Today in 1945 President Roosevelt died. He was a President liked and disliked by my grandparents. The Hill’s had no use for him; being teetotalers, they had no love lost for him because he repealed Prohibition. They never did appreciate anything he accomplished.
The Marshall’s worshiped the ground FDR walked on. They listened religiously to his fireside chats, and felt he could do not wrong. My great grandmother Isabella died on election day in 1940. Her dying words were, “Vote for Roosevelt.”
For better or worse, FDR probably stands out as the most influential USAmerican of the 20th century. He calmed us during the Depression, and gave us resolve in WW2. He also did us the service of having picked a Vice President who did a good job succeeding FDR. Harry Truman, Mr. Missouri, followed well in the long shadow of Roosevelt.
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