Pre Presidency Humanitarian Appeal by Franklin D. Roosevelt for Malnourished Puerto Rican Children, November 6, 1930

Puerto Rico

Manuscript & Autographs

Roosevelt, Franklin D. Typed Letter Signed, November 6, 1930, documents his leadership in a statewide fundraising campaign for impoverished and malnourished children in Puerto Rico during the first phase of the Great Depression. Written from Albany while serving as Governor of New York, the letter addresses Darwin P. Kingsley, President of the New York Life Insurance Company, and solicits participation in a coordinated relief effort. Roosevelt reports that “over 150,000 American school children are seriously undernourished—some slowly starving,” citing a survey undertaken at the request of President Herbert Hoover. He links the crisis to the devastating 1928 San Felipe hurricane and economic collapse, noting that “black coffee without sugar or milk is the only breakfast for tens of thousands of children in Porto Rico today.” Roosevelt identifies Governor Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., of Puerto Rico as Honorary Chairman of the National Committee and emphasizes a six year campaign to raise $7,300,000 for coordinated child feeding and recovery efforts. The letter situates Puerto Rico squarely “under the American flag,” underscoring federal responsibility for colonial welfare during economic emergency.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. Typed Letter Signed. Albany, New York, November 6, 1930. One page, 7.25 x 10.5 inches, addressed to Darwin P. Kingsley. Signed “Franklin D Roosevelt.” Together with: Woodin, W. H. Typed Letter Signed. New York, March 12, 1930. One page, 8.5 x 11 inches, addressed to Darwin P. Kingsley. Signed “W H Woodin.” Roosevelt’s letter urges Kingsley to “accept a place on the New York State Committee” aiding Puerto Rican children. Woodin’s letter, written earlier the same year, solicits a contribution to the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, established in 1927 after Roosevelt’s 1921 polio diagnosis to support therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation. The pairing of these letters connects Roosevelt’s personal philanthropic initiatives with broader national and territorial relief efforts during economic contraction.

By 1930, Puerto Rico faced collapsing export markets, widespread unemployment estimated at roughly one third of the labor force, and hurricane damage that compounded food insecurity and tuberculosis risk. Roosevelt’s appeal predates his presidency yet anticipates the territorial focus later expressed through New Deal agencies such as the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration. The letter demonstrates his public framing of humanitarian relief as a national obligation and reveals the networks of insurance executives, financiers, and civic leaders mobilized for Depression era recovery. One center punch hole and standard mailing folds to Roosevelt letter; Woodin letter with light creasing, edge wear, single center punch hole, and usual folds; text fully legible in both; overall very good condition. A historically significant pair of signed letters linking Roosevelt’s pre presidential relief leadership, colonial policy concerns, and the philanthropic infrastructure that informed early New Deal governance.

Item #16153

Price: $1,200.00