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October 24, 1928 letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt, likely secretarially signed, supporting the candidacy of Al Smith, the Democratic nominee, on the eve of the 1928 Presidential election. Two weeks later, Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York, returning to political life, while Smith lost the presidential election to Herbert Hoover.
A vivid and compelling letter. Roosevelt invokes the “policies and ideals” of Woodrow Wilson, and “his wonderful dreams of a better world.” He traces Wilson’s ideals through to Al Smith, praising Smith’s interest in humanity, his intolerance of the oppression of the weak and his desire to help those handicapped by circumstances.” These are contrasted with the ‘crass materialism,” “dollar-and-cents viewpoint of everything,” and “self-seeking” of Hoover and his associates. Roosevelt writes of the debasement of Wilson’s ideals as a “world tragedy.” A remarkably prescient letter which prefigures the debacle of the Hoover administration, the rhetoric of Roosevelt’s 1932 campaign, and the foundational principles of New Deal.
A typewritten letter in watermarked bond paper, hand signed in fountain pen, but possibly a secretarial signature and sold as such. On Roosevelt’s personal stationery, as he was then a private citizen. In the body of the letter, FDR furnishes his address at 49 East 65th St., New York, the Roosevelt family home built by his mother, underlining the importance of the matter at hand. Horizontal folds, a bit of wrinkling, slight spotting.
