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By: Jonathan Lindberg

In July 1940, the Democratic Convention in Chicago nominated Franklin Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. The United States was facing great peril, split over the prospect of war with both Germany and Japan and still shaking the dust of the depression from its shoes. Roosevelt, ambitious to be sure, had kept his third term aspirations close to his heart, much like he would do over his fourth term. But with the nomination secure, Roosevelt turned his attention to the vice presidency, an office which was still voted upon by the delegates. Roosevelt indicated his choice was Henry A. Wallace, then Secretary of Agriculture. The convention was less than pleased. From the White House, Roosevelt followed the proceedings with unusual interest. What is clear is that at some point before the vote, Roosevelt drafted a letter declining the nomination for president, to be delivered to the delegates if Wallace was not the nominee. Like so many fights Roosevelt initiated, this battle had little to do with the vice presidency, an office still held in low regard. The battle was over Roosevelt himself, who had learned to amass power better than any president up to his time. The battle was won. Wallace was nominated. Roosevelt was elected. And four years later Wallace, no longer necessary, was replaced on the ticket by Senator Harry Truman.

Such is the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a man who from an early age, learned how to use his name and influence to get what he wanted.

Roosevelt grew up in New York City among the gilded age, when wealth and power was held firm among the ruling elite, and the middle class was only a concept being fashioned on paper. The fact that Franklin was the nephew of President Theodore Roosevelt only strengthened his hand, helping to guide his career well into the 1920s. It was only after serving as President for three consecutive terms, along with the death of his influential and dominant mother Sara that Roosevelt managed to emerge from the tall shadows of his family and become their patron saint.

In his even-paced biography FDR (Random House, 636 pages), noted historian Jean Edward Smith documents the calculated and careful attention Franklin gave to his career, rising from Assistant Secretary of the Navy to Vice Presidential Candidate, onto New York State Governor and then President. Such a neat and steady rise could only work if it were planned and deliberate – just as Democratic imitators John Kennedy and Bill Clinton did years later, measuring their rise to power.

That FDR did more to shape the modern presidency than any other president in the modern era is no secret – however, the method by which he did so is often forgotten. It is remarkable to consider the growth in the size of the United States government from the time of Hoover to the beginning of Truman. Over thirteen years, FDR not only rewrote United States policy both domestic and abroad, but he totally expanded the reach of the United States Government into the everyday lives of American citizens.

As Jean Edward Smith points out, the fact that Soviet Russia influenced FDR and the New Deal seems undeniable. Cabinet members from both countries were in constant exchange of ideas and clandestine visits during the 1930s.

FDR viewed the fight over the expansion of presidential powers much like he did his struggle with the crippling effects of polio – relentless and unforgiving. He actively interfered and influenced congressional and senatorial races during his years in office, working for the defeat of congressional members that opposed his New Deal policies. He even tried to force the restructuring of the Supreme Court, a move which backfired greatly.

According to Smith, the Great Depression itself was approached with a strange mix of socialism and capitalism, much to the dismay of the lifeless and punchless Republican Party. The result though was a remarkable economic recovery, much like the economic recovery experienced in Germany around the same time.

The legacy of FDR obviously lays with two the two central events of his time. It is hard to argue the fact that FDR guided the United States with great courage and strong resolve during our two great crises of the Twentieth Century, namely the Great Depression and World War Two. Though the economic recovery brought about by New Deal seems to be his defining moment, it is his legacy in regards to World War II that remains. His momentum and support of the Lend-Lease Act and his willingness to embrace the outstretched hand of Winston Churchill defined us. It is an effect that is still being felt to this day.

Though the presidency has changed with great strides since 1945, FDR still reads like a thoroughly modern president, perfectly suited for the age of the internet and the era of the permanent campaign. FDR was the first president to use the telephone as an active means of communication in the White House. He used that power to influence Senators and bully newspapermen. He was the first to utilize the radio, delivering speeches and fireside chats. It was the latter that made FDR accessible. Though paralyzed in the legs, those fireside chats did for FDR what he could not do on his own. They took him out from the White House and into the farmhouse – into recorded history.