FDR: ‘The Bible is a fountain of strength’

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) of New York was America’s 32nd president (1933-1945).

He became president at the beginning of America’s Great Depression, and through various programs helped pull the nation out of those times of bank failures, unemployment and bankruptcy.

He was also the leader of the free world during World War II. His wife, Eleanor, was a highly respected first lady and a newspaper columnist during her husband’s presidency.

Roosevelt graduated from Harvard University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the university newspaper. In 1905, he and Eleanor married and he then served as a New York state senator. 

During World War I he served as the assistant secretary of the Navy, and in 1921, he was stricken with polio and needed wheelchair assistance for the rest of his life.

His mind and upper body were strong, enabling him to continue in leadership positions with greater responsibilities. In 1932, he ran for president and was elected, re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944. And, on April 12, 1945, while siting for a portrait in the Little White House at Warm Springs, Georgia, he collapsed and died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Vice President Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency on that fateful day.

What about President Roosevelt’s faith? Well, he was a man of the Book, quoting and practicing the truths of the Bible. In his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933, he spoke these words to America:

“In this dedication of a nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us! May He guide me in the days to come!”

In his second inaugural address, on Jan. 20, 1937, he said this: ”I shall do my utmost … seeking Divine guidance.”

In his third inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1941, he said this: ”We go forward in the service of our country by the will of God.”

And, in his fourth inaugural address, on Jan. 20, 1945, he said this: ”So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly … o the achievement of His will, to peace on earth.”

During the dark days of World War II, while meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on an American warship in the mid-Atlantic, he spoke these words in describing the United States as: ”The lasting concord (peace) between men and nations, founded on the principles of Christianity.” 

He then asked the crew to join him in singing “Onward, Christian Soldiers.”

To conclude this sketch of the faith of FDR, he wrote these words from the White House on March 6, 1941, for the preface of the New Testaments made available to all American service personnel: “As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States … It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.” (These New Testaments were printed by the United States Government Printing Offices.)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was God’s leader for America during those critical times. Let us all stay close to God’s word.

Peace!

Writer’s note: America’s God and Country, Encyclopedia of Quotations, edited by William J. Federer, Fame Publications, 1996, pp. 537-539, was a resource in preparing this sketch.