Historic vintage matte-finish 13 x 10 photo of Roosevelt being sworn in as president for the third time on the steps of the US Capitol, signed in fountain pen as president, "Franklin D. Roosevelt." Also signed "Charles E. Hughes, Jan 20, 1941," as chief justice; "Cordell Hull" as Secretary of State; "H. A. Wallace" as Vice President; and "Charles Elmore Cropley, January 20, 1941," as clerk of the Supreme Court, who held Roosevelt's family bible as Hughes administered the oath of office. Matted and framed to an overall size of 17.5 x 15. In fine condition, with the last letter of Wallace's signature matted out.
After serving eight years in the White House, FDR faced the difficult choice of running for office again, but worldwide events swayed him to run for an unprecedented third term. He must have felt the ominous tides of war after Hughes administered the oath and heard the thunder of guns when Supreme Court clerk Cropley dropped his family's Dutch bible so soon after he had touched it and sworn the oath. In his inauguration speech, he declared: 'In this day the task of the people is to save that Nation and its institutions from disruption from without.'
Isolationism in America was coming to an end and Roosevelt felt the pressure of unfolding world events as Winston Churchill on the day of his inauguration admonished neutral nations to support the Allied cause and Japan expanded in intelligence budget to $500,000 to spy on the United States. Surely as he delivered his speech, the president knew the threat as he spoke 'In the face of great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose is to protect and to perpetuate the integrity of democracy. For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America. We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still. As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.' On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and America finally entered World War II. A remarkable image from an unprecedented and historically significant occasion.
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