Editing Franklin D. Roosevelt (section)

===Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913–1919)===
[[File:Franklin Roosevelt Secretary of the Navy 1913.jpg|thumb|Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913]]

Roosevelt's support of Wilson led to his appointment in March 1913 as [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]], the second-ranking official in the [[United States Navy|Navy Department]] after Secretary [[Josephus Daniels]] who paid it little attention.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=97–101}} Roosevelt had an affection for the [[United States Navy|Navy]], was well-read on the subject, and was an ardent supporter of a large, efficient force.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|p=51}}<ref>J. Simon Rofe, " 'Under the Influence of Mahan': Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and their Understanding of American National Interest." ''Diplomacy & Statecraft'' 19.4 (2008): 732–45.</ref> With Wilson's support, Daniels and Roosevelt instituted a merit-based promotion system and extended civilian control over the autonomous departments of the Navy.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=102–06}} Roosevelt oversaw the Navy's civilian employees and earned the respect of union leaders for his fairness in resolving disputes.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=113–14}} No strikes occurred during his seven-plus years in the office,{{Sfn|Burns|1956|p=52}} as he gained valuable experience in labor issues, wartime management, naval issues, and logistics.{{Sfn|Gunther|1950|p=212}}

In 1914, Roosevelt ran for the seat of retiring Republican Senator [[Elihu Root]] of New York. Though he had the backing of Treasury Secretary [[William Gibbs McAdoo]] and Governor [[Martin H. Glynn]], he faced a formidable opponent in Tammany Hall's [[James W. Gerard]].{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=122–23}} He also was without Wilson's support, as the president needed Tammany's forces for his legislation and 1916 re-election.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|p=56}} Roosevelt was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gerard, who in turn lost the general election to Republican [[James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.]] He learned that federal patronage alone, without White House support, could not defeat a strong local organization.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|pp=57, 60}} After the election, he and Tammany Hall boss [[Charles Francis Murphy]] sought accommodation and became allies.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|p=125}}

Roosevelt refocused on the Navy Department as World War I broke out in Europe in August 1914.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=125–26}} Though he remained publicly supportive of Wilson, Roosevelt sympathized with the [[Preparedness Movement]], whose leaders strongly favored the Allied Powers and called for a military build-up.{{sfn|Dallek|2017|pp=59–61}} The Wilson administration initiated an expansion of the Navy after the [[sinking of the RMS Lusitania|sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania'']] by a German [[submarine]], and Roosevelt helped establish the [[United States Navy Reserve]] and the [[Council of National Defense]].{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=130–32}} In April 1917, after Germany declared it would engage in [[unrestricted submarine warfare]] and attacked several U.S. ships, Congress approved Wilson's call for a [[United States declaration of war on Germany (1917)|declaration of war on Germany]].{{sfn|Dallek|2017|pp=62–63}}

Roosevelt requested that he be allowed to serve as a naval officer, but Wilson insisted that he continue as Assistant Secretary. For the next year, Roosevelt remained in Washington to coordinate the naval deployment, as the Navy expanded fourfold.{{sfn|Dallek|2017|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=139–40}} In the summer of 1918, Roosevelt traveled to Europe to inspect naval installations and meet with French and British officials. On account of his relation to Theodore Roosevelt, he was received very prominently considering his relatively junior rank, obtaining long private audiences with King [[George V]] and prime ministers [[David Lloyd George]] and [[Georges Clemenceau]], as well as a tour of the [[Battle of Verdun|battlefield at Verdun]].<ref name="SpectatorFDR">{{Cite magazine |last=O'Brien |first=Phillips |author-link=Phillips O'Brien |date=August 10, 2024 |title=Franklin Roosevelt was made in world war one |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/franklin-roosevelt-was-made-in-world-war-one/ |access-date=August 10, 2024 |magazine=The Spectator}}</ref> In September, on the ship voyage back to the United States, he contracted [[1918 flu pandemic|pandemic influenza]] with complicating pneumonia,{{sfn|Goldman|Goldman|2017|p=15}} which left him unable to work for a month.<ref name="SpectatorFDR"/>

After Germany signed an [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice]] in November 1918, Daniels and Roosevelt supervised the demobilization of the Navy.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=171–72}} Against the advice of older officers such as Admiral [[William S. Benson]]—who claimed he could not "conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation"—Roosevelt personally ordered the preservation of the Navy's [[Bureau of Aeronautics#Origins: 1920s and 1930s|Aviation Division]].{{sfn|Underwood|1991|p=11}} With the Wilson administration near an end, Roosevelt planned his next run for office. He approached [[Herbert Hoover]] about running for the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination, with Roosevelt as his running mate.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=176–77}}