The most recent conjunction, in April 2013, Mars was 364 million km away from Earth, on the other side of the Sun. And in June, 2015 it'll be 384 million kilometers. The vast distance between Earth and Mars has a real impact on our communications to the Red Planet.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States, who led the country through the Great Depression and World War II.
Consequently the Depression got worse and worse until FDR was elected in 1932. FDR then instituted federal programs to put people back to work, to regulate banks and Wall Street, and various other things, to help alleviate the Depression. In other words he saw helping people hurt by the Depression as a job for government.