On March 22, 1933, barely two weeks into his presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt took a decisive step toward dismantling one of the most controversial social experiments in American history. He gave Americans a drink…kind of. With the stroke of a pen, he signed the…
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Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats were a series of radio broadcasts delivered by the 32nd President of the United States to the American people during the turbulent years of the Great Depression and World War II. FDR used this innovative form of communication to…
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The Lend-Lease Act, enacted by the United States on March 11, 1941, marked a significant shift in the nation’s foreign policy leading up to its direct involvement in World War II. This landmark legislation was a pivotal step in providing military and economic assistance…
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On February 20, 1943, The Saturday Evening Post published the first installment of what would become one of the most recognizable artistic statements of the Second World War: Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms.” Inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address,…
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On February 20, 1943, The Saturday Evening Post published the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings, a series of illustrations inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address. In that speech, Roosevelt outlined his vision for a world based…
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On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, granting the military broad authority to exclude individuals from designated areas. Though the order did not explicitly mention Japanese Americans, it became the legal basis for one of the most severe violations…
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On February 15, 1933, in Miami, a single handgun cracked through the warm evening air and altered the course of American political history. The target was President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. The man who would die instead was Anton J. Cermak, the sitting mayor of…
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On February 9, 1942, the United States did something that would have seemed mildly absurd just a few years earlier: it reset the nation’s clocks—permanently, at least for the duration of the war. With the country barely two months removed from Pearl Harbor, Congress…
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On January 23, 1941, Charles Lindbergh, the renowned aviator celebrated for his groundbreaking 1927 solo transatlantic flight, delivered a controversial speech before the U.S. Congress. In his testimony, Lindbergh advocated for a neutrality pact with Nazi Germany, a stance that would polarize public opinion…
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On January 20, 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner began their second terms as President and Vice President of the United States. This marked the first time a presidential inauguration occurred on January 20, a change brought about by the 20th Amendment…
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