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On April 3, 1929, FDR delivered his first radio address as NY governor to report to the people on the legislature’s work. This speech was the fore-runner of his later Fireside Chats, and in it he attacked Republicans for not living up to their campaign platform promises.
For some excerpts from that radio address: 4-3-1929 Radio Address
Two 1940 All-Star Game Baseballs (MO 1941.12.49.1&2)
“Baseball has been called the national pastime and rightly so because it stands for the fair play, clean living and good sportsmanship which are our national heritage. That is why it has such a warm place in our hearts.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, August 5, 1936.
As Major League Baseball’s opening day approaches, we are reminded of Franklin Roosevelt’s love of the game. A true fan, he holds the record for throwing out the most opening day first pitches of all presidents (eight). FDR also threw out the first pitch at two World Series games and the 1937 All-Star Game.
In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack and America’s entry into World War II, Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis grew concerned about the propriety of proceeding with the 1942 baseball season amid the national emergency. President Roosevelt promptly responded to Judge Landis’ concerns with what has become known as the “Green Light Letter”— giving baseball the green light to proceed and expressing its great value to the nation in time of war.
These two autographed baseballs from the 1940 All-Star Game were presented to the President as gifts. They were signed by a number of All-Stars players, including:
Luke Appling (Chicago White Sox)
Paul Derringer (Cincinnati Reds)
Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees)
Frankie Hayes (Philadelphia Athletics)
Billy Herman (Chicago Cubs)
Joe Medwick (Brooklyn Dodgers)
Johnny Mize (St. Louis Cardinals)
Terry Moore (St. Louis Cardinals)
Bucky Walters (Cincinnati Reds)
To learn more about baseball and our American Presidents, please visit: http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/pdfs/docsbaseball.pdf
Of all the material you might find in an archive at a Presidential Library, who would have thought you’d find actual material?
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: Visit of British Royalty 1939, Preparations for Visit.
Stapled to a press release preceding the 1939 Royal Visit by the King and Queen of England are two fabric swatches of wool from gowns to be made for Eleanor Roosevelt and Queen Elizabeth. The gowns were to be worn as a friendly gesture to the International Wool Growers of Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States. The “Queen’s Blue” swatch, chosen by Queen Elizabeth, was made using American wool while the “Azure Blue” swatch for Eleanor Roosevelt was made from British wool.
Just imagine what it would have been like wearing wool in Washington D.C. in June!
To read the full press release, click the following: Wool Fabric Swatches. For more information about the 1939 Royal Visit, check out this special feature from our website.
“WASHINGTON, Wednesday—Last night’s meeting of the National Library for the Blind was quite an inspiring occasion. Miss Helen Keller’s efforts for those who are similarly affected and her willingness to give of herself was a very touching sight.
She spoke of the few books that were available in Braille when she was in college and what it would mean for the blind to have the constantly expanding field of a library of such books.
The National Library for the Blind is a nationwide organization and I hope that it will enlist the interests of the people throughout the country. As I sat on the platform and looked at the people who in spite of their handicap are doing so much, I could not help but to think of what an obligation their example puts on the rest of us…”
March 22, 1933: FDR delivers a message to Congress on unemployment relief and the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
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- FDR’s message to Congress recommending the Civilian Conservation Corps, pg1
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- FDR’s message to Congress recommending the Civilian Conservation Corps, pg2
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- FDR’s message to Congress recommending the Civilian Conservation Corps, pg3
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- FDR’s message to Congress recommending the Civilian Conservation Corps, pg4
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- Did you know…..
- On March 22, 1933 FDR signed the beer-wine revenue act. This act amended the Volstead Act of 1919, and legalized the sale of wine and beer that contained no more than 3.2 percent of alcohol.
- On March 25, 1942 FDR awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to General MacArthur.
1933 Repeal of Prohibition Footed Glass Bowl (MO 2009.19.6)
During his 1932 presidential campaign, FDR promised to end Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1921, prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors within the United States. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, a constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition was already making its way through the state legislatures. Roosevelt acted immediately to ease Prohibition with the Beer-Wine Revenue Act. Passed on March 22, 1933, this act legalized the sale of alcoholic beverages containing no more than 3.2 percent alcohol (this level was declared non-intoxicating). Prohibition was officially repealed by the 21st Amendment in late 1933.
This large, glass bowl commemorates the end of Prohibition with a series of seven vignettes imprinted in white, including a “G.O.P.” elephant and a “D.E.M.” donkey celebrating over a barrel of beer.
March 17, 1905: FDR and ER are married in New York City by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt at “Algonac” in Newburgh, NY.
May 7, 1905
FDR Library Photo Collection. NPx 63-536.
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt pictured shortly after their marriage in March 1905.
March 1905
FDR Library Photo Collection. NPx 62-41.
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- Did you know…..
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- The date of Franklin and Eleanor’s wedding had been determined by the fact that “Uncle Ted” planned to be in New York City that day to review the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
- On March 17, 1941, FDR dedicated the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
March 20, 1958
“NEW YORK—I don’t know how you feel about it, but shooting all these new satellites into space and having them wandering around is beginning to make me feel that we are perhaps going to have unexpected developments! Man is interfering with whatever coordinated plan there may be in the present natural universe.
I am glad for the Navy that it has succeeded in putting its satellite into orbit, and I am sure it must be an exciting thing to feel that you have started something out into space that will probably stay there five to 10 years and register temperatures and other scientific data. I hope we find all the information of value. But if all the nations begin to have little and big balls circling around in space, it may become rather crowded!…”
This past Friday was March 4th, the 78th anniversary of FDR’s First Inauguration in 1933. FDR was the last president sworn in on March 4th because the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified on January 23, 1933, changed inauguration date from March 4 to January 20. But the amendment did not take effect until October 1933. So when FDR was re-elected in 1936 and inaugurated in 1937, he also became the first president sworn into office on January 20th!
March 10, 1939
“FORT WORTH, Texas, Friday…I was met by a young girl reporter on the train, an intense and vivid personality and one who voiced a desire which cheered me greatly. She wanted to know what young women could do to serve the cause of their country and of democracy. That is a spirit which most of us welcome with a deep sense of gratitude, for the cause of democracy needs service today.
I would be glad to see the Government make it possible for volunteers to receive training over a given period of time, by rendering some service which would be of use to the communities in which they live. This thought has often come to me when we have discussed the need of keeping young people out of the labor market for a longer period of time. The remarkable work I have seen in hospitals and government offices of various kinds done by WPA and NYA workers, leads me to believe that when these projects come to an end there will be real hardship. Perhaps some of this volunteer service would prove useful in civic and charitable work.
Texas NYA seems to be particularly interested in the assistance given education and in the resident projects which are apparently working out very well. They are also anxious to assist boys and girls in need of work, giving preference as far as possible to those whose families are on relief, but not barring from the resident projects youngsters who could not obtain the type of training available there in any other way. These youngsters come from families where the income is in the low brackets, though not perhaps actually on a relief basis. This seems to me to be a wise plan which I hope Congress will consider, though I realize that it presupposes careful and honest local administration…”
In Roosevelt History 