Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

I was watching the History Channel on television today, and was treated to a day of programs about the Presidents of the United States. There were about 6 hours of devoted to mini-biographies of all the men who served in the office, from George Washington to George W. Bush. This programming served as a precursor to a new documentary they premiered tonight called "FDR: A Presidency Revealed". This program offers new insites to the man who served in the office longer than anyone ever has, or ever will. The reason for the program debuting now is that this past week marked the 60th anniversary of his death at Warm Springs in Georgia. The site we visit today takes a look at the nuts and bolts of what it means to run the Presidency and the country by visiting the site of this great man.

The site we visit is the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library & Museum, located in the President's hometown of Hyde Park, New York. This was the first Presidential library, and the only one that opened when the President was still in office, and is located next to the Roosevelt family home, Springwood. Here you cannot only explore the term of the President, but view the actual documents that were created during his administration. There are letters, photographs, memos, drafts of speeches, and other documents relating to such diverse topics as the Vatican, Germany, the Depression, and World War II. These documents are downloaded as images, and you can see the actual piece of paper that is stored at the library. There are over 10,000 digitized items available, with more coming. There are also exhibits for Eleanor Roosevelt, who made many contributions to our nation, including becoming ambassador to the United Nations.

This is a most unique site as it allows one to see what some of the day-to-day business the President does. But it also gives a glimpse of a very interesting period of our country, and how one President dealt with it.

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/

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