American Art Collaborative

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president of the United States in November 1932, the first of four terms. For this inaugural medal by Paul Manship, Roosevelt suggested the design for the reverse, which shows the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") surrounded by Longfellow's famous verse "Thou too sail on, O Ship of State, Sail on, O Union, strong and great." The collaborative relationship between Roosevelt and Manship dated to 1919, when Roosevelt was still assistant secretary of the Navy and Manship had advised him on a change to the design of the Navy's Medal of Honor