We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and the civil liberties of all citizens whatever their background.
We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
Born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921. He became the 32nd U.S. president in 1933, and was the only president to be elected four times. Roosevelt led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II, and greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal. Roosevelt died in Georgia in 1945
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people.
A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR Memorial
1850 West Basin Drive SW, Washington, DC 20242
GPS Coordinates: 38.883625, -77.043868
The FDR Memorial lies along SW shore of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park, near the intersection of Independence Avenue, West Basin Drive, and Ohio Drive, SW.
There is no fee and the FDR Memorial is open to the public every day of the week, 24 hours a day.
The National Park Service rangers are on duty to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily and to provide interpretive programs every hour on the hour from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.
The Memorial sits on what is known as the Cherry Tree Walk and covers a total of about 7.5 acres (3 ha). It consists of a series of four outdoor rooms, one for each of FDR’s terms. Inside the rooms, visitors will find particular reference to events that were occurring during those four years, including World War II. Throughout the Memorial are shade trees, waterfalls, sculptures and granite-etch quotations.
We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding, the confidence, and the courage which flow from conviction.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
Penned for a 1945 speech never to be delivered.