USPS The Memorial Set of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

 

USPS in 1946 issued four Memorial stamps to honour President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the months following his death.

The stamps included:
1¢ FDR and Hyde Park – This stamp commemorates Franklin Roosevelt and the place of his birth, Hyde Park, NY.  He lived at Hyde Park until enrolling in preparatory school at the age of 14.

2¢ FDR and Little White House – This stamp commemorates the time President Roosevelt spent at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.  As therapy following an attack of polio, Franklin Roosevelt swam in the warm mineral pools of Warm Springs, Georgia.  In an effort to help polio victims afford treatment, Roosevelt bought the land surrounding the springs and established The Warm Springs Foundation.

3¢ FDR and White House – During his time at the White House, Roosevelt successfully led America through both the Great Depression and World War II.  He also became America’s only four-term president.

5¢ FDR and Four Freedoms – This stamp commemorates Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech that he delivered to Congress on January 6, 1941.  The four freedoms are the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship God in one’s own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.  He concluded his speech stating that, “Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945), thirty-second president of the United States, served an unprecedented four terms. Elected during the Great Depression, he served into World War II. He died at 63, on the eve of complete military victory in Europe and within months of victory over Japan in the Pacific.

The rewards of stamp collecting blessed much of FDR’s life. As a child, he looked to stamps for knowledge about the world. As a polio-stricken adult, they offered solace. Throughout his entire life, including his presidency, he spent time each day with his collection. During the 1930s, he and Postmaster General James A. Farley enthusiastically brainstormed over stamp designs, colors, and themes. Roosevelt actually sketched numerous ideas for stamp designs.

The time each day spent with his stamps relaxed President Roosevelt during those very tense times. He claimed, “I owe my life to my hobbies – especially stamp collecting.” His son James recollected, “I have vivid memories of Father sitting at his desk when he had a half hour or hour with no appointments . . . with his stamp books and an expression of complete relaxation and enjoyment on his face.”  In addition to enjoying his stamps privately each day, FDR joined stamp clubs, bought stamps from dealers and in auction, and promoted the hobby by association with stamp shows such as the 1936 international exhibition TIPEX in New York City.