Samuel Irving Rosenman (1896–1973) was a U.S. lawyer, judge, Democratic political figure, and presidential speechwriter.
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Rosenman was born in San Antonio, Texas, son of Solomon and Ethel (Paler) Rosenman. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and graduated From Columbia Law School in 1919. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Sigma Rho.[1][2]
He became active in Democratic politics, and was elected to the New York State Assembly (New York County 11th District in 1922-26); and the New York Supreme Court (1st District, 1936–43).[3]
Rosenman was an advisor to Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Under their administration he was a leading figure in the war crimes issue. He was also the first official White House Counsel -- then called Special Counsel—between 1943 and 1946.
He was a speechwriter under both presidents, helping Roosevelt with his speeches from his days as governor. While he was not heavily involved in speechwriting during FDR's first term, he started traveling to Washington to help out with important talks during the 1936 campaign and was a key speech aide for the remainder of FDR's life. He officially joined the White House after ill health forced him to have to choose between his judicial work and his presidential work.
He submitted his resignation as Special Counsel upon FDR's death but Truman asked him to stay on, initially through V-E Day, then through V-J Day, and finally into 1946. Even after leaving the White House he would periodically return to aid the president with major speeches, including his acceptance speech to the 1948 Democratic convention.
Rosenman edited The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt published in 13 volumes from 1938 to 1950. They have been immensely influential in the study of the New Deal and FDR's policies, and, given the enormous mass of data at the Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, it is used by historians as a guide, a conceptual framework, and a source. His selections have given rise to some accusations of partisan selectivity and of deviations from a delivered speech, the work still holds up remarkably well as an important piece of scholarship, and Rosenman will long be remembered as the Thucydides of the Roosevelt era, according to Hand (1968).
From 1964 to 1966, Rosenman served as president of the New York City Bar Association.
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| Preceded by None |
White House Counsel 1943-1946 |
Succeeded by Clark Clifford |
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