david willkie is wendell willkie's grandson. many say the resemblance is pretty amazing, david willkie. first of all, do you think that you look like your grandfather? >> not quite exactly. if i look at myself in the mirror i think of myself as my own person. >> what kind of a man was wendell willkie, describe his persona and what your family views him as a politician. >> well, just physically he was a large man. and he was -- some called him a big bear of a man. actually, his brother was a heavy weight roman gre co wrestler in the olympics. as far as him he always was taszled. he would put on a suit and it would immediately become rumpled. he could never keep his hair straight. his wife would have to tell him when to get a haircut. he wasn't worried about the outward appearances, he was worried with the idea, how do you convey the idea. how do you win people over to your side? >> explain his indiana roots and where he went to college and how he began his career here as a lawyer? >> he grew up in elwood, indiana. an interesting

david willkie is the grandson of the 1940 republican presidential nominee, one of 14 individuals that c-span is focusing on as we continue our contenders series. wendell willkie, the outsider, getting the republican nomination on the sixth ballot in philadelphia and we'll get more of your phone calls coming up in the next hour. our two guests from the rushville historical society. let's take you to the scene here in rushville in november of 1940 just down the street at the durbin hotel where many of the reporters gathered to follow the 1940 campaign as wendell willkie came out to declare that franklin roosevelt was going to be elected to a third term. we'll follow that with a conversation we had a few weeks ago with indiana's senior senator on wendell willkie and his brand of republican party politics. >> people of america, i accept the result of the election with complete goodwill. i know that they will continue to work as i shall for the unity of our people in the building of a national defense, in aid to britain, and for the elimination from america of antagonisms of every kind to

atmosphere with pins and books and paraphernalia, some that you may see cheer -- see here today. >> david willkie, the grandson of wendell willkie. we'll be checking in with you during the course of the next two hours as we continue c-span's contender series, we're coming to you from rushville indiana and we'll be joined by author and historian amity shlaes, the author of "the forgotten man" and jim madison, a professor of history at indiana university. we'll show you what the scene was like in elwood, indiana and the speech by wendell willkie as i walk to the next room and introduce to our guests coming up in about a minute and a half. >> i say that we must substitute for the philosophy of distributed scarcity, the philosophy of unlimited productivity. i stand for the restoration of full production and reemployment by private enterprise in america. the new deal's attack on businesses have the inevitable results. the investor has been afraid to invest his capital. and therefore billions of dollars lie idle in our banks. the businessman has been afraid to expand his operations. and therefore milli

david willkie is hi willkie's grandson. many say the resemblance is pretty resemblance -- say the resemblance is pretty amazing. the you think you look like your grandfather? >> not exactly. >> what kind of a man was wendell willkie? describe his persona and how your family views him as a politician. >> physically, he was a large man. some called him a big bear of a man. his brother was a heavyweight roman-greco wrestler. he was always tasseled. he would put on a suit. he could never keep his hair straight. his wife would have to tell him when to get a haircut. he was not so worried about outward appearances. what he was worried about was the idea. what is important about it? >> explain his indian roots and, also, where he went to college and how he began his career here as a lawyer. >> he grew up in elwood, indiana. the interesting thing about him and his parents was not only was his father a lawyer, but his mother became one of the first attorneys in indiana. her first case was against his father. they were husband and wi

we are here with david willkie. i want you to introduce the cabinet -- audiences of some of the fervor. your grandfather ran for president and try to defeat franklin delano roosevelt, who was seeking a third term. grew up in elwood. when they married, this was the place they generally call home. in the family, my great great grandfather had lost his shirt during the depression. instead of giving his father in law a handout, when the willkie and bought a farm land. he asked his father-in-law if he would manage it. >> how much time did he spend>>t substitute for the proxy of distributed scarcity and the philosophy of unlimited productivity. i stand for the restoration of full production and reemployment by private enterprise in america. [applause] on new deal's effect business has had the inevitable results. investor has been afraid to invest his capital. the businessman has been afraid to expand his operations. many at hands have returned to the unemployment office. errors console -- irresponsible experiments in the