The Raab Collection has acquired and is offering for sale a remarkable and newly discovered archive, the private correspondence between Franklin D. Roosevelt and his long time confidant, Commander George C. Sweet. These personal letters show FDR’s uncensored thoughts on prohibition, the great stock market crash, the Supreme Court, Hitler, and World War II.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Opposes Appeasement and Virtually Predicts World War II and American Involvement in It Four Years Before Pearl Harbor: “The dictator nations find their bluffs are not being called and that encourages other nations to play the same game. Perhaps you will be back in uniform yet…"
What makes this archive remarkable? Roosevelt was a careful man, aware that his statements must be made guardedly. His public correspondence was generally drafted by aides, and was measured, serious, deliberate and discreet. However, the private FDR was outgoing, humorous and frank, and when he corresponded with those he could trust, this side would show through. Sweet was such a man.
With Prohibition Over, President Franklin D. Roosevelt Reaches for a Drink of Fine Port: Breaking out a 51 year old bottle for Christmas 1933, just weeks after repeal: “It was a great privilege for the family to drink the family toast… in an honest product”
The Raab Collection has acquired, directly from the Sweet descendants, the entirety of FDR’s letters to Sweet. Their closeness carried on through the 1920s and 1930s, only ceasing when the cares and tribulations of FDR in World War II, and his ill health, forced him to dramatically cut back his correspondence.
Wall Street Greed Caused the Stock Market Crash That Brought on the Depression: "The fault lies with Wall Street. They watered their stocks so liberally in past years…”
Since its founding, The Raab Collection has earned a reputation as the destination for descendants and heirs of historical families to sell their heirlooms when the time is right. Along with the Sweet descendants, this includes the families of Thomas Jefferson, US Grant, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, F. Scott Fitzgerald and many, many others.
