logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
38m 13s

Elections Explained: How FDR Won Four Ti...

History Hit
About this episode

4,322 days. That's how long Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. Whilst no other US president has served more than two terms, FDR was elected four times!


Was this because of his charisma, his opposition, the challenges of the Great Depression and the Second World War, or a combination of all of the above, Don is joined by Jonathan Darman. Jonathan is a journalist and author of 'Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President.'


Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.


Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/ 


You can take part in our listener survey here.


Up next
Aug 21
American Traitors: Axis Sally
Is contributing to enemy propaganda treason? In this second episode on American Traitors, we are meeting 'Axis Sally', real name Mildred Gillars.Professor Michael Flamm joins us to explore the life of this American citizen who broadcast American music, scripted dramas and hateful ... Show More
44m 36s
Aug 18
What If Lincoln Hadn't Been Shot?
It's the biggest 'What if?' in American history: What if Lincoln hadn't been shot? The assassination could so easily have failed and things went so wrong in the aftermath (looking at you Andrew Johnson). Could Reconstruction have looked different with Abraham Lincoln at the helm? ... Show More
56m 26s
Aug 14
American Traitors: Benedict Arnold
Is Benedict Arnold the biggest traitor in American History? In this episode, Don is joined by author Stephen Brumwell to examine how Arnold went from hero to villain.How important was he to the Revolutionary cause? Why did he decide to go against it? And do his actions even count ... Show More
53m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
First Ladies | Eleanor Roosevelt | 3
In 1905, Eleanor Roosevelt married her distant cousin Franklin, beginning a remarkable and complicated union. During her husband’s years as President, from 1933 to 1945, Eleanor became the longest-serving First Lady and she transformed the role, becoming the first presidential sp ... Show More
42m 31s
Aug 4
Teddy Roosevelt: The Original Bro
Before there were finance bros, tech bros, or even frat bros… there was Teddy Roosevelt. This week, we dive into how a sickly rich kid from Manhattan reinvented himself as a rough-and-tumble cowboy, a Rough Rider, and eventually a trust-busting progressive president who helped pu ... Show More
1h 10m
Nov 2024
Franksgiving: When FDR Moved Thanksgiving w/ Adam Conover [Archive Episode]
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**///It’s November 26th. On this day in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roose ... Show More
22m 45s
May 21
257. Churchill, FDR, & Mind Games at Yalta (Ep 2)
How did FDR become the mediator between Stalin and Churchill at the 1945 conference? Why did Churchill call Yalta the “Hades Riviera”? What was Mussolini’s rude nickname for FDR? Anita and William dive into the backstories of Churchill and FDR ahead of their arrival in Yalta, and ... Show More
43m 37s
Jan 2025
John F Kennedy
The second of nine children from a well-to-do family in New England, John F Kennedy fought his way up to become the most powerful man on the planet. After claiming a narrow victory in the 1960 election, Kennedy and his glamorous wife, Jacqueline, led the country on a wave of opti ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2024
FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | 1
Great Britain and the United States have always enjoyed a special bond, and nowhere has that been more evident than in the friendship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Churchill went to stay ... Show More
38m 35s
Nov 2024
Sex Lives of Presidents
With the US election happening, we wanted to take a look back at the presidents from the past what we know about their sex lives. Which president was well-endowed and supposedly presented it to staff in the Oval Office? Which president had an affair on his honeymoon? And which ha ... Show More
36m 57s
Jun 2024
Dwight D Eisenhower: life of the week
Few men did more to shape the course of the 20th century than Dwight D Eisenhower. Not only did 'Ike' mastermind the Allied invasion of western Europe on D-Day, but he also went on to become president of the United States as it cemented its status as the world's most powerful nat ... Show More
40m 18s
May 2023
FDR Tries to Pack the Court
June 1, 1936. The Supreme Court hands down its last decision of the term. The justices have dealt blow after blow to President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation, and today is no different: they rule against FDR again. It’s the last straw. Roosevelt is going to do something drastic ... Show More
29m 14s
Dec 2024
THE GREATEST PRESIDENT SINCE FDR IS DEAD - 12.30.24
SEASON 3 EPISODE 82: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (1:45) SPECIAL COMMENT: My friend – and what a privilege it has been to call him that – President Jimmy Carter would disagree that he is STILL the lead story, the day after. After all, he might note, he WAS 100, he was i ... Show More
1h 2m