By Paul M. Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. Franklin Roosevelt loved winter in Hyde Park. The rolling hills and woods of the family estate at Springwood provided a wonderland of fun and adventure. One of the large bobsleds Franklin loved to ride as a teenager is currently on display in the Henry Wallace Center. Legend has … Continue reading Winter Wonderland
By Paul Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. One day before the 74th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s historic address to Congress in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor it is important to examine the true meaning of the speech, and how it came to be. It is rare when a presidential speech transcends the political … Continue reading The True Story Behind the Most Important Speech of the 20th Century
By Paul M. Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. There is always a lively debate when people discuss “the most important” presidential elections in American history. Abraham Lincoln’s victory in 1860 and his leadership during the Civil War, the peaceful transfer of power from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson in 1800, and the 1932 election of Franklin … Continue reading The Most Important Presidential Election in History
By Paul M. Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. On Oct. 20, 1944 Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte Island in the Philippines and fulfilled his promise to return. The charismatic and dashing General was one of the most famous American military leaders in the world and his dramatic return to his beloved Philippines was a … Continue reading “I Have Returned!” – General MacArthur and FDR
By Paul Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. As we enter into the quadrennial campaign for the White House, it is informative to look back at one of Franklin Roosevelt’s most memorable campaign moments. There were many, as he was a ferocious campaigner who loved being on the hustings, but one of the most effective concerned his … Continue reading Defending Fala – A Lesson in Effective Campaigning
By Paul M. Sparrow, Director, FDR Library. Few people realize what an environmental advocate Franklin D. Roosevelt truly was. Or how frequently he invoked the Bible in his speeches. Ronald Isetti in his article “The Moneychangers of the Temple: FDR, American Civil Religion, and the New Deal:” states that “Few presidents employed biblical symbols, religious … Continue reading FDR, Christianity and the environment
This Mother's Day we celebrate two of the mothers in FDR's life - Sara and Eleanor. Happy Mother's Day - To FDR? In 1940, FDR and his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, celebrated Mother’s Day in an unconventional manner—she gave her son a gift! This role reversal was connected to the creation of the Roosevelt Library. … Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day
One of the best things that can happen at the Roosevelt Library is when a member of the public makes a personal connection with one of the artifacts or documents on display in our Museum. Such an encounter occurred just this week— and, by chance, it relates directly to the 70th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s … Continue reading Remembering FDR
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
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