A campaign portrait projected authority. Local signs carried the argument into the street. Even a dog could become a political messenger. These six archival photographs follow Roosevelt from the earlier third-term precedent into the final day before the November 7, 1944 election.
Topic: Franklin Roosevelt’s fourth presidential campaign
01 / 06
The precedent was already broken
Roosevelt waves from his third inaugural platform on January 20, 1941. This earlier photograph supplies the constitutional background to the 1944 campaign: he had already departed from the two-term tradition. It is not his fourth inauguration, which took place in January 1945.
Unknown photographer / FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 63-122. CC BY 2.0.
02 / 06
A portrait for the fourth campaign
Leon A. Perskie photographed Roosevelt at Hyde Park on August 21, 1944. This is a scan of an original color transparency, not a modern colorization. Its composed, formal presentation was part of the visual language of the campaign.
Photo details
Date
August 21, 1944
Location
Hyde Park, New York, United States
Photographer
Leon A. Perskie
Archive / collection
FDR Presidential Library and Museum, CT 09-109(1); gift of Beatrice Perskie Foxman and Dr. Stanley B. Foxman
Leon A. Perskie / FDR Presidential Library and Museum, CT 09-109(1); gift of Beatrice Perskie Foxman and Dr. Stanley B. Foxman. CC BY 2.0.
03 / 06
A dog joins the campaign
An unidentified dog wears a sign asking voters to keep “Falla” in the White House. The misspelling appears on the original sign. This is campaign humor referring to Roosevelt’s famous pet; the pictured animal should not be identified as Fala, who was a Scottish terrier.
Unknown photographer / FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 78-9(337). CC BY 2.0.
04 / 06
The people carrying the signs
Women representing the Democratic Party in New York display large signs supporting Roosevelt’s fourth campaign. The archive does not identify each participant. Their work belongs beside the familiar presidential portraits: a national candidacy still depended on people making its message visible locally.
Unknown photographer / FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 53-227(947). CC BY 2.0.
05 / 06
An appearance in Philadelphia
Roosevelt is photographed in Philadelphia on October 27, 1944, during the closing stretch of the campaign. His hat and coat belong to the public appearance; his expression cannot tell us the condition of his heart. The medical and photographic records answer different questions.
Photo details
Date
October 27, 1944
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Photographer
Unknown photographer
Archive / collection
National Archives, NAID 195429; FDR Library Public Domain Photographs
Unknown photographer / National Archives, NAID 195429; FDR Library Public Domain Photographs. Public domain.
06 / 06
The day before the vote
Roosevelt campaigns with Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. in Poughkeepsie on November 6. The following day brought the election that returned him to the White House. The image’s archival description provides the 1944 date; the later date embedded in the digital file concerns its reproduction.
