Announce FDR Tour Notes V3

Those visitors with tickets to the xx tour, please gather at the EAST side of the mosaic
in the lobby. Again, those with tickets to the xx tour, please gather at the EAST side
of the mosaic in the lobby. The tour will begin in a few moments.

Misc Notes

Children FDR Grandchildren marriages

Anna Anna, Curtis (Sistie, Buzzie)
Sara, Kate; James, Michael,
James Anna; Hall(Del); Rebecca
Franklin Jr Died as infant
William; Ruth, Elliott,
David; Livingston (d. as
Elliott infant)
FDR III, Christopher; Nancy,
Franklin Jr Laura; John
Haven, Anne (Nina), Sara
John (Sally), Joan
writer; late in 44, moved to the white house. 1st lady;
3 attended Yalta conf.
FDR Advisor; friend of and business partner with joe
4 Kennedy; marine; saw front line beach invasion action
- (FYI-all adult sons served under fire)
FDR Advisor; various aviation roles during the war; some
contract scandals; lived at Top Cottage in 40's. Mystery
5 book writer
Lawyer/Politician/Congressman; Navy war service- front
5 lines; friend of JFK
Businessman; was a bit of a maverick-defended Nixon in
50's to ER's dismay; moved to Stone Cottage while Elliot
2 was at Top C.
Elliot and John did not get along. John ended up owning
19 Val-Kill

b. d. Age
James - 12/6/00 72
Sara - “Delanowa” 9/07/41 86
FDR 01/30/82 4/12/45 63
Eleanor 10/11/84 11/7/62 78

Screen
Porch Ship’s wheel: USS Gloucester 1898 Was Gunboat during Spanish-American war
 Wallace / Intro

Greetings. How is everyone today? On behalf of the national park service and the national
archives, welcome to the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the 1st presidential
library in the library system. My name is Jerry, and we'll all be together for the next hour.
Please gather around the map, and we will begin our tour.
We will spend a few minutes here; we will spend some time outside along the path to the
home; and then I will take you through the home.
First, let’s briefly orient ourselves. Looking at the map of the area, we are located here,
near the home of FDR. There are other local Park service tours available, all of which you
can get info about, at the ticket desk. Vanderbilt is 2 miles north, where you can hear the
story of America's gilded age. Val-kill is 2 miles east, where you can hear more about the
most influential first lady in history.
Top cottage is yet another tour, where you can visit FDR's planned retirement retreat,
where he could get away from the mob, as he put it, or huddle with friends and allies. It’s
also where the famous hot dog picnic occurred, with the King and Queen of Great Britain.
But this is the Franklin D Roosevelt tour - FDR. Can anyone tell me how many presidents
America has had? (45). FDR is our 32nd president, elected in 1932, and he is America's
only 4-term president - He won the presidency 4 consecutive times! He is also America's
only disabled president. As you spend your time here today, you will find that:
Few Presidents if any had the kind of impact on American life as FDR. His many bold
Federal programs helped pull the nation out of the world's great depression. As
commander-in-chief, he led America and her Allies to victory in what was arguably the
greatest war of all time, affecting virtually the entire world. At the same time, he didn’t
let a major disability get in his way - polio. He was instrumental in stopping this disease.

We don't have enough time to cover these topics in depth - visit the museum to learn
more. So, where do we start, to tell the story of one of the central figures in world events
in the 20th century? Let's start right here, in the home you will see in a few minutes,
where a son was born of wealthy parents, on January 30, 1882.

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His upbringing included being taught by the best private tutors & governesses from
around the world. He grew up a privileged child, often around adults, a bit of a mama's
boy – she doted on her only child, and whose father took him around to learn how to be a
gentleman & a gentleman farmer. What is a gentleman farmer? That's someone who
runs a farm, but who doesn't actually do any of the work. His father was a Harvard-
educated lawyer and businessman, who got FDR just about anything he wanted as a
youth: his own horse at an early age, his own gun to hunt; his own boat to sail. But his
father also taught him an appreciation of the land and the wildlife on it. The family also
travelled extensively, going to Europe almost every summer, where Franklin honed his
fluency in French and German. At the age of 14, Franklin's mother Sara reluctantly agreed
to send him for formal schooling at the Groton School for Boys near Boston.
FDR wanted to go to Annapolis and the Navy, but mama said no - go to Groton, and
Harvard, and become a lawyer like your father; So off to Groton he went, where he was a
solid "C" student. He was however greatly influenced by the school's founder and
headmaster Rev. Endicott Peabody, who taught him the principles of duty, honor, and
public service - taking care of those less fortunate, a trait that a distant cousin and one of
his idols had also acquired at Groton. Anyone know who that might be? TR. Teddy R.
After Groton, FDR went on to Harvard. Like at Groton, he was again an average student.
Can you guess his major (History)? At this time, he was reintroduced to someone he had
known briefly as a child. She was a 5th cousin, once-removed (Anna Eleanor R). They fell
in love, and planned to marry. Sara thought they were too young, and asked them to wait
a year, and if they still wanted to marry, she would ok it, and she did.
So, on March 17, 1905, they were wed by Endicott Peabody in NYC. What is March 17 in
the US (St. Patrick’s Day). But they are not Irish? Well, it was the only day the man who
would give the bride away was available. Who would that be? TR! What was his
occupation at the time? (President. He was leading the St. Patrick’s Day parade that day.
ER had lost both parents by age 10). TR loved the limelight, and said, while giving away
the bride: "Well, Franklin, there's nothing like keeping the name in the family."
I will stop the story here, and pick it up at our next stop. Please ensure you have the
proper ticket time. I will check when we enter the home. It is a 1/4 mile walk…

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 Library

 Welcome to the very first presidential library in the Federal System. The presidential
library concept was created by FDR. He wanted a central place to store his documents,
files, collections. He was aware that the papers and documents of many prior Presidents
were lost or scattered, or were cut up and sold for autograph hunters, or, in the case of
George Washington, were burned or even eaten by rodents. He also believed that a
politician’s papers and documents were owned by the American people, and should be
available for future generations to study. He also was a “pack rat.” He collected
everything - books, stamps, prints, models, gifts from heads of state… he wanted to house
those here as well.
 FDR was an amateur architect, and this building was designed by him. His intent was to
serve the traditional maximum of two terms, so he began to build this towards the end of
his 2nd term, with private funds. However, as it became clear that war was on the
horizon, he broke tradition and accepted his party's nomination for a third term. Because
of that, this is the only presidential library to be used by a sitting president. There's a lot
to see here...more depth on the programs of a very skilled politician, his life, world history.
Make sure you allocate enough time – 2 hours if your schedule permits. Some of my
favorite things here are: his office (not a repro) from where he gave several fireside chats;
his oval office desk is in the basement, and you should check out his car, a 1936 Ford
Phaeton. As a side note, the Roosevelts were not considered very good drivers. FDR was
a speeder (Queen Elizabeth: “Her Majesty shall not be returning with the President”). ER
rarely looked both ways. Locals would often pull over to let them pass, in the interest of
safety! His car was equipped with special hand controls so he could drive it, and to the
left of the steering column is a device; a little silver box. When you pushed the button, it
would dispense a lit cigarette. FDR smoked 2-to-3 packs of Camel cigarettes per day -
Quite a heavy smoker. He was very often seen with a cigarette at the end of a cigarette
holder. He was once asked why he used a cigarette holder. His reply: “My Dr. advised
me to stay as far away from cigarettes as possible.” Let's move to the Rose garden.
(Lib: 4k researchers/year; 17 million pages of docs; 22k books/pamphlets;
Mus: Pres. story: From Childhood, Polio, Great Depress/New Deal/WW2; mini
videos/kiosks/many artifacts/museum pieces.) Open til 6pm.

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 Rose Garden

Let's spend a few moments here, resuming the story, at his mother's Rose garden.
Roosevelt, as you might know, is of Dutch origin, meaning “field of roses.”
As the president, he had two major accomplishments: He worked to lift us out of the
great depression, & he led the Allies to victory in WWII. But you cannot become
president without building a resume. From 1905-10 he was a lawyer. In 1910 at age 28
he entered politics -was elected state senator. In 1913 he was appointed assistant
secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson and built up the navy during world war
one. In 1920 he was the vice-presidential candidate with James Cox of Ohio, but they
lost to Harding/Coolidge. However, this campaign made his name even more recognized
nationally. Then something then happened, that would profoundly affect him. In 1921
at the age of 39 he contracted a childhood disease: polio. Although he was initially
paralyzed from the chest down, he worked very hard over years to regain control of his
body. We can spend an entire tour on this devastating disease, to cover his efforts to
rehab, and to cover it up. You see, at that time, it was generally believed that if you had
a physical defect, you likely had an associated mental defect. While he spent 7 years
rehabbing, his advisors Louis Howe and ER worked to keep his name alive in politics. He
eventually regained the use of his upper body and arms, but his hips and legs never came
back. He deceived the public. They knew that he had polio and that he struggled to
walk, but they never knew that his legs were totally paralyzed. So, after years of
workouts, of pulling his body up and down this very driveway, in 1928 he got back into
politics, a much more compassionate man since polio, and was elected governor of
America’s most populous state: New York. Then he was elected president 4 times - in
1932,36,40,44. Now, with him being a lawyer, a state senator, assistant secretary of the
Navy, vice presidential candidate, governor of New York, president 4 times, what
occupation do you think he sometimes wrote on his voter or tax forms? Tree farmer.
He planted approximately 500,000 trees on this property, along with the Forestry
department of Syracuse University.
In 1938, FDR asked his team how to fight polio? Money was the answer. So he held a
fund raiser, to raise money to fight polio. At the fund raiser was a famous singer of the
time, Eddie Cantor, who sang a popular song “Brother can you spare a dime?” He also

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 said “I know in these times, we cannot send in dollars, but surely you can send in a dime
to the President.” This went out over the radio. Within a few weeks, over 2 million
dimes came in. FDR saw this money coming in, and said we are going to call this the
March of Dimes. With that funding, eventually came the Salk and Sabine vaccines, which
stopped polio dead in its tracks. It is why FDR is on the US dime today.
 Less than three months into his fourth term, on April 12, 1945, long in ill health,
FDR died while in Warm Springs, Ga. He was reviewing a UN speech, while sitting for a
portrait, and... does anyone know his last words? "I have a terrific pain in the back of
my head." He had a cerebral hemorrhage, and died within a few hours. In Washington,
Harry Truman, who was sworn in as president, told how the news hit him: “I felt like the
moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.” FDR’s body was then brought
here by train; every town along the route was lined with mourners.
 Buried here are the president, his wife Eleanor, who joined him 17 years later, after her
own prominent political career, and two more family members as well. Can anyone
guess who they are? Chief, a beautiful German shepherd, and Fala, FDR’s famous black
Scottish Terrier - who FDR took with him everywhere; Whenever people saw Fala
about, they knew the President was nearby. Because of the crowds this created, the
secret service created a code name for him, instead of using his actual name in public –
What was his code name? "The Informer."

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 Springwood - outside

This home was the center of FDR’s life. If you look at the middle portion of the home,
you will be looking at the original farmhouse. In 1915, FDR designed and added the
wings. The north wing consists of servants’ quarters, along with his office on the first
floor, where in 1942 FDR and Prime Minister Churchill signed the agreement that
resulted in the world’s first atomic bomb, where FDR broadcast several speeches, and
where he and Churchill also relaxed with drinks & cigars.
The south wing contains his living room on the first floor, and bedrooms on the second
floor. He spent the bulk of his time in the Living room, which you will see when you enter
the home. The third floor was also added, as children’s bedrooms and a playroom. They
had 6 children, 1 of whom died as an infant.
On the porch, you will see several interesting gifts he displayed: some British naval
cannons on either side of the door, captured in the war of 1812. A French cannon from a
fort in Haiti. A ship’s bell, taken from a Spanish naval boat sunk in Manila Bay during the
Spanish-American war in 1898.

4 times he ran for President. 4 times he won. He was here in Hyde Park each election
night, and the townspeople had a little parade for him with a band, and marched to the
front porch, to celebrate his victory. FDR always obliged with a little speech, and at some
point, thanked them for coming down… stating he realized many here did not vote for
him. You see, in the 4 Presidential elections, he never won the Village of Hyde Park (they
voted along party lines… this is Republican territory). However, they still loved him.

Let’s go inside. Take all the photos you want, just no flash; no food/gum; only capped
drinks. Do not touch any artifacts.
Optional Additional story: Has anyone noticed there are a lot of “kills” in the area?
Val-Kill, Fishkill, Peekskill, the Catskills? “Kill” means creek in old Dutch. So Val-Kill means
Falling or running creek.

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 Springwood - inside

This home is approximately 95% original from March of 1945. This is an unusually high
percentage of original items, but it is because FDR planned to give the home to the park
service. The furnishings are all original and mostly from Europe or the Far East.
Main Hall
Here we are greeted by FDR's collection of sketches, prints and caricatures - some from the
War of 1812. The President was a great collector -- the world's largest stamp collection,
coins, rare books and ship models -- in addition to Naval paraphernalia. One difference
between the neighbors to the North, the Vanderbilts, and the Roosevelts, is, the VB’s had
people come in and furnish their homes. The Roosevelt’s took what they collected, and
hung it all on their walls!
Point out: ……. Dining room…………… Dresden/Music room……………
Down the hall: Snuggery and Living room, where FDR did his entertaining and politicking.
On one important visit, the first ever by a reigning Monarch on US soil, King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, FDR suggested to offer cocktails to the couple. Sara
shot that down, and insisted that it would be more appropriate to serve tea. So, when the
King got here, FDR pulled him aside, and told him of the dilemma. The King replied that,
my mother would have said tea as well, so let’s have cocktails.
You may notice the old glass fire extinguishers on the wall. FDR had a great fear of fire.
The fear seems to have been rooted in his childhood, when, as a small boy, he had seen
his aunt, Laura, run down the stairs, screaming, her body and clothes aflame from an
accident with a lamp. This is also the reason FDR wouldn't install an electric elevator in
the house - his elevator is pulley-operated. This fear may be the reason he also never
locked his doors, which gave the secret service extra concern for safety.

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He may have started life as a privileged, isolated, pampered child, but, humbled and
changed by the trials of polio, he developed a connection with all citizens, particularly the
working class and the poor - he changed American life with his programs:
If you have ever heard of Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Disability Ins, the
FDIC (Deposit Insurance), minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, the Hoover Dam, the
CCC, WPA, TVA, then you have heard of things FDR introduced in what he termed The
NEW Deal for the American people. (He also reintroduced cocktail hour with the repeal of
Prohibition!)
He helped the US through the Great Depression, and to victory in WWII, with Eleanor
playing major parts through it all and after his death. FDR and Eleanor together had the
greatest impact any couple ever had on America in history.
---
Take 10 minutes or so roaming the 1st floor, and then please move up the stairs to the 2nd
floor. Keep in mind, that there is no returning to the 1st floor. You exit from the 2nd floor,
when ready.