On May 10th, 1940 Winston Churchill took over 10 Downing Street and became the British Prime Minister, pushing Chamberlain out in disgrace and forming a new “all party” government. The collapse of the French army shocked the world, and Churchill feared they were next. On May 15th Churchill sends his first message as Prime Minister to FDR. "“The scene has darkened swiftly. The small countries are simply smashed up, one by one, like matchwood. We expect to be attacked ourselves in the near future.

On July 2, 1932 FDR gave his New Deal speech. Thread. @harveyjkaye @rauchway @FDRLibrary "Let us now and here highly resolve to resume the country's interrupted march along the path of real progress, of real justice, of real equality for all of our citizens, great and small." As we enter this new battle, let us keep always present with us some of the ideals of the Party: The fact that the Democratic Party by tradition and by the continuing logic of history, past and present, is the bearer of liberalism and of progress

President Roosevelt submitted his "Court Packing" proposal on Feb. 5, 1937. In his Fireside chat on March 9, he explained why the court was too conservative and its decisions harmed the country. A thread. @FDRLibrary @harveyjkaye @rauchway @SCOTUSblog He said "The change of one vote would have thrown all the affairs of this great Nation back into hopeless chaos. In effect, four Justices ruled that the right under a private contract to exact a pound of flesh was more sacred than the main objectives of the Constitution"

A thread on leadership. In Feb. 1942 President Roosevelt faced a world wide crisis as fascist forces scored victories around the world. The future of freedom and democracy were at risk. On Feb. 23 FDR delivered a Fireside Chat. Here are some excerpts. (1) Washington's Birthday is a most appropriate occasion for us to talk with each other about things as they are today and things as we know they shall be in the future.