Rand became a US citizen in 1931, and voted in her first US presidential election the following year for, surprisingly, Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat. “She voted for her nemesis,” says Heller. FDR’s campaign promised low taxes, small government and staying out of European wars. Rand was under the impression Roosevelt wanted to restore the business environment in the United States, and was drawn to his promise to end Prohibition. “She thought Prohibition was a crime against an individual’s right. People should be able to do as they please,” Heller says.
Rand began writing “Atlas Shrugged” in 1946 after Roosevelt’s third term in office, which parodied his New Deal policies and encouraged resistance to the growing power of government.
