Randa Abdelfattah and Ramteen Arablui

Goes into politics thinking this is the family business.

My cousin, Teddy Roosevelt, he was a Republican.

I'll distinguish myself by being a Democrat.

He becomes assistant secretary of the Navy for a little while and then tries to run for vice president in 1920, loses, and within a year... He tragically is struck with polio and is no longer able to walk.

By the way, this is Jason Scott Smith.

He's a historian at the University of New Mexico who's written two books about FDR and the New Deal.

This kind of illness striking someone who was so wealthy and seemingly led such a charmed life must have humanized him to many Americans.

Roosevelt became governor of New York in 1929, just before the stock market crash.

And during the first few years of the Great Depression, he watched as the Republican administration of President Hoover made a bad situation worse.

Raising taxes on businesses, which meant they had less money to invest.

And individuals, which led to more unemployment and fewer customers at stores.

Raising tariffs to protect American jobs, which backfired and triggered a global trade war.

And refusing to give direct aid to people, leading to a crisis of hunger and homelessness.

So Roosevelt decided to throw his hat into the ring for the presidency.

The Democratic Party declares its conviction that the chief causes of this... Roosevelt said the problem was too much government and he was going to cut it back.

And his running mate accused Hoover of leading the country down the path to socialism.

This is Lawrence Reed, President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education.

But once he took office, the kinds of advisors he listened to were the ones telling him that, no, we've got to go whole hog for as much government spending and relief programs as we can.

That's the only way to get out of the Depression.

So that's the way he went.