Above, FDR 1944. Last night, the Library participated in a White House Historical Association program focused on FDR and V-E Day. Victory in Europe Day isn't often discussed in detail here at the Library. We leave that day to the Truman Library. But FDR played a major role in shaping V-E Day and the way … Continue reading FDR and V-E Day
Unique Perspectives in the Papers and Records at the FDR Library A stunned citizenry gathers in Lafayette Park in Washington, DC, April 12, 1945. President Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, less than three months into his fourth term, was the first in a series of events in 1945 that dramatically marked the end of … Continue reading Flash, the President is Dead, April 12, 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt in his wheelchair aboard the Nourmahal, April 1935. Credit Robert Cross-Sailor in the White House. NPx 06-01. By Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician 1924 does not resonate the way 1933, or 1941 does when thinking of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. It was, however, a year filled with encounters that would profoundly change both. … Continue reading 1924: A Year of New Beginnings
In 2024 we expect and receive nearly instantaneous information about current events and happenings from a multiplicity of sources. Many people find it hard to believe that not too far in the past one relied upon a handful of radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines for news. This was certainly true in 1944 at … Continue reading D-Day and Radio News-A Different Perspective
D-Day has been the subject of countless articles, books, and motion pictures, but many aspects of this pivotal moment in world history remain unknown or unacknowledged. Perhaps surprisingly, one involves the FDR Library, according to the Library's first director, Fred Shipman. His tale of events in late 1943 and early 1944 regarding a misfiled document, … Continue reading D-Day, the FDR Library, and a Remarkable Story
Members of an NAACP Planning Committee at a recruitment event. Photograph: Library of Congress Black women were on the frontlines of civil rights activism during the war years. The grassroots organizing work of young leaders like Rosa Parks, Juanita Jackson, and Ella Baker helped fuel a dramatic increase in NAACP membership and branch activism. Union … Continue reading Black Women in the Wartime Struggle
Mary McLeod Bethune acted as leader of the Black Cabinet. Bethune was a friend and confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR held her in high regard. She used her unique connection to the Roosevelts to bring race-related issues directly to the President. Photograph: Library of Congress Much of the success of the Black Cabinet was … Continue reading The First Lady of the Struggle
“Throughout the nation today, colored men and women are playing the part in the government under President Roosevelt’s New Deal that we have awaited . . . these seventy years which have passed since President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” —Elizabeth McDuffie, Campaign Speech, St. Louis, Missouri, 1936 Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie, two Black … Continue reading Irvin and Elizabeth McDuffie
President Warren G. Harding's body lying in state in the East Room of the White House. Image from the Library of Congress https://lccn.loc.gov/2006683674 by Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician August 2, 2023, marks the 100th Anniversary of the sudden death of Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States. The news, no doubt, shocked Americans, … Continue reading Remembering President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923)
by William A. Harris, Director King George VI (MO 1975.90a) and his wife Queen Elizabeth (MO 1975.90b) by Frank Ernest Beresford, 1937, FDR Library. Saturday, May 6th, marks the coronation of King Charles III in London. In 1937, FDR was invited to the crowning of King George VI, the current king's grandfather, the main event in … Continue reading The Coronation of King George VI, May 12, 1937
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