we have harry truman to thank for that because after fdr's fdr's death, he gave the desk to bess. we speculate that truman did not feel right sitting at that desk knowing that it had been used by fdr for 12 years. he gave it to eleanor and did she gave it to the library. we are one of only two presidential libraries that have the desk used by the president. that there artifact i love is a different artifact. it is the giant model of the sphinx that was given to fdr at the 1939 then are of the white house press organization. had a striking likeness of him as the sphinx including his trademark cigarette holder. it is a wonderful device not just because it is funny but it is also a wonderful way to talk about fdr's decision to run for a third term because the whole story of the sphinx sculpture is connected to the fact that he was not letting anyone know his true thoughts about whether he would run for another term. in terms of documents and we have many on display in our permanent gallery, the ones that stand out the most for me are the original drafts of his inaugural address, the

he says fdr wants us to go to war. he calls fdr a warmonger. and argues that the administration has been lying to the american people. and then third, he says and the jews want to go to warren. and he cites the fact, or his belief, that america has been a tolerant land for jews, and then he basically issues a threat to jews in america. he says if we go to war, it is perceived as a jewish war, that tolerance might fail. and then he quickly slips into mini antisemitic tropes, arguing about jews clinician, is due to control of hollywood and their control of international banking systems. i think what he's doing there is actually saying out loud, what many americans believe, at the time. and one of the loudest critics, one of the most effective critics is a political cartoonist, who we today know as dr. seuss. but he was writing for this magazine, newspaper, out of new york, called pm. and what you see in this newspapers, and on the screen, our multiple cartoons published by pm that show this person attacking the isolationism of america first. here

you look especially at fdr and douglas macthur? i'll even expand on my question, a lot of people a opening up ian's old book because they want to get -- [inaudible] so -- [inaudible] >> military history, there's an expectation that there's going to be lead in the air at least by the second chapter and, you know, in this case you really have to wait until the third, almost 100 pages into the book. you know, it is an unconventional way to begin a work of military history. my thought was id had a little bit of latitude in this case because it's the third volume of the trilogy, and and a lot of people who are reading it have already read the first two, to they're either committed to read it or not. but, you know, basically my observation was looking at the pacific war was that there was a lot of literature about fdr, a lot about macarthur. i like to say there's a pickup truck full of fdr biographies, you know, and i don't think that's an exaggeration. there's a large wheel wheelbarrow full of macarthur biographies. these are two of the

that was the immediate decision fdr and his military chiefs faced in mid 1944. beyond that there was a question of can be forced japanese to surrender without invading their homeland and that played very much into the thinking they were confronting at this time as well? >> let me try to pin him down to eight what if because we love what if's, don't we? i think our listeners know interviewers know that of course [inaudible] was a choice. how might the pacific war or the asia-pacific war, hmmm may have there been difference is if we landed on [inaudible] and turned it into a airbase or a base for b-29s and may be in debt being in the fighting and the mainland and of course there is a civil war that is about to break out at the end of this war and i'm just wondering, any thoughts on that? >> i think if we had landed it would be or we would still have troops there today and so the nature of the conflict between today and the independent nation of taiwan and china would be that much more intense with the major american military presence there and it's a what if if yo

he told them exactly what he had told fdr. this is of vital new source because of those conferences, you had four guys in the room, there were no minutes cut, no official minutes, no staff was permitted to remain in the room. historians have been forced to rely essentially on first and second hand accounts of those participants. macarthur left a vivid account in his memoir published in the mid-1960s but many of the particulars, he quotes himself at length, many of the particulars i think have been called into question, and so richardsons diaries is something that us essentially an anchor to understand exactly what was said. >> nothing quite like having someone contact you say you like to see some source that no one has ever looked at before. makes it all worthwhile, doesn't? >> it helps come once you publish a couple books and people read them, some of that stuff starts coming in over the transit use an old navy term which didn't happen early in my career. there were a number of other -- is a long list but the wet number of th

it was sort of a as told to by fdr. but we think, and i think what dodd thought fdr meant by that was, it's his job to respect germany's national sovereignty. the story that we are telling in this part of the exhibition is actually part -- about multiple attacks on americans by the essay. this is a new york times piece covering dozens of attacks, brutal attacks on americans by the essay in 1933. during gods -- dodd's first meeting with hitler in 1933, his first item on the agenda was the sa has to stop attacking american citizens on the street. but the united states government at the time thinks it's outside their purview to try to protect the citizens of another nation. of course, they know jews are being persecuted. there are attacks on jews. political opponents and others are being rounded up and sent to the nazis first concentration camp at dachau. it's well reported in the press. but the u.s. government does not speak out during this early period. one of the ways we wanted to get at the question of what was on amer

she was so much involved in fdr's presidency.nstead of having a separate eleanor roosevelt gallery, we have her appearing throughout the exhibition in various ways. woven into thely story, as she was in reality. we were taking a chance. admirers of the first lady liked we had a separate gallery. we had to convince them we could do it in a way that would enhance her role in the museum. we were pleased when we reopened peopleibit in 2013 that were very happy with how we integrated eleanor into the story. ndle first lady truman and the exhibits you are going to reopen? clay: that is a great question. we also struggled with this question. truman?e deal with best bess truman. there could not have been a bigger difference between eleanor roosevelt and bess truman in terms of their public persona. eleanor roosevelt was everywhere. she really defined a new role for the first lady. bess truman did not want to be that. she was a very private person. she was a very family oriented person. as an aside, for 3.5 years of the truman presidency,

with the pacific war there is a lot of literature and i went to say there is a pickup truck with the fdr biography i don't think that's an exaggeration. there is a large wheelbarrow full and with the most fascinating figures and for obvious reasons the story of the command conference which took place in all who july 1944 that story has been told over and over again because of how frequently the new biographies are coming out because it was a dramatic meeting that took place so for that reason we tended to look at the meeting through the present of politics and he announced to nobody's surprise he would run for the unprecedented fourth term of office as president. and was at the dnc on his way to the west coast. so the way the country saw the trip was a campaign stop and a publicity event it was a substantive command conference at fdr was doing something we would have expected the commander in chief to do to visit the pacific theater. with the only time he did it million one - - when men and women were fighting under our flag so i think it was important to try to unite with this biographi

april 12th, fdr takes his last breath. truman inherits probably one of the most overwhelming portfolio in history with less preparation than any president in history. the battle of oak na what is literally at its height. he gets briefed on the manhattan project and has to figure out what is he going to do with this destructive with ep upon that may or may not work. stalin is reneging on every single up with of his promises from yalta, churchill is perplexed. he spends his first several days in the map room literally getting smart with what has been happening with the war. he has to deal with the reality he might have to move a million men to the asian pacific theater. there is a massive european battle between the army and the navy that threatens the entire world effort. yet in his first four months, he makes some of the most important decisions in the history of our republic that win the war that shape the post-war order. i argue it's a combination of truman stepping up to the job and dina afternooneson decide the fate of

and fdr didn't want to set eyes on truman. if you know they are dying in your in denial of dying you don't want to look at the guy who's about to take over for you. >> you mentioned you are gonna tell us about nixon in forward, so please do. >> so if i'm a revisionist, i don't be funny, i would say i got tired and i don't want to do an extra chapter. that's not actually the reason, it was a glimmer decision. at the beginning, because when i was captivated by, my entire life, was this idea of how is somebody who's not the voters choice, who nobody wants as president, how do they lead something that's not theirs when everybody misses their predecessor? so the idea of death in office comes with a sense of deprive all, you are depriving the voters of the person that they choose, that they chose. and whoever sends to the presidency, has to deal with the reality of the country in mourning. they have to feel an obligation to continue at least paying homage to some elements of their predecessors policies. where is if you look at nixon

she was to have a private meeting with fdr before they meet was stolen and fdr does not so he allows anna to run interference we will make them think we are gaining up on him for churchill is exhausted because he wants to build a bond and then to do this through touchy-feely politics and how that personal connection and the postwar international order. with the intelligence operations. and it's quite chilly my favorite scene in the book trying to blackmail and the compromising material. >> and in moscow and having tea. and the end and tries to imply with some russian men and that is not true also that he dismisses that much to stalin's chagrin. here man is a cool customer and then it requires 2 inches of a with the survey russians might do. those interactions between countries. but then to go to the links but then also the garden and then deliberately cleared a certain path and to make him around in his wheelchair. and then the doctors to the airfield. and then to observe from afar and to hear rumors that he is well in the links ago incredible and at the same time they go to great li

and fdr did not want to set eyes on truman. if you know you're dying and you're in denial about, it you don't want to look at the guy who's about to take over for you. >> you mentioned you are going to tell us about this about nixon and ford so please do. >> so if i'm a revisionist, and i want to be funny i would say i got tired and i do want to do an extra chapter, but that's not the reason. it was deliberate decision at the beginning, because when i was captivated by my entire life, was this how is somebody who is not the voters choice, and nobody wants this president, how do they lead something that's not theirs when everybody misses their predecessor. so, the idea of death in office, comes with a sense of deprive will. you are depriving the voters of the person they chose. and whoever has the presidency has to deal with the reality of the country and morning. they feel an obligation to continue at least playing homage to some elements of their predecessors policies. if you look at nixon resigning in disgrace, ford was not u

hoover kept asking fdr to sign on to economic plans with him, and fdr kept saying no because he had run against hoover's economic plans. hoover publicly released the telegrams between them because he thought it would make fdr look unhelpful. hoover and roosevelt and their families met against at the white house in january. eleanor roosevelt told reporters that hoover asked her husband to support closing the nation's banks temporarily to head off panic withdrawals. roosevelt told hoover, quote, like hell i will. if you haven't the guts to do it yourself, i'll wait until i'm president to do it. the meeting deteriorated from there. fdr said his son, james, quote, wanted to punch hoover in the eye, end quote. one historian's take on this transition period is that hoover was laying the groundwork for his own political comeback. quote, hoover's strategy now was to show that the foolish new dealer had been given every chance to come to his senses. when fdr failed, hoover would be redeemed, and the people would return him to the presidency. already planning his next presidential run four years

i don't think anybody that's read history of fdr's administration would consider fdr to be especiallyto the republican minority and so they were chafing under fdr and were ready to show some independence. and the last thing they wanted to do was to help another democratic president especially in the field of foreign policy and yet, david ignatius, truman immediately started talking to arthur vandenburg. he immediately started to republicans and as robert isaacingson mentioned this week, they would get into the cars late at night and would drive over to the chairman of the foreign relations townhouse in washington and they would talk to vandenburg and update him with what had been on moving on in the day. because he built that relationship, vandenburg proved to be a crucial bridge between harry truman and the rest of the republican party and this was a republican party that had been isolationist. had told woodrow wilson flat out, no, we're not going to be engaged in europe and the rest of the league of nations after world war i, but truman being a creature of the united states senate l

fdr relaxed his propaganda after world war ii ended. think there are extraordinary moments that we need that sometimes upset us and the president, but there is a tradition of their going at it, these two great pillars of society, the press and the american presidency. that benefits us for the adversarial nature of the relationship. and that has to come back from the extreme in order for the body politic that we serve and for government to fly. susan: harold holzer a lincoln scholar and someone who has contributed many hours to c-span over the years, thank you for two hours on your newest book, what number was it for you? mr. holzer: 54. susan: book number 54 called "the presidents vs press." thank you for your time. mr. holzer: thank you so much [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] q&a programs are available on our website or as a podcast on c-span.org. 2020 was an historic year for

i mean, that was the hunger that brought fdr in. in fdr's time it was easier. they said they forgot to be democrats and republicans because they wanted to respond to the crisis. what it reminds me more even more than fdr and the depression because he had a larger mandate is when teddy rose havroosevelt comes in. the industrial order was making up the economy much as globalization and the tech order have today. we have this huge gap between the rich and the poor. you had people in the city who were suspicious of people in the country. you had sectionalism. teddy warned people in different sections and classes were viewing each other as the other rather than as common american citizens that kind of tribal politics we are seeing today. but leadership was able to come in at his level and argue for a square peel deal. this goes back to what naill was saying, a square deal for the rich and poor so as long as rich act fairly. he was going to deal with the worst aspects of the industrial order and he was able to use public sentiment by mobilizing the press to pressure

fdr got a library at he shipped home from europe so that these names and histories come back into their lives. >> they were the ones in charge at that point, there slightly older version of great wealth, wh struck me about new york. i'm glad you saw the portrait, what was left on the cutting room floor, anthank you, you helped me cut oua lot of that. the city she was born into was much -- the city absolutely polarized between imaginable wealth and unimaginable poverty and each new wave of immigrants arrived and came into the city. the owner was going to tranend or in some ways very committed reshaping and savings. and our smith and eleanor herself. d saved people. you get off the boat. d and the favor when you don't tell you to vo. eleanor and franklin, that replaced the crupt machine city of boston. and and the prosperity to call that, with the roosevelt. it was strange and sad, the statue of fellow roosevelt. and the late 90s, and the courtesies were the courtesies of a civil or -- similar wom in the classic time, she didn't worry about being identified or labeled accorngly, that kind

also fdr's approach to education. he was clearly hunted by doctor peabody and gron school, in a good way but both of them lately formed by the education. tell us more. >> eleanor was told byer grandmother that if she were to go to college she would never attrt a a man. it was tha world of thinking the point of college was to get your mr s degree. and/or simply a few more find tunings of the debutante, if at all. but women did go to college in heclass. they were not encouraged to. ve f did in eleanor's generation, although you see law school, there were lawyers ultimately from our generation and women did go to college but not the wom that she came of age with. sh went to a boarding school in england at her aunt, her roosevelt and, the sister theodore, had gone and become the it girl of that era under madams of this, a charismat frenchwoman who w progressive in her politics butho emphasize one thing above all other which is that a women needed to learn to think for herself. women -- the i idea of educatin at the time e

so tell us who he is turkey was fdr's vice president.id he end up running on another platform and what was that platform? >> henry wallace is the vice president from come during 1944 and is pushed off the ticket very unexpectedly during the 1944 the 19 for four election to make way for truman because a lot of people thought that wallace was just a little weird. he was very far to the left and he made a lot of people uncomfortable. he was sort of a missed fifth -- miss the turkey gets pushed aside to make way for truman and is really not happy about it. he knows he's a massive you among liberal americans and after the war there's this one day where he comes to the white house and he sits down with truman and a bunch of other people and they sit in the widest and have lunch. they watch footage of an atomic test, atomic bomb going off. they can see it from different angles and wallace is completely unnerved. he's like, this is wrong, we shouldn't be doing this. just the fact we're setting of these atomic test and the soviets to have bomb an

she and her family with fdr are large figures in american history and eleanor in particular is such an end one - - an inspiration for inclusion and diversity and is such a will model and a truly inspiring and a big fan of roosevelt and start off with the first question. >> let me apologize for being late to join you as my computer shut down the head of special collections with the state house in downtown boston the depository of publications and many other things we are glad to be part of this tonight so we have written some questions for david and compiled questions that came of people when they registered and those that come in during the talk tonight we will start with the one question because i am a huge the another is also including questions i came in from other people. here is my first question. with that line in the whole book and there were many favorite lions was right after the dedication page but before the table of contents it is a quotation that says i felt obliged to notice everything. to me, that sentence can everything that happened to her or shaped her life. i wondere

he was fdr's vice president. how did he end up running on another platform? and what was that platform? >> so henry wallace is the vice president from -- right up to 1944, and he's pushed off the ticket very unexpectedly -- >> uh-huh. >> during the 1944 election to make way for truman because a lot of people thought that wallace was just a little weird. he was very far to the left, and he made a lot of people uncomfortable. he was sort of a mystic. >> uh-huh. >> and so he gets pushed aside in 1944 to make way for truman, and he's really not happy about it. he knows that he's a massive hero among liberal americans, and after the war, there's this one day where he comes to the white house, and he sits down with truman and a bunch of other people, and they sit in the white house, and they have lunch, and they watch footage of an atomic test, atomic bomb going off. they can see it from different angles. wallace is completely unnerved. he said this is wrong. we shouldn't be doing this and the fact we are setting off atomic tests and soviets don't have a bomb and w

eighty-two days into this new regime, fdr dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in georgia and truman finds outbout this and is rushed to the white house. very much by accident those are his words. right after this picture is taken, he's ushered into a room. he goes hom on to his tiny litte apartment and he's exhausted and terrified. he has ham sandwich and goes to bed. he was remarkably confident being able to sleep in the moments of pressure and there's this moment he wakes up in the middle of the night that night and now the first lady of the united states never wanted to be, he wakes up in the middle of the night and she's sitting on the bed sobbing hysterically. so the next four months, he unites the nation, we win the war and everything is going great. this man comes out of nowhere and then all of a sudden he has to be present at the time the country is moving into peacetime and nothing goes right but nothing would have gone right no matter who is president given the amount of turmoil that had to happen with the migration of america. all this stuff just wasn't going to work and americans

since hoover was routed by fdr.on't think anybody that's read history of fdr administration would consider him to be a especially gracious to the republican minority. so they were chafing under fdr and ready to show independence. the last thing they wanted to do was help another democratic president. especially in the field of foreign policy. and yet he immediately started talking to arthur. and immediately started talking to republicans as walter mentioned earlier, people in the administration at the end of the day would get in the car late at night. drive over to the chairman and foreign relations townhouse in washington, and they would talk and update him with what had been moving on in the day. and because he built the relationship, he proved to be a crucial bridge between truman and the republican party. and this was a republican party that had been isolationists. had told wilson flat out no, we're not engaged in europe and the rest of the world and the league of nations after world war i. truman being a creatu

and so they chafing under fdr and ready to show some independence. last thing they wanted to do was help another democratic president especially in the field of foreign policy, but yet, david, truman started talking to arthur vandenberg and talked to republicans as walter isaacson mentioned that truman administration would get into their cars late at night and drive over to the chairman of the foreign relations townhouse in washington and they could talk to vandenberg and update him with what had a -- what had been moving on in the day and vandenberg was a bridge between harry truman and the rest of the republican party. and this is a republican party that had been isolationist, had told woodrow wilson just flat out no, we're not going to be engaged in europe and the rest of the world and the league of nations after world war i. but truman, being a creature of the united states senate, like joe biden being a creature of the united states senate, knew that in the words of bismarck that politics was the art of the possible. the art of the attainable. a

this is not to say that all americans were enamored of fdr. they were not. in fact, he had been attacked already by opponents on the left and the right. by both liberals and conservatives. perhaps the most far-reaching -- far-reaching alternatives to roosevelt by his opponents first was a plan developed by a california doctor by the name of frances townsend. the story goes that he was led to gum up with a program to help the impoverished. he was looking out his window and had seen a woman rummaging through garbage cans for 70. he came up -- for something to eat. he came up with a plan simplistic in its design. the plan would provide every person over 60 years of age a pension of $200 per month with the requirement they had to spend it all in one month. -- the forced introduction by this amount of money into the economy. where's the money coming from? in any case, it was a plan that appealed to certain people. another opponent of roosevelt conklin, whoarles was canadian born, but he was operating out of detroit. he had a radio program. known as a radio priest

must to fdr in 1944. it seemed hopeless, until truman decided that he would undertake a whistle stop campaign and take the case right to the people. television was in existence but it was not a medium used very much. if you want to reach the people, truman said i have got to go out to the people. not just big cities but little towns. andould stop and come out typically he would come out and introduce his wife and sometimes his daughter, margaret. and then he would make a short, pointed speech attacking -- boldly attacking the republicans. from which he got the reputation -- people shouted to him from the crowds, give them hell, harry. responded all i do is tell the truth and the republicans think it is hell. out ines he would come his pajamas. just the kind of things some people found unbecoming of a president, but that was his style. now, the pollsters were unanimous -- one magazine polled 50 allegedly top political scientists in the united states and asked their prediction, out of the 50 clinical scient

and also fdr's approach toings. he was clearly -- to education. he was clearly haunted by -- [inaudible] and in a good way. both of them greatly informed by their education. tell us more. >> eleanor was told by her grandmother that if she were to go to college, she would never attract a man. it was that world that thinking that the point of college was to get your mrs degree and/or simply a few more fine tunings of a debutante. but women didn't go to college in her class. they were not encouraged to. very few did in eleanor's generation, although law school, there were lawyers ultimately from her generation, and women did go to college, but not the women that she came of age with. she went to a boarding school in england that her aunt, her roosevelt aunt, ann a that roosevelt -- anna roosevelt, the sister of theodore roosevelt, had gone and become the it girl of that era under a charismatic french woman who was progressive in her politics but who emphasized one thing above all else which was that a woman needed to learn to think for herself. the i

the roosevelt you talk about, their marriage with fdr and eleanor emergin and the hyde park roosevelt's the families on the hudson valley with a remarkable collection d eleanor's mother and other gh society, its an amazing collection in many ways i think eleanor roosevelt. she is in your girl. and is much as she tries to get away from that gilded age and then the vanderbilts keep talking. it was the library that he shipped home from europe. with names and history come back into their lives. >> and then a slhtly older version of great wealth. >> it is the portrait of a city and tnk you again. let the city polize the unimaginable wealth and poverty because each new wave of immigrants arrive they would finally transnd to be very cmitted to resping and sang and so many of the things those reforms of the new deal help to save people who were sick in the city and dn't have representation and the guy from tammany hall came over and bring services so you would do their bidding politically. and felt the way they told you to vote becse they brought you i.c.e. for your icebox timately they came to

senate from missouri where he remained until chosen as fdr as his vice presidential running mate in 1944. roosevelt felt it necessary to drop his bend vice president, henry wallace, who had become regarded as to radical and chummy with the soviets. roosevelt chose truman because he was not well-known enough to detract from roosevelt's own candidacy. truman was well aware of his limitations as vice president. there is a story one day he was walking on the street with a friend of his in washington. and they walked past the white house. the friend said to him, harry, turnaround and take a look, you will live there soon, twitch truman replied, i'm afraid i am -- to which truman replied, i am afraid that i am, and it scares the hell out of me. that did come to pass on april 12, 1945, the realization he would now be president, made him feel as he told reporters, "like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me." there is ample reason for truman to be awestruck. in addition to his limitations, it came at a time of extreme crisis. yet once he moved into the white house, truman per

it remind me of the transition between herbert hoover and fdr. when fdr won the presidency, herbert hoover was leaving the world on the brink of collapse. fdr had to figure out a transition with the outgoing president. the two decided they couldn't work together. there was such animosity and the nation was so strained. fdr chose to largely ignore hoover, go about his own way like we're seeing joe biden do. his thought was the nation would see a clean break and see clean relief and optimism going forward the day fdr took office. we can see how hoover has been remembered and how fdr was remembered. we can see that fdr was right. >> we appreciate you all being with us. >>> when we come back, donald trump's refusal to concede could be a life or death situation. how some folks worry a vaccine distribution plan could be delayed because the biden administration is being forced to play catch up. >>> as trump and his allies push uber substantiated theories, we're hearing from others on how it's not true. that and more when "deadline white house" continues

she looked after her younger brother paul and then she looked after fdr. she had the heart to please mother-in-law and there was a lot of stepping back and obliging that she did. was she just born for this type of service? it's amazing. >> i think i used to tnk of eleanor roosevelt when i was younger as perhaps the do-good of all time or she headed do-gooder quality about her. what began to appear more subtly toe as i was beginning search and beginning to understand her was the wish to do good ande good had a great deal to do with needing to reshape people's ideas about her father who had diein such sgrace as a drunk, as the junkie and someone who i absolutely dragged through the mud ultimately i his final years and afterwards by people in his own world and by people that s then came across. i think or wish to do good became something that translated into a nd to be useful and if she could be useful she felt she could be loved. if someone would take the care she was giving them and give back to her it became a mission really for her to be the kind of perso

fdr went and got a library. the beams and histories a come come back into their lives and hunt them. they're very much the ones in charge at that point. that older version of great wealth much struck me about new york. thank you ellie parker again. and as each new wave of immigrants arrived. and they came into the city. it was going to finally transcend. very committed to re- shaping and saving. so many of them that were reforms. and the reforms of the new deal. they helped save people who were sick in that city. the guys from tammy hall came over. so that you would do their bidding politically. they brought you ice. they came to represent the government. in the american the prosperity. that was created with all of that wealth and overtook families like eleanor's. and she accidentally. and when you see her. it was strange and sad. in the great roosevelt monument. next to the title basement there. and they were shown in that statue. she wore furs everywhere. she arrived with violet. she always have something with

and one of the fascinating counterfactual questions is if fdr had lived how would have fdr decided to use the bomb? he certainly wouldn't have been at all -- he wouldn't have hesitated at all to make his own decision. he was accustomed to doing that. >> let's hear from anthony in north creek, new york on our line for world war ii veterans and families. >> caller: good morning. i'm calling for my father and his two brothers. my father went into the army in february of '41. he fought in the philippines. he fought in iwojima and okinawa and occupation in japan. he came home in late 1946. we never found out why he -- he never talked about the war until he got older and he was against them dropping the bomb. but then he says if we would have had a fight, fight them, we would have had to invade japan, i probably would have never came home. so it was a flip of a coin. and my personal opinion, if i had to make that decision, i would say, yeah. his brothers were -- one was in normandy. he was a para trooper in the 101 and my other uncle was also a medic. those people from that generation they

. >> reporter: what was different then consider fdr's speech after pearl harbor. >> a date which will live in infamy >> fdr said to the people, i have absolute confidence in your ability to hear the worst but you have to have absolute confidence that the government is keeping nothing from you if that bond can be created then the level of trust can go back up again i think this huge vote we are seeing is the process of building the trust and mobilization of the spirit of the american people i got to believe that, i do. >> reporter: first steps. cynthia mcfadden, nbc news. >>> in a moment, i'll have some final thoughts on this pivotal moment >>> finally tonight, at about this time tomorrow evening the first polls in the 2020 election will begin to close if that just gave you a knot in your stomach, it's okay me, too. let's face it. this campaign has often felt like a powder keg with a fuse burning down t november 3rd and it's allowed our minds to sometimes drift into dark places about the potential for violence and whether th outcome will be accepted this is a deep breath moment we will

fdr in 1932, promising the bully could country a new deal.de history he told us, yes we can. well, folks, we stand at an inflection point. we have an opportunity to defeat despair, to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. we can do it, i know we can. i've long talked about the battle for the soul of america. we must restore the soul of america. our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses, and what presidents say in this battle, matters. it's time for our better angels to prevail. tonight, the whole world is watching america, and i believe at our best, america is a beacon for the globe. we will lead not only by the example of a power, but by the power of our example. i know, i've a lwa ys our example. i know, i've always believed, many of you have heard me say it, i've a lwa ys have heard me say it, i've always believed we can define america in one word. possibilities. that in america eve ryo ne possibilities. that in america everyone should be given an opportunity to go as far as their dr

she originally had been a supporter of the new deal and she turned against fdr's domestic policies. by the time she comes to congress, she's one of the more eloquent spokespeople in terms of criticisms of fdr's wartime management. and she's not an isolationist, though. she's an internationalist. she's a woman who supports the equal rights amendment and enhanced role for women in the military services and outside the home. so she's something of a feminist as well. ♪ >> from america, this delegation comes to the western front on a democratic mission, mrs. luce serves on the house of representatives military committee. ♪ the group travels toward the battle line, observing american weapons and supplies powering the big push to the rhine. ♪ off to look over newly liberated areas, on their return home, they will make their report to the american nation. >> she serves two terms. this would have been from her 1944 re-election. but about that time she suffers a personal tragedy. her only daughter is killed in a car wreck near stanford where she was going to college. with that, she kind of lo

chuck schumer talked about having 100 days like the first 100 days under fdr, of radical change.he message oft the selection. there will be a tussle, it'd better be one that joe biden is prepared to be aggressive in and to make sure that he does not get pulled to the left. he ran in the primary as a centrist. bernies why he beat sanders and why he beat me others who were to the left of him in the primary. than once he got the nomination, he moved sharply to the left, he brought bernie sanders, a socialist, into discussions about policy. he accepted a great many of these things that the left wants. he was open to the idea of ending the filibuster in the senate. he embraced something close to the green new deal, which would be absolutely ruinous, then in the final weeks of the election, particularly after he came out of his home in delaware and started to campaign, he campaigned more as a uniter and again more as a centrist. there will be a tussle. the left will try to pull him towards all sorts of policy that they threaten. the end of the electoral college, packing the senate, rai

that is where you see fdr's death when it came was an awful fork in the road. if he had been president longer he would have known how to deal with stalin. he would have reacted to soviet usurping in a way that truman was a deer in headlights. the other great turning point, the hungarian revolution, spontaneous revolution, people rose up in the streets, the hungary and military joined the revolutionary and a key moment, one night, we have to let hungary go. we can't put it down militarily. the tanks were leaving hungary and the next day november 1st, 1956, over the course of the night, the americans do anything to help the hungary and revolutionaries, the revolution, they are not coming. if we let hungary go we are going -- the cancer will spread and we. eastern europe. the incredibly sad thing, the eisenhower administration was talking about rolling back against communism and all of a sudden we can't do anything. >> all the guys you talk about started with good intentions, living up to america's morally right upstanding postwar savior and it went pear-shaped af

david and also fdr's education. he was clely haunted by captivity and in a good way. them greatly formed their education, tell us mo. >> eleanor was told by her grandmother thatf she were to go to college she would never attract a man. it was that world of thinking the pot of college was to get your f degree and or simply a few more fine tuning of a debutante. women didn't go to college in her class. they were not encouraged to, very few did ieleanor's generation although you see law school, there were teachers ultimately from her generation and women did go to college bunot the women that she came oage with. she went to a boarding schoo in englandt her aunt, her roosevelt aunt anna roosevelt the sister of theodore roosevelt have gone and become the girl of that era under madame's event, madame sue that was a charismatic frenchwoman who was regressive in her politics, but emphasized one thing above all and it was that a woman eded to learnto think for herself . the idea of education was that madame sue that was thought to be harmful eventuallyo women's health so young

that's what he said of fdr.est of it and ended up winning that re-election. and shocking the political world and, really, i would still call it the greatest political upset of all time in american politics. >> what a great read. especially for the times we're in now. jon meacham and david ignatius, thank you very much. over the next few days, we continue these discussions on joe's new book with historians and pulitzer prize-winning authors. joe, congratulations on the new book. we'll be right back with much more "morning joe." among my patients, i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity & gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. here? nah. ♪ introducing the all new chevy trailblazer. here? nope. ♪ here. ♪ when the middle of nowhere, is somewhere. the all new chevy trailblazer. making life's journey, just bett

she originally had been a supporter of new deal, and then she turned against fdr's domestic qualities. by the time she comes to congress, she really is one of the more alec eloquent spokes persons in terms of criticisms of fdr's wartime management. she is not an isolationism, she is an internationalist. she is also a woman who supports the equal rights amendment, an enhanced role for women in the military service and outside the home. she is something of a feminist as well. >> from america, this congressional delegation comes to the rest in front on a democratic mission. mrs. loose, the congresswoman playwright, serve at the house of representatives military affairs. the group traveled towards the battle line, observing american weapon and supplies powering the big push to the rain. ♪ ♪ off the look newly liberated areas behind the lines, on the return home, they will make the report to the american nation. >> she served two terms, this would have been in the 1944 reelection. about that time, she suffers a personal strategy didi. her only daughter is killed in a car wreck near stanfor