Franklin D Roosevelt: 1920 to 1932

FDR was instrumental in Woodrow Wilson's presidential campaign in 1912, and so Wilson appointed him as the Assistant Secretary of Navy which he held from 1913 to 1920.

President Wilson contemplated running for election in a third term but amidst deteriorating health, he chose not to.

James Cox and FDR made up the Democratic ticket and lost to the Republican ticket, Harding-Coolidge.

A year later, FDR contracted polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. This was a giant setback for the 39 year-old FDR.

In 1924, FDR discovered Warm Springs, Georgia where 88 degree water from the springs allowed him to slowly regain some movement in his legs. By 1927, he had turned the Warm Springs into a a not-for-profit foundation.

In 1928, he re-entered politics in New York, where he was from and won the governorship. He won re-election as governor in 1930 by a growing margin and in 1932, he entered the presidential race.

Against Hoover, who was seemingly losing the battle against the Great Depression, FDR won the presidency by a wide margin in November 1932.

FDR became the 32nd POTUS.