The First Lady of the 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

Irvin and Elizabeth McDuffie

“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

The Roosevelts and the House of Orange

By Paul Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. The relationship between the Roosevelt family and the Dutch royal family, known as the House of Orange, is both charming and historically significant. New York and the Hudson River Valley were both originally settled by Dutch pioneers. And the Netherlands was the first country to recognize the United States. … Continue reading The Roosevelts and the House of Orange

Around the World in 80 Days with the Roosevelts

The Roosevelt Library plans quite a trip for Summer 2014! Join us as we journey to seven continents and 95 countries for Around the World in 80 Days with the Roosevelts. Look for hundreds of internationally themed photographs, museum objects, and historic documents on the Library's Tumblr -- fdrlibrary.tumblr.com – and other social media accounts beginning Memorial Day weekend and culminating with the August … Continue reading Around the World in 80 Days with the Roosevelts

The Roosevelts and the Kennedys

The ties between the Roosevelt and Kennedy families go back to World War I when Franklin D. Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy.  In November 1917, Joseph P. Kennedy was the Assistant General Manager of the Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts, when a labor strike threatened the company’s contribution to the Navy’s … Continue reading The Roosevelts and the Kennedys

From the Museum

Aquamarine Stone (MO 1947.115.1) Several weeks after winning his second presidential election, FDR boarded the cruiser USS Indianapolis for a month long “Good Neighbor” cruise to South America. On November 27, 1936, the President stopped at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he met with Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas. During this visit, President and Mrs. Vargas … Continue reading From the Museum

From the Museum

Summertime in Hyde Park "All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River" - Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944 Springwood Springwood, FDR’s childhood home, was often called Roosevelt’s “Summer White House.” Owned by his mother Sara until her death in 1941, the property remained Roosevelt’s home throughout his … Continue reading From the Museum

From the Museum

Carved Portraits of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt (MO 1941.4.12-13) Noted African American artist Leslie Garland Bolling (1898-1955) presented these carved figures of the Roosevelts to the President and First Lady in 1940. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Bolling was a largely self-taught artist who captured the attention of the art public with his busts and sculptures … Continue reading From the Museum

From the Museum

Carved Wooden Pig (MO 1947.93.412)   President Roosevelt liked to display souvenirs and small trinkets he received as gifts on his desk in the White House Oval Office. Some of these items reflected whimsical aspects of FDR's personality. This carved wooden pig is certainly among them. Roosevelt enjoyed collecting pig figurines. His private secretary Grace … Continue reading From the Museum