Speaking For A Change

The Life Of FDR - A Multimedia Presentation
2024-10-23 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | Private Venue
The Life Of FDR

Understanding the life of FDR is like taking a sonogram of the USA. Franklin Roosevelt transformed the United States with optimism, vigor, vision, and skill. The effects are still being felt and still being debated today. And he did it all from a wheelchair.
Optimism was one of FDR’s greatest strengths and most incredible gifts. He inspired others to be positive, even during the darkest days of the Second World War and during the depths of the Great Depression. FDR was the first President since Lincoln to seek out the advice of African American advisors routinely. He was the first President to appoint a woman to the cabinet. Although FDR was unable to end the misery of the Great Depression, his policies definitely helped relieve the suffering of many people. Just as important, he filled them with optimism.
When the Second World War loomed, he had the vision to appoint George C. Marshall to head our armed forces – and then worked tirelessly to make sure Marshall had everything he needed to secure victory in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Woody Guthrie wrote a song called “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,” which contained the lines:
“I voted for him lots of times
And I’d vote for him again!”
The life of FDR is not without blemish. He was unfaithful to his wife and capable of being duplicitous. His treatment of Japanese Americans is very controversial. So is his reaction to the Holocaust. All of his complexities and accomplishments will come to life in this non-partisan multimedia presentation. We will explore his family history, his marriage, his faith and all the forces that shaped the mind of one of the great Americans.
