Report on Some Emotional Reactions to President Roosevelt's Death

The emotional reaction of the nation to the death of President Roosevelt was in general very intense. He was one of those personalities who are able to induce strong emotional reactions in all persons who were in direct or even indirect contact with him. The war, with its increase of emotional output of all kinds, and its affective regression,1 facilitated strong emotional reactions to the leader of the nation. The deep devotion and admiration which many people developed for the President contrasted with intense hatred towards him on the part of others. Few remained indifferent. One formed the impression that to a considerable extent he fulfilled the requirements which Sigmund Freud postulated of “great men”:

“It may not be quite useless, however, to ask under what condition we bestow this title of honor. We may be surprised to find that it is not so easy to answer this question. A first formulation which would define as great a human being specially endowed with qualities we value highly is obviously in all respects unsuitable. Beauty, for instance, and muscular strength, much as they may be envied, do not establish a claim to ‘greatness.’ There should perhaps be mental qualities present, psychical and intellectual distinction. In the latter respect we have misgivings: a man who has an outstanding knowledge in one particular field would not be called a great man without any further reason. We should certainly not apply the term to a master of chess or to a virtuoso on a musical instrument, and not necessarily to a distinguished artist or a man of science. In such a case we should be content to say he is a great writer, painter, mathematician, or physicist, a pioneer in this field or that, but we should pause before pronouncing him a great man. When