Rosenman, Samuel Irving

(1896-1973)

   One of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s closest advisers and speechwriter and editor of the president’s public papers and addresses, Samuel I. Rosenman was born of Ukrainian Jewish parents in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to New York City with his family in 1905. Rosenman served in the army during World War I and then attended Columbia University and Columbia University Law School, graduating in 1919. A Democrat, he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1921 and retired in 1926 to work with the state Legislative Drafting Commission. Rosenman began writing speeches for Roosevelt during his gubernatorial campaign in 1928 and subsequently became the governor’s chief of staff. It was Rosenman who coined the phrase “New Deal” in Roosevelt’s speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932. In 1933, he won election to the New York State Supreme Court and also continued his speechwriting and advisory role in the White House. In 1943, he resigned from the court to act as special counsel to the president during World War II and was involved in the creation of the Office of Production Management and the National Housing Agency. After Roosevelt’s death, Rosenman continued as an adviser to Harry S. Truman until 1946, when he retired to take up private practice. He served on a number of public bodies before his death and was actively involved in Jewish causes.