# 930-33 - Complete Set of 4, 1945 Franlkin Roosevelt Stamps

Get the Complete 1945-46 Franklin Roosevelt Memorial Set

After guiding America out of the Depression and through most of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, just 11 weeks into his fourth term and less than a month before Germany’s surrender.  To honor Roosevelt, an avid stamp collector, the Post Office issued four stamps in the months following Roosevelt’s death to honor his service to America:

U.S. #930 – 1¢ FDR and Hyde Park – This stamp commemorates Franklin Roosevelt and the place of his birth, Hyde Park, NY.  He lived at Hyde Park until enrolling in preparatory school at the age of 14.

U.S. #931 – 2¢ FDR and Little White House – This stamp commemorates the time President Roosevelt spent at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.  As therapy following an attack of polio, Franklin Roosevelt swam in the warm mineral pools of Warm Springs, Georgia.  In an effort to help polio victims afford treatment, Roosevelt bought the land surrounding the springs and established The Warm Springs Foundation.

U.S. #932 – 3¢ FDR and White House – During his time at the White House, Roosevelt successfully led America through both the Great Depression and World War II.  He also became America’s only four-term president.

U.S. #933 – 5¢ FDR and Four Freedoms – This stamp commemorates Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech that he delivered to Congress on January 6, 1941.  The four freedoms are the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship God in one’s own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.  He concluded his speech stating that, “Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory.”

Get all four of these meaningful stamps now in one convenient set.  And discover more about Roosevelt’s life and contributions to our nation below…

Franklin Delano Roosevelt – America’s Only Four-Term President

Elected President four times, Franklin Delano Roosevelt served in the nation’s highest office longer than any other chief executive – 12 years. He was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, the only child of a wealthy family. Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in 1904, and then studied at Columbia Law School.

In 1910, Roosevelt was elected to the New York state senate. He was appointed assistant secretary of the navy in 1913. Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921. Although permanently disabled, he remained active in politics. In 1928, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York, and was re-elected in 1930. As the Great Depression ravaged America in 1932, he was elected President over Herbert Hoover.

Roosevelt took office at a time of great economic turmoil in the United States. By 1933, the four-year-old Depression was taking a large toll on the country. Unemployed workers lost their homes. Thousands more were forced to stand in bread lines because they could not afford to pay for food.

As the Depression progressed, anxious investors rushed to get their money from the banks. Many banks were unable to meet this demand and were run out of business. This, in turn, caused more investors to pull out of banks, causing more banks to fail. On March 6, 1933, just two days after taking office, President Roosevelt imposed a “bank holiday” and closed all the banks in the United States. When each bank was inspected by the Department of the Treasury and determined to be sound, it was re-opened. This increased the public’s confidence, because of the belief that if a bank was re-opened, it was safe.

On March 9, 1933, President Roosevelt called a special session of Congress in an attempt to help ease the Depression. During this session, called the “Hundred Days,” Roosevelt introduced an aggressive package of reforms aimed at getting the economy back on track. “The New Deal” contained such important programs as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the National Industry Recovery Act, the Works Projects Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In addition, Congress passed the Social Security Act of 1935 and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

As the election of 1940 approached, Europe was in the midst of a great war. Americans felt that the same President who was leading them out of the Depression should lead them through this time of international turmoil. President Roosevelt was elected for an unprecedented third term in office. Roosevelt intended to give the allied forces all aid short of joining in the war. However, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The following day the United States declared war on Japan. Three days after that, Germany and Italy, Japanese allies, declared war on the United States. World War II would become the most costly war in American history up to that time.

Although Roosevelt did not want to run for President a fourth time, he felt it was his duty to run, thereby avoiding a wartime change in leadership. He was re-elected easily. However, Roosevelt would not live out his fourth term. On April 12, 1945, while sitting for a portrait at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, the President complained of a terrible headache. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage a few hours later. Roosevelt is buried in the rose garden of his home in Hyde Park, New York.