History

The Roosevelts

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. Available with English audio, English captions, Spanish audio, Spanish captions, and Audio Description.

A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

1h 51m

Frail and failing but determined to see the war through to victory, FDR wins re-election and begins planning for a peaceful postwar world, but a cerebral hemorrhage kills him at 63. After her husband’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt proves herself a shrewd politician and a skilled negotiator in her own right, as well as a champion of civil rights, civil liberties and the United Nations.

Episodes

  • A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

    S1 E7 - 1h 51m

    Frail and failing but determined to see the war through to victory, FDR wins re-election and begins planning for a peaceful postwar world, but a cerebral hemorrhage kills him at 63. After her husband’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt proves herself a shrewd politician and a skilled negotiator in her own right, as well as a champion of civil rights, civil liberties and the United Nations.

  • The Common Cause (1939-1944): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Common Cause (1939-1944)

    S1 E6 - 1h 55m

    FDR shatters the third-term tradition, struggles to prepare a reluctant country to enter World War II and, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, helps set the course toward Allied victory. Meanwhile, Eleanor struggles to keep New Deal reforms alive in wartime and travels the Pacific to comfort wounded servicemen.

  • The Rising Road (1933-1939): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Rising Road (1933-1939)

    S1 E5 - 1h 56m

    FDR brings the same optimism and energy to the White House that his cousin Theodore displayed. Aimed at ending the Depression, his sweeping New Deal restores the people’s self-confidence and transforms the relationship between them and their government. Eleanor rejects the traditional role of first lady, becomes her husband’s liberal conscience and a sometimes controversial political force.

  • The Storm (1920-1933): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Storm (1920-1933)

    S1 E4 - 1h 56m

    Franklin Roosevelt runs for vice president in 1920 and seems assured of a still brighter future until polio devastates him. He spends seven years struggling without success to walk again, while Eleanor builds her own personal and political life of. FDR returns to politics in 1928 and acts with such vigor during the first years of the Great Depression that the Democrats nominate him for president.

  • The Fire of Life (1910-1919): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Fire of Life (1910-1919)

    S1 E3 - 1h 56m

    Theodore Roosevelt leads a Progressive crusade that splits his own party, campaigns for American entry into World War I — and pays a terrible personal price. Franklin masters wartime Washington as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, while Eleanor finds personal salvation in war work. Her discovery of Franklin’s romance with another woman transforms their marriage into a largely political partnership.

  • In the Arena (1901-1910): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    In the Arena (1901-1910)

    S1 E2 - 1h 56m

    Murder brings Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency, but in the seven years that follow, he transforms the office and makes himself perhaps the best-loved of all presidents, battling corporate greed, preserving American wilderness, carrying the message of American might around the world. FDR weds Eleanor Roosevelt, and jumps at the chance to run for the New York state senate.

  • Get Action (1858-1901): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Get Action (1858-1901)

    S1 E1 - 1h 54m

    A frail, asthmatic young Theodore Roosevelt transforms himself into a champion of the strenuous life, loses one great love and finds another, leads men into battle and then rises like a rocket to become the youngest president in American history at 42. Meanwhile, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, brought up as the pampered only child of adoring parents, follows his older cousin’s career with fascination.

Extras + Features

  • Intro: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Intro

    S1 - 7m 51s

    The Roosevelts: An Intimate History chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics.

  • Hyde Park Roosevelts: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Hyde Park Roosevelts

    S1 - 4m 49s

    James Roosevelt married Sara Delano and they settle down in Hyde Park.

  • Eleanor Roosevelt: The Early Years: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Eleanor Roosevelt: The Early Years

    S1 - 4m 22s

    After a terrible early childhood, Eleanor Roosevelt’s Aunt “Bamie” suggests she be sent to Madame Souvestre’s girl’s school just outside London. This instills Eleanor with the characteristics of being independent-minded, intellectually alive, and socially conscious.

  • FDR Contracts Polio: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    FDR Contracts Polio

    S1 - 2m 57s

    In the the summer of 1921 Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracts polio.

  • Official Trailer 2: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Official Trailer 2

    S1 - 30s

    Fighters. Mavericks. Visionaries. Uncover the intimate history of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt with Ken Burns in The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.

  • Great Leaders: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Great Leaders

    S1 - 3m 7s

    Ernest Hemingway once said, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, were all broken by life and faced their share of adversity. And, perhaps, it was the strength from their broken places that helped them to become three of the greatest leaders of this nation's history.

  • Sagamore Hill: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Sagamore Hill

    S1 - 4m 41s

    Theodore Roosevelt marries Edith Carow and they settle down in Sagamore Hill, New York.

  • Theodore Roosevelt: The Nobel Peace Prize: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Theodore Roosevelt: The Nobel Peace Prize

    S1 - 3m 49s

    Theodore Roosevelt is revered for his conflict resolution skills. No other incident further exemplifies these skills than his settling of the Portsmouth Treaty during the Russo-Japanese War over Manchuria and Korea, for which Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first American to be awarded any Nobel Prize.

  • Eleanor Roosevelt: The Red Cross: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Eleanor Roosevelt: The Red Cross

    S1 - 2m 58s

    The First World War liberated Eleanor Roosevelt and her potential for service. In addition to organizing the Roosevelt household, she also volunteered at the Red Cross. Soon, the organization asked her to inspect St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, a mental facility filled with sailors and Marines suffering in the aftermath of battle. The experience had a profound effect on her.

Schedule

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