The President Who Loved Warm Springs, Georgia

 

Official portrait of FDR              Frank O. Salisbury, 1947

On this day 78 years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was a place and community he had come to love over the twenty years since his first visit there to treat his polio.

I wish I could be here more.

The Little White House, Warms Springs State Historic Site, Georgia

William Katz, a talented participant-observers of our American experience, said this about Roosevelt at his blog, Urgent Agenda, in 2011:

Roosevelt, of course, was the only American president to be elected for more than two terms. He had just started his fourth when he died. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman who, contrary to political myth, was not an obscure former senator from Missouri, but a prominent former senator who'd been on the cover of TIME in 1943.

One can debate Roosevelt's policies, but he was, as Ed Murrow described him, the central pivot of 12 years of American history, leading the nation through the Depression and World War II. He is considered by most historians one of the great American presidents, often ranked third behind Lincoln and Washington. His policies did not end the Depression, but Roosevelt gave Americans a sense of hope and a sense that he cared, and that he understood the impact of the economic disaster on the ordinary American.

FDR invented the modern presidency, for better or worse. He was the first to use mass media, addressing the nation frequently by radio in his fireside chats. He was the first to fly to a political convention. And he became an internationalist in an age of isolationism. He was not a great intellect, nor was he impeccably honest (to put it mildly), but it is hard to think of American history without him. He had the sense to appoint Republicans to high positions to help fight World War II, symbolic acts that established, at least for a time, a bipartisan foreign- and defense policy. His bond with Winston Churchill during World War II was one of modern history's great partnerships.

The decision, in 1944, to replace the naive left-wing vice president, Henry Wallace, with Harry Truman on the Democratic ticket was an act of political genius, although the Congressional leadership probably had more to do with it than Roosevelt himself. And that act, based on Truman's actual performance in the Senate, demonstrated the enormous value of listening to people who actually know a candidate for high office. It was a far cry from today's "democratic" primary system, where people vote for candidates who may have little actual experience, and who have not been examined by those who understand the pressures of the presidency.

It's remarkable to think that in 1944 the Democratic Party had on its ticket Roosevelt and Truman, two men later seen as great presidents. Compare please to today.

 

A funeral train carried the late president from Warm Spring to Washington, then on to Hyde Park, New York, for burial at Springwood, his birthplace and beloved life-long home. Hundreds of thousands lined the tracks as the train made its journey. Over 500,ooo watched the coffin travel from Washington's Union Station to the White House.

Funeral procession, April 14, 1945

Any Franklin D. Roosevelt story would be incomplete without reference to his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. Her story is preserved at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, two miles east of Springwood. For more information on the Little White House and Warm Spring State Historic Site, go here and here.






Sources


Text:
title, 1937 quote


Photos and Illustrations:
portrait, White House Historical Association, public domain
funeral caisson, Library Of Congress, Prints and photographs division, public domain

Warm Springs, Georgia: I Wish I Could Be Here More

Official portrait of President Roosevelt                      Frank O. Salisbury, 1947

On this day 77 years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was a place and community he had come to love over the twenty years since his first visit there to treat his polio. 

The Little White House, Warms Springs State Historic Site, Georgia

William Katz, a talented participant-observers of our American experience, said this about Roosevelt at his blog, Urgent Agenda, in 2011:

Roosevelt, of course, was the only American president to be elected for more than two terms. He had just started his fourth when he died. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman who, contrary to political myth, was not an obscure former senator from Missouri, but a prominent former senator who'd been on the cover of TIME in 1943.
One can debate Roosevelt's policies, but he was, as Ed Murrow described him, the central pivot of 12 years of American history, leading the nation through the Depression and World War II. He is considered by most historians one of the great American presidents, often ranked third behind Lincoln and Washington. His policies did not end the Depression, but Roosevelt gave Americans a sense of hope and a sense that he cared, and that he understood the impact of the economic disaster on the ordinary American.

FDR invented the modern presidency, for better or worse. He was the first to use mass media, addressing the nation frequently by radio in his fireside chats. He was the first to fly to a political convention. And he became an internationalist in an age of isolationism. He was not a great intellect, nor was he impeccably honest (to put it mildly), but it is hard to think of American history without him. He had the sense to appoint Republicans to high positions to help fight World War II, symbolic acts that established, at least for a time, a bipartisan foreign- and defense policy. His bond with Winston Churchill during World War II was one of modern history's great partnerships.

The decision, in 1944, to replace the naive left-wing vice president, Henry Wallace, with Harry Truman on the Democratic ticket was an act of political genius, although the Congressional leadership probably had more to do with it than Roosevelt himself. And that act, based on Truman's actual performance in the Senate, demonstrated the enormous value of listening to people who actually know a candidate for high office. It was a far cry from today's "democratic" primary system, where people vote for candidates who may have little actual experience, and who have not been examined by those who understand the pressures of the presidency.

It's remarkable to think that in 1944 the Democratic Party had on its ticket Roosevelt and Truman, two men later seen as great presidents. Compare please to today.

A funeral train carried the late president from Warm Spring to Washington, then on to Hyde Park, New York, for burial at  Springwood, his birthplace and beloved life-long home. Hundreds of thousands lined the tracks as the train made its journey. Over 500,ooo watched the coffin travel from Washington's Union Station to the White House. 

Funeral procession, April 14, 1945

Any Franklin D. Roosevelt story would be incomplete without reference to his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. Her story is preserved at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, two miles east of Springwood. For more information on the Little White House and Warm Spring State Historic Site, go here and here.  

Sources

Text:

title, 1937 quote

Photos and Illustrations:

portrait, White House Historical Association, public domain

funeral caisson, Library Of Congress, Prints and photographs division, public domain

 

The Day After Pearl Harbor: Word Power And War Power

In early evening, he called in his secretary, Grace Tully. "Sit down, Grace," he said. "I'm going before Congress tomorrow, and I'd like to dictate my message. It will be short."

With that remark Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the process of writing a response to the Japanese attack on the United States the day before. The six-minute speech would become one of the most significant and well-known of the 20th century. Roosevelt wrote and revised the document almost unaided as his lead speech writers, Samuel Rosenman and Robert Sherwood, were in New York City on the day of the attack.

There were three formal drafts each with a number of revisions. Just 24 hours after being notified of the attack Roosevelt stood before a joint session of Congress and a national radio audience to deliver the final version of his call to arms.

These words were meant to be heard.

The words that we know as the "Day of Infamy Speech" are a superb example of the power of brevity, vocabulary, and organization. They remind us of an earlier legendary speech delivered by another president on a crown of a hill in Evergreen Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863. For more information on the Roosevelt speech visit this National Archives and Records Administration link.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC

Text:

Opening quotation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

National Archives and Records Administration

Infamy Speech, wikipedia.org

   

FDR: A Good Neighbor In Warm Spring Passes Away

Seventy-three years ago today, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was a place and community he had come to love over the twenty years since his first visit there to treat his polio. William Katz, one of the most literate polymaths and   participant-observers of our American experience said this about Roosevelt on his blog, Urgent Agenda, in 2011:

Roosevelt, of course, was the only American president to be elected for more than two terms. He had just started his fourth when he died. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman who, contrary to political myth, was not an obscure former senator from Missouri, but a prominent former senator who'd been on the cover of TIME in 1943.

One can debate Roosevelt's policies, but he was, as Ed Murrow described him, the central pivot of 12 years of American history, leading the nation through the Depression and World War II. He is considered by most historians one of the great American presidents, often ranked third behind Lincoln and Washington. His policies did not end the Depression, but Roosevelt gave Americans a sense of hope and a sense that he cared, and that he understood the impact of the economic disaster on the ordinary American.

FDR invented the modern presidency, for better or worse. He was the first to use mass media, addressing the nation frequently by radio in his fireside chats. He was the first to fly to a political convention. And he became an internationalist in an age of isolationism. He was not a great intellect, nor was he impeccably honest (to put it mildly), but it is hard to think of American history without him. He had the sense to appoint Republicans to high positions to help fight World War II, symbolic acts that established, at least for a time, a bipartisan foreign- and defense policy. His bond with Winston Churchill during World War II was one of modern history's great partnerships.

The decision, in 1944, to replace the naive left-wing vice president, Henry Wallace, with Harry Truman on the Democratic ticket was an act of political genius, although the Congressional leadership probably had more to do with it than Roosevelt himself. And that act, based on Truman's actual performance in the Senate, demonstrated the enormous value of listening to people who actually know a candidate for high office. It was a far cry from today's "democratic" primary system, where people vote for candidates who may have little actual experience, and who have not been examined by those who understand the pressures of the presidency.

It's remarkable to think that in 1944 the Democratic Party had on its ticket Roosevelt and Truman, two men later seen as great presidents. Compare please to today.

The Little White House, Warms Springs State  Historic Site, Georgia

For more information on the Little White House and Warm Spring State Historic Site, go here and here.  Readers who enjoyed the insight of William Katz can read his blog here.

FDR And Fifty Years Of Liberalism

Blogging at Powerline, Steven Hayward has some observations on FDR's liberalism compared to the liberalism we have today. Political junkies of all party persuasions will enjoy what he has to say and how his readers respond. Read this post first, then follow up with this one.

FDR and his beloved Falla, FDR Memorial, Washington

OTR entered this world eighteen months after FDR's passing. His impressions of this monumental president were first shaped by his father who had little good to say about the "emperor in the White House." Looking back, OTR thinks his dad was a bit harsh on the charismatic personality who carried the nation through a very dark time. We should be thankful for such strong leadership when the ship of state plows through uncharted and stormy waters. Undoubtedly, FDR was quite willing to experiment with state-directed economics, a hypothesis popular at the time. We are better off for that experiment. At least it was carried out with the best interest of the people and - for the better part - the Founding Fathers in mind.

I Wish That I Could Be Here More

Sixty-six years ago today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was a place he had come to love--our title is a 1937 quote about Warm Springs--over the twenty years since his first visit. As this date also marks the beginning of the Civil War sesquicentennial and the fiftieth anniversary of "man in space," the end of the Roosevelt era could be easily forgotten this year. Thanks to William Katz at Urgent Agenda, we have a glimpse of the complexity and significance of FDR on the anniversary of his passing.

Readers can find more information and links here.

The Democrat Plantation

Moonbattery 's Van Helsing posted a fine history lesson--first-rate links too--on the American welfare state, an entity that could easily be called the Democrat plantation. It begins with an ominous warning delivered by Franklin Roosevelt, the welfare state founding father, about the destructive potential of sustained dependence on government aid. The story snakes through the presidencies of Johnson, Carter and Obama, and ends with the nation teetering on the abyss where fewer and fewer taxpayers support almost half the electorate. Stepping back from that edge and a descent into a slave rebellion on the part of the producers may be difficult, but it is essential if we want to sustain the republic as we know it.

June 6, 1944