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Franklin D. Roosevelt served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. The leader of the Democratic Party, he was elected as president four consecutive times in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944 making him the longest serving US President in history, and the only one to have served more than two terms. One of his first actions as President was the enactment of the New Deal, a series of programs aimed at recovering from the Great Depression. The idea was to bring about immediate economic relief in addition to reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labour and housing. These efforts helped the United States recover from the economic collapse and laid the foundation for Roosevelt's long-standing influence in both domestic and international affairs.
Roosevelt’s close relationship with Winston Churchill was vital in forming the Allied strategy during WWII. From their joint declaration The Atlantic Charter, coined before the US had officially entered the conflict, to Churchill’s visit to Washington D.C. in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbour, and further meetings throughout the rest of the war, the two statesmen developed a close-knit relationship. After Roosevelt’s death in 1945, Churchill declared him to be ‘The greatest American friend that Britain ever found’, and wrote to Mrs Roosevelt in this telegram, ‘I have lost a dear and cherished friendship’.
While Stalin and Roosevelt shared a different relationship, it was clearly built on mutual understanding and respect, forged through their strategic cooperation in establishing the Allied powers during World War II. This personal telegram from Stalin to Churchill following Roosevelt’s death offers a glimpse of his admiration for FDR, and his grief for ‘the loss of this great man who was our mutual friend’. Indeed, this telegram further shows the importance of Stalin’s and Roosevelt’s relationship, as Churchill and Stalin’s mutual political understanding relied strongly upon him.
Prior to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Roosevelt had been suffering from advanced arteriosclerosis and upon his return from the conference he was considerably weak. In April 1945 he travelled to his cottage in Warm Springs, Georgia to rest where, on the afternoon of April 12th, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died a few hours later. Roosevelt’s death was tragically close to the end of WWII and he did not live to see the Allied victory but his ‘special relationship’ with Churchill undoubtedly served to strengthen ties between the Allies, and ensure the defeat of Nazi Germany.
