Roosevelt, Franklin D. | Naval buildup bill signing pen, given to Captain Joseph M. Patterson

Roosevelt, Franklin D.

Typed letter signed ("Franklin D. Roosevelt") as thirty-second president, to Captain Joseph M. Patterson, gifting him the pen used to sign a naval bill

1 page (215 x 172 mm, sight). On White House stationery, dated 24 July 1940, pen mounted to letter. Matted, glazed and framed (274 x 221 mm); not examined out of frame. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt writes to Captain Joseph M. Patterson, sharing the pen used to sign a naval bill, "knowing of your great and helpful interest in this legislation."

The fountain pen was used to sign "An Act to establish the composition of the United States Navy, to authorize the construction of certain naval vessels, and for other purposes." This bill was known as the Two-Ocean Navy Act, enacted on 19 July 1940. It was at the time the largest naval procurement bill to date in U.S. history, increasing the size of the U.S. navy by 70%. The request for the bill came from Chief of Naval Operations, Harold Stark, shortly after German troops conquered allied France in June, 1940. Though Roosevelt had promised not to send American troops into the European war, he did bolster U.S. defense capabilities, mostly notably with the Lend-Lease Program in March 1941 that supplied essential aid to the allies, in turn assisting the defense of the United States.

Captain Joseph M. Patterson founded New York's Daily News in 1919. Patterson and Franklin D. Roosevelt established a long standing friendship, and the Daily News supported Roosevelt's New Deal and his reelection in 1940. Roosevelt even asked Patterson to be his Secretary of the Navy in May 1940, which Patterson turned down. However, relations later soured, due to Patterson opposing Lend-Lease and other elements of governmental foreign policy, and Roosevelt rejecting Patterson's offer of support following Pearl Harbor.

An historical letter given just before the pair's dramatic fallout.