.
Ryan, Halford Ross. "Roosevelt's First Inaugural: A Study of Technique." Quarterly Journal of Speech 65 (1979): 137–149.
Ryan, Halford Ross. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Rhetorical Presidency. Greenwood Press, 1988.
Stelzner, Hermann G. "'War Message,' December 8, 1941: An Approach to Language." Communication Monographs 33 (1966): 419–437.