Description:

FDR On '24 & '28 Pres. Elections, "What an awful night that was in 1928!"

2p (7" x 8.75”) TLS on White House stationery, dated December 27, 1940. The letter is written to the Honorable John Godfrey Saxe, a NY lawyer and State Senator. Boldly signed, as "Franklin D. Roosevelt". Flattened folds from mailing, scattered foxing and evidence of previous mounting on verso.

Roosevelt reminisces about the Presidential Elections of 1924 and 1928. He mentions his role in "To round up delegates for Al (Smith)". He states that with "Hard work and good luck we might be able to get 300 delegates in the National Convention for Al, but that in all probability we could not nominate him; that, however, it would be a good thing to do and we might be able to get him the nomination in 1928." Roosevelt had good foresight in this situation as that is exactly how the Democratic nominations of 1924 and 1928 played out. 

In 1924, Roosevelt took a major role in the Smith campaign. He placed Smith's name into the nomination in a speech in which Roosevelt dubbed Smith "The Happy Warrior". Roosevelt's speech, which has since become a well-studied example of political oratory, was his first major political appearance since the paralytic illness he had contracted in 1921. The success of this speech and his other convention efforts in support of Smith signaled that he was still a viable figure in politics, and he nominated Smith again in 1928. Roosevelt remarks in this unique TLS, which gives us an inside look on two important Presidential elections "What an awful night that was in 1928!" Smith would be easily defeated by Herbert Hoover in the 1928 election.

Roosevelt would succeed Smith to become the Governor of New York in 1929, and would later go onto become President in 1932.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) 32nd president of the United States, and the only president elected to the office four times. Roosevelt led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th century: the Great Depression and World War II. In doing so, he greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal, and he served as the principal architect of the successful effort to rid the world of German National Socialism and Japanese militarism.

John Godfrey Saxe II (1877-1953) Manhattan lawyer and member of the New York State Senate. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention representing New York's 16th congressional district in 1915 and was president of the New York State Bar Association and counsel of Columbia University.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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