Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

The Roosevelt Rap

Written and performed by Jeffrey Urbin, Education Specialist at the FDR Library
Robert V. Ferin, Recording Engineer

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FDR as a young child

A long time ago,
in 1882,
a baby was born,
known to me and to you.

   
 
His mother called him Franklin,
his father called him son,
and he grew up destined,
for Washington.
   
   
Franklin D. Roosevelt,
a.k.a. FDR,
was born along the river,
in the town of Hyde Park.
FDR with Sara and James  
   
He was the only son,
of Sara and James,
collecting stamps and birds,
were his favorite games.
 
   
First he went to Groton,
then to Harvard too,
had degrees in Law and History,
by the time that he was through.
   
  Eleanor in her wedding gown
On March 17th,
in 1905,
Franklin took Eleanor,
to be his bride.
   
 
They had the same last name,
but that don't mean nothing,
they were far enough apart,
they were fifth cousins.
   
   
How'd he get started,
in politics?
He ran for State Senate,
from the Dutchess County sticks.
FDR at State Senate in Albany
   

A Democrat from these parts,
was rare to see,
but FDR made it,
to Albany.

FDR on Naval Ship

Then he backed Wilson,
at the National Convention.
It was a move that proved,
to make,
a valuable connection.

   

Wilson soon was President,
and with that came the gravy,
he appointed FDR,
Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

   
   
And then in 1920,
Just for kicks,
FDR made his return,
to politics,
FDR with Cox
   
Number two upon the ticket,
with a man named Cox,
but not enough people,
marked the Democratic box.
  FDR at Warm Springs, Georgia
Making it in politics,
is tough you know,
but not as tough as dealing,
with polio.
   
 
Now Franklin had a homegirl,
And they called her E.R.
He sent her off on trips,
both near and far.
   
   
She was telling everybody,
that Franklin would be back,
he wouldn't be stopped,
by a polio attack.
   
   
Everyone around him said,
"Hey that's great".
And they elected him the Governor,
of New York State.
FDR with Al Smith  
   
That seems pretty easy,
now doesn't it?
but it couldn't have happened,
without Al Smith.
 
FDR riding in car with Hoover
Things around the Nation,
were going pretty fine,
that was until October,
of 1929.
   
Hoover seemed insensitive,
As if he didn't care,
He said, 'Relief was round the corner',
But the statement didn't square.
   
   
Franklin had the common touch,
he knew how people feel,
And he spoke at the Convention,
and he pledged them a 'New Deal".
   
   
People were beside themselves,
They knew not what to do,
That was until November 3rd,
of 1932.
FDR at his first presidential inaugeration  
   
They elected Franklin President,
from Prohibition they were parched,
but he didn't take,
the reins of power,
until early March.
 
   
He wasted not a moment,
to bring us from malaise,
he passed a slate of legislation,
in just a hundred days.
   
  New Deal workers using a machine
He was helping all the people,
by themselves and then in groups
With a recipe of programs,
Some called alphabet soup.
   
 
AAA, CCC and the NLRB,
NRA, BOB and the FDIC,
TVA, NRC and the WPA,
he did it all,
he went too far some Republicans would say.
   
   
Now you may think that,
I forgot,
in that Alphabet flurry,
SSI, but I did not,
Citizens filling out social security forms  
   
Social se-
curity was ahead of its time,
But I almost left it out,
cause its so hard to rhyme.
 
   
Try it out,
and you'll see,
It's not an easy thing to do,
If I had been FDR,
It would have been in term two.
   
  George Washington
G.W. had warned,
when his term was at an end,
'avoid entangling alliances,
if you can'.
   
 
The American public,
took this to heart
but FDR knew different,
he was way too smart.
   
   
The appeasement at Munich,
Well, it worked for a while,
But give' em an inch,
and they surely will take a mile.
   
   
Soon England was clinging,
but just by its toes.
So Franklin to the rescue,
with a garden hose.
Troops arriving at Normandy
   
Then all of a sudden,
that war across the sea,
was brought to our door,
in a 'Day of infamy".
   
It took the Army,
the Airforce, the Navy and Marines,
In the factories back home,
Rosies took to the machines.
   
Stalin, FDR, and Churchill
We grew gardens, bought war bonds,
and collected up scrap.
We fought long and fought hard,
and we pushed them all back.
   
Hitler, Hirohito,
and Mussolini,
were the Axis leaders,
but we had the Big Three.
   
   
Roosevelt, Churchill and
Stalin too,
were the Allied leaders,
who won,
W W II.
   
   
I forgot to mention Fala,
he was the man's best friend.
In the summer 1945,
the war came to an end.
FDR playing with Fala
   
But Franklin didn't see it,
for on April 12th he died,
and let's not mention,
who he had there at his side.
FDR's funeral in Hyde Park, NY
And so here has been the story,
of FDR's life,
his vision of United Nations,
carried on by his wife.
   
The two are finally resting,
in a grave at his home,
in the garden where the roses,
from his name are still grown.
   
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