The Public and Private Lives of FDR (1933-1945) | American Experience PBS As the longest-serving president in U.S. history and leader through two of the nation's worst crises, Franklin Delano Roosevelt set the standard for the modern presidency. Our two-part biography traces America's 32nd president from his early years, as the pampered scion of a wealthy family, to his devastating paralysis from polio to his 12 years in the White House through the Great Depression and World War II. PART TWO (1933-1945) examines Franklin Roosevelt's four terms as president, his response to the Great Depression and his management of World War II, including his growing personal ties to Winston Churchill and his relationship with Josef Stalin. Also explored is how he hid his physical disability from the American people and how his relationship with his wife affected his personal and professional lives.