From One of the Greatest Leaders in American History, a Collection of
the Words and Writings that Inspired a Generation of Americans to
Become the Greatest Generation
In just under three decades
of public life, Franklin Delano Roosevelt rose to become one of the
greatest orators and leaders in American history. As the longest-serving
US president, he guided the nation through two of the greatest
challenges of the twentieth century—the Great Depression of the 1930s
and the Fascist threat of the 1940s—and radically transformed American
public life. In doing so, FDR created the conditions that enabled
Americans to make the United States stronger, more prosperous, and more
democratic than ever before for generations to come.
Through
his words—selected, annotated, and introduced here by writer and scholar
Harvey J. Kaye—we rediscover the liberal and social-democratic vision
and promise that FDR articulated so powerfully. We recall Roosevelt's
efforts to redeem the challenge of the Declaration of Independence and
renew the promise of equality and life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. We see him empower working people and make life more secure
for more Americans. And we are reminded of his desire to not simply win
the Second World War, but to create a nation and a world committed to
the realization of the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech and worship,
freedom from want and fear—indeed, to enact here in the United States a
Second Bill of Rights, an Economic Bill of Rights for all Americans.
In this collection of his greatest writings and speeches, we encounter
the words that inspired and encouraged Americans to remember who they
were and what they were capable of accomplishing—the words that helped
turn a generation of Americans into the Greatest Generation.
Now more than ever, we need to recall FDR's words. Now, when FDR's
democratic legacy—the legacy of a generation—is under siege, we need to
remind ourselves of who we are and what we need to do to make America
freer, more equal, and more democratic.
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