FDR and His Unprecedented Fourth Term

On November 7, 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first and only President of the United States to be elected for a fourth term. (Seven years later, the 22^ndAmendment to the Constitution would limit the number of times a person could be president to two.) And if FDR’d had his way, Harry S. Truman would not have become the 33^rdPresident.

Unlike in 1940 when the Democrats were split about who to nominate, Roosevelt easily won the nomination at the 1944 Democratic convention, making him the first person to serve as a major party nominee in four separate presidential elections. After successful leading the country through the Depression and three years of war, FDR was popular and faced little opposition within his party. Even though the Southern Democrats were unhappy with his racial policies, they were pleased with the amount of war activities and industries to their states, so they agreed with his nomination. Reports indicate there were a few pro-segregationist delegates who tried to get Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd nominated, but Byrd refused to run.

Henry A. Wallace had been FDR’s Vice President since 1941, but there was significant opposition to putting him forward in the 1944 election. Some felt he was too left-wing and personally eccentric to be next in line for the presidency. Others remembered that he’d performed so poorly as economic coordinator, that Roosevelt had removed him from the post. 

Instead, party leaders introduced Harry Truman as a possible candidate, and after extensive conversations, Roosevelt reluctantly agreed to accept him as his running mate. FDR knew very little about Truman other than that he was a moderate from Missouri, and he’d performed well as chair of a Senate wartime committee investigating fraud and inefficiency in the war program.

Because of Roosevelt’s popularity, the Republicans knew it would be a difficult election to win. Initial nominees under consideration were Wendell Wilkie (the party’s 1940 nominee), Senator Robert Taft of Ohio (son of former president William Taft), and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. General Douglas McArthur even made the short list, but realizing he had a war to finish, party leaders didn’t move forward with his nomination. Taft choose not to run and suggested Ohio Governor John W. Bricker. The final pair consisted of Dewey as the Republican Presidential Candidate and Bricker as Vice-president.

Roosevelt won by a landslide, taking thirty-six of the forty-eight states. His decision to make Truman his running mate proved consequential. Roosevelt died in April 1945, and Truman became president on April 12^th.

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone's throw from Fort McHenry and has lived in historic places all her life. Linda is a member of ACFW, RWA, and Sisters in Crime. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII. To learn more about Linda and her books, including her latest release, Love's Allegiance, visit her website. Receive a free short story when you sign up for her newsletter.