Happy Birthday to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, born on this day in 1882!
How he first met the Rosens is still unclear. It could have been through Lucie's uncle the journalist Poultney Bigelow, who was a guest of Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park. Or it could have been through the Rosens' Long Island neighbor, former President Teddy Roosevelt. What is clear is Walter Rosen and New York Governor Roosevelt were friendly enough for Walter to write a letter congratulating Roosevelt on winning the 1932 presidential election, which was the start of his four presidential terms.
From the archive, you can read President Roosevelt's appreciation of the "hearty congratulations and good wishes."
The later telegram, also, shows the continued familiarity with the response to Walter offering to visit Roosevelt at the White House. We can suspect the visit was business, but it could always have been a personal call.
Roosevelt's address commemorating Thomas Jefferson's birthday was finished a few hours before Roosevelt passed away on April 12, 1945. The speech emphasized that the search for enduring peace is achieved through the unending cultivation of human relationships. He asked, in the final lines, for the American people to keep the faith in lasting peace: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith." (Prepared for April 13, 1945)