Elected for an unprecedented four terms, Roosevelt proved the most gifted American statesman of the twentieth century.

FDR, for his part, needed practical political guidance, and Louis Howe provided it. Except for a basic attachment to the Democratic party, Howe was indifferent to ideology. Yet he was an astute tactician with a litmus ability to distinguish a sound political move from one that was likely to cause trouble.

Thanks to the elective system, he avoided courses in philosophy and theory, which might have meant trouble. Throughout his life Roosevelt remained mystified by abstract thought, and Harvard did nothing to lessen that.

An exception to the daily routine was on movie nights. FDR was addicted to motion pictures, but going to the theater was difficult for him.

FDR had little passion for the law, but he was a fast learner blessed with an avuncular, ingratiating personality.

FDR saw it as his duty not only to appear in the best of spirits but to bolster the spirits of those about him. Despite the grim reality of his condition, he persisted in seeing the bright side.

Several times the pair were arrested for minor traffic infractions, and each time Franklin, whose command of German was excellent, talked their way out of a fine.

America’s gross domestic product (GDP) had doubled since 1865 and was now the largest in the world: one third larger than Britain’s, twice that of France, and three times as great as Germany.7 The production of steel, less than twenty thousand tons in 1867, totaled almost 2 million tons in 1882. Coal production had tripled.

Howe, the older man, always called Roosevelt by his first name and spoke out whenever he thought FDR was mistaken.