USA: STILL THE RICHEST NATION IN THE WORLD?

JFK ISSUES COMMEMORATIVE MESSAGE FOR ROOSEVELT DAY

Washington, D.C.  (JFK+50) On January 29, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a commemorative statement honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt*.

In the statement, President Kennedy said...

"We celebrate...the triumphs of the past (and) the opportunities of the future.  Franklin Roosevelt assumed the leadership of a stricken and demoralized nation.  Poverty, distress and economic stagnation blanketed the land...but the New Deal** lifted America...and set us on the path to...prosperity."

The President continued...

"Today America is the richest nation in the history of the world.***  Yet the challenges and dangers which confront us are more difficult than those that faced Roosevelt..."


*Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York.  FDR attended Groton, Harvard and Columbia Law School & served as Governor of NY before his election as POTUS in 1932.  FDR served as the 32nd US President from 1933 to 1945 & led the nation out of the Great Depression and through most of WWII.  

**The New Deal (1933-1937) was FDR's program of public works projects, financial reform & government regulation.  The 3 main goals of the New Deal were relief, recovery & reform.

***According to Fortune Magazine (Sept 2015) the USA is still the richest nation in the world with 41.6% of global wealth.  Following the US is China (10.5%), Japan (8.9%), UK (5.6%), Germany (3.9%), France (3.5%), Canada (3.0%), Italy (2.9%), Australia (2.0%), South Korea (1.6%).

SOURCES

"America Is the Richest, and Most Unequal, Country", by Erik Sherman, September 30, 2015, Fortune Magazine, www.fortune.com/

"President Kennedy's Commemorative Message on Roosevelt Day, January 29, 1961", www.jfklibrary.org/

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Photo by Elias Goldensky (1933)
Library of Congress Image

JFK ATTENDS FDR JR'S SWEARING-IN AS COMMERCE UNDER-SECRETARY

March 26, 2013

JFK ATTENDS FDR JR's SWEARING-IN AS COMMERCE UNDER-SECRETARY 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy attended a swearing-in ceremony for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.* as under-Secretary of Commerce on this day 50 years ago, March 26, 1963.

              FDR, Jr., FDR III & Eleanor
                FDR Library Photo (1962)

The ceremony, which took place in the Cabinet Room at the White House, was also attended by Mr. Roosevelt's family.

FDR, Jr., the 5th child of President & Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, had campaigned for Senator John F. Kennedy in the critical West Virginia Democratic Primary in 1960.

Mr. Roosevelt continued in the Commerce Department after JFK's death until LBJ appointed him to chair the Equal Opportunity Commission.

*FDR, Jr. (1914-1988) was born at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.  He graduated from Harvard in 1937 & University of Virginia Law School in 1940.  During WWII, he was a naval officer & won honor for bravery at Casablanca.

FDR, Jr. served 3 terms as Congressman from New York's 20th District (1949-1955).  In addition to his position as under-secretary for JFK, Mr. Roosevelt was chair of the President's Appalachian Regional Commission.

FDR, Jr. lost a bid for the governorship of New York in 1966.  He died of lung cancer at the age of 74.

                         You Tube Video

WISCONSIN AND WEST VIRGINIA IV

MAY 24, 2012

WISCONSIN AND WEST VIRGINIA IV

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Today we continue our report on Chapter 6 of the book by Kenneth P. O'Donnell & David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy.  It is published by Little, Brown & Company.

The title of Chapter 6 is WISCONSIN AND WEST VIRGINIA.


Kenneth O'Donnell says that "most of our imported helpers (Ivy League friends & Boston Irish Catholics) got along famously with the down-to-earth people in West Virginia."


The Kennedy girls, Ethel, Jean & Joan, were also working in the West Virginia campaign, as was Ted Reardon, Senator Kennedy's administrative assistant.


Meanwhile, Jacqueline Kennedy, driven by Ed King, was visiting the wives of coal miners & shaking hands on street corners.


But, Kenny tells us that JFK's "most valuable campaigner" in West Virginia was Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.*


It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who had pushed NRA legislation giving miners the right to organize & to acquire decent wages for the 1st time.  


FDR Jr. spoke everywhere in the state, always emphasizing JFK's war record.


At one point, FDR Jr. said as he held two fingers close together:


"My daddy & Jack Kennedy's daddy were just like that."


JFK, Kenny writes, turned to Dave Powers & said:


"This is a hard act to follow."


*Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. (1914-1988) was born in New Brunswick, Canada.  He served as a Naval officer in WWII & was decorated for bravery at Casablanca.  He was a graduate of Harvard & the University of Virginia School of Law.

               FDR Jr., Eleanor & FDR III
                FDR Library Photo (1962)