of Cox and made many influential friends. At the time of the election defeat, Roosevelt was not even forty years of age. Roosevelt returned to law in New York City. However, he was hit by polio in August 1921. Roosevelt was effectively paralysed from the waist down. He could only walk using leg braces and walking canes. Regardless of this illness and the impact it had on him, Roosevelt determined to return to work as soon as it was medically possible for him to do so. Just one year later in 1922, Roosevelt felt well enough to get back into politics when he assisted Alfred Smith become governor of New  York State for the second time. Such was Smith's standing in the Democrat Party, that he became their presidential nomination in 1928. He had been officially  nominated by Roosevelt. Smith gave up the governorship of New York State to campaign nationally and the subsequent gubernatorial election saw Roosevelt elected governor in 1928 though he took up the position in January1929. Roosevelt made a name for himself by introducing tax relief for farmers in the state; he also did positive work in conservation. He had a natural gift for speaking to people over the radio - he seemed to be the normal man in the street who kept himself in contact with the people rather than a remote politician who hid behind his position and power. Roosevelt now found that he was the governor of a state where unemployment grew at