History Comes To Life: 'Wendell Willkie (1892-1944)'

Source:History Comes To Life- 1940 presidential candidate Wendell Willkie (Republican, Indiana)

"Willkie about to board plane in 1940 campaign, Willkie waves and boards, Mrs. Willkie boards plane, Willkie working on plane, plane in flight, Willkie looks out window.  1940: FDR campaigning, Mrs. Roosevelt and Herbert Lehman in car with him, long shot same, FDR car passes by. (sound) Willkie campaigning in New Jersey, man marks vote board. 1942: Plane just landed in Cairo, Wendell Willkie, FDR representatives in Cairo out of plane, various shots of Willkie in conversation at the airport, Willkie enters car and drives away. CU Willkie as he receives award for Real Understanding of Americanism (sound). CU Willkie removing hat, CU Willkie." 

From History Comes To Life

I'll go on the record right now and just admit that I'm a big fan of Wendell Willkie to the point that if I was from his generation, or even from the World War II generation, I would probably be a Republican as well back in the 1930s and 40s. He and might match up very well with our center-right, classical liberal (meaning the real liberal) philosophy. 

Wendell Willkie was a cold warrior, he believed in property rights, (both economic and personal) he believed in civil rights and equal rights for all Americans regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion, he even believed in a public safety net for people who truly needed it. 

Wendell also believed in limited government and fiscal responsibility as well and when you look at the 1940 presidential election, it wasn't conservative versus liberal. More like Liberal versus Progressive or Social Democrat, which Wendell Willkie representing the Liberal Republicans and to a certain extent the Conservatives as well and Franklin Roosevelt representing the Progressive Democrats, as well as the Neo-Confederate Democrats, who were latter called Dixiecrats. The 1940s was a very a different time politically and ideologically.