The Legacy of 1940: The Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Third Term

Kyle Lindsay, Providence College

Description

For my honors history thesis, I examined the decision of Franklin D. Roosevelt to run for a third presidential term in 1940. This decision was an important one, for no other President in American history had been elected to a third term. My research indicated that despite his personal wishes, Roosevelt believed that he had to run again in 1940 to guide the United States during the uncertain period leading up to World War II.