April 12, 2021 – On this day in 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), the nation’s 32nd president who had just begun serving an unprecedented fourth term of office, died suddenly in Warm Springs, Georgia. First elected in 1932, FDR guided the nation through the Great Depression in the 1930s and then World War II during the early 1940s until his death in 1945. News of his death reverberated around the world.

Timeline

1882: Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York to a wealthy family.

1905: Franklin married Eleanor. They had six children, the youngest born in 1916. One child died in infancy.

1910: Franklin served as a state senator in the New York legislature from 1910-1913.

1913: FDR served as the Assistant Secretary of the navy from 1913 to 1919.

1921: While at the family’s summer house, Franklin became ill suffering paralysis from which he never fully recovered.

1929: FDR was elected Governor of New York and served until 1933.

1932: FDR was elected President of the United States and inaugurated on March 4, 1933.

1936: FDR was elected to his second term as president.

1939: Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 beginning World War II in Europe.

1940: FDR was elected to his third term as president. On Dec. 29, 1940, he delivered his famous fireside chat urging the nation’s businesses to become the “Great Arsenal of Democracy.”

1941: On Jan. 6, 1941 in his State of the Union address to Congress and the American people, FDR talked about the Four Freedoms all people should have.

1941: On Dec. 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On Dec. 8, 1941, FDR address a Joint Session of Congress delivering his famous “Day of Infamy” speech. Congress then declared war on Japan and days later, war on Germany.

1944: On June 6, 1944, the Allies (England, the United States, Russia and Canada primarily) launched the D-Day invasion along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy, France coastline to defeat Nazi Germany and its occupation of western Europe. It succeeded.

1944: In Novermber, FDR was elected to his fourth term in office.

1945: On April 12, 1945, FDR died suddenly at the “Little White House” in Warm Springs, Georgia where he often went to swim in the hot springs for relief from his paralysis.

1945: On May 8, 1945, Germany surrenndered to the Allies ending World War II in Europe.

Three Important Speeches

All presidents give a lot of speeches. From 1933 until his death in 1945, FDR delivered many very important messages to the American people via firesde chats on the radio.

In the 1930s during the Great Depression when up to 25 percent of the workforce was out of work, FDR assured the American people he was doing everything he could to help the nation survive the severe economic downturn.

As the 1930s drew to a close, the nation was recovering. But FDR kept an eye on Adolf Hitler in Germany and his rise to rise to power in the 1930s as Hitler dissolved Germany’s republic and turned its governance into a brutal dictatorship. FDR came to the conclusion Hitler could not be appeased. FDR believed America would eventually be drawn into the war and also needed to help England survive Germany’s aggression. After invading and occupying many sovereign countries in western Europe in spring 1940, Hitler began bombing England in summer 1940. Winston Churchill, England’s Prime Minister, asked FDR and America for help.

Speech #1: Great Arsenal of Democracy

On Dec. 29, 1940, FDR delivered one of his famous fireside chats urging America to become the “Great Arsenal of Democracy” to not only help England but also to defend America. This fireside chat became famous as FDR’s Arsenal of Democracy speech. In 1939, the U.S. Army Air Corps had less than 2,000 military air[planes. By the end of the war in 1945, American factories had produced almost 300,000 military airplanes. It’s one of the most dramatic examples of the “Great Arsenal of Democracy.” At its peak production in 1943-1944, Ford’s Willow Run bomber plant was making one B-24 “Liberator” bomber every hour. Each bomber had 360,000 rivets on it and the rivets were made at the factory.

Speech #2: Four Freedoms

In FDR’s January 1941 State of the Union address to Congress and the American people, FDR outlined Four Freedoms all people should have. This address became famous as FDR’s Four Freedoms speech. The Four Freedoms FDR outlined were: 1) Freedom of Speech, 2) Freedom of Worship, 3) Freedom from Want, and 4) Freedom from Fear.

Norman Rockwell, an American artist, painted a series of famous covers for the Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1943 depicting the Four Freedoms.

In March 1941, the United States began selling war materials to England through the Lend-Lease Act that passed the U.S. Congress and FDR signed it into law.

Speech #3: Day of Infamy

The third famous speech for which FDR is remembered is his “Day of Infamy” speech on Dec. 8, 1941. On Dec. 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii killing more than 2,000 American servicemen. Before a Joint Session of Congress, FDR told the American people the nation was now at war. FDR said it was a “Date of Infamy” and not merely a “day” because he wanted the exact date to always be remembered. Somehow, the speech has been known as the “Day of Infamy” but should be known as FDR’s “Date of Infamy” speech.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. When was FDR first elected president?

2. In the 1930s, the nation suffered a severe economic downturn. What was it called?

3. What was the name of the series of laws that FDR supported that helped the nation’s economy recover?

4. What are the three speeches FDR delivered that are now famous?

5. What are the Four Freedoms FDR outlined in a speech?

6. Why was FDR’s presidency unprecedented?

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. As FDR guided the nation in the 1930s, what concerned him in foreign affairs?

2. When did FDR urge the country to become the “Great Arsenal of Democracy” and what motivated him to take that position?

3. Are the Four Freedoms still relevant today?