Franklin Delano Roosevelt for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities

Franklin Delano Roosevelt for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities — page 5
FOREWORD by Senator Edward M Kennedy RANKLIN RooSEVELT WAS elected president the year I was born He was a leading topic of conversation in our family and across the nation for the next 13 years My father knew him well and was a friend of President Roosevelt He named my father the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and later appointed him ambassador to Great Britain My three older brothers Joe Jack and Bobby talked about President Roosevelt with my father and listening to those con versations I thought that he must be a good person and a good leader for our country and for the world I knew he was a Demo crat When I was six my parents took me with them to London because President Roosevelt had asked my father to become America's ambassador to Great Britain I knew it was an impor tant assignment but I was totally surprised by the British peo ple They seemed to treat us almost like royalty and wherever we went they wanted to take our pictures I was amazed to see my photo in the newspaper too Unfortunately only a year later war broke out in Europe My father stayed on but it was so dan gerous that my mother brought me home But my father's ser vice to FDR stayed in my mind I was proud of him and that experience certainly influenced my later decision to go into pub lic service myself I also had immense respect for President Roo sevelt and all he did for our country The New Deal always meant something special to me ever since A letter from young Bobby Kennedy to FDR