In this presidential election season, it is easy to get caught up in the partisan politics along with the rest of the world. Name-calling, mud-slinging, and sometimes even flat-out lying are all, sadly, a part of the process and show no signs of going away. It makes one ponder, why would anyone want to be President of the United States if this is how they have to get the job?
I set aside a few nights recently to reflect on some of our more memorable presidents of the past hundred years: Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt; Ronald Reagan; and Bill Clinton. Two Democrats, two Republicans.
“The Roosevelts: An Intimate History” is another masterwork by filmmaker Ken Burns. It aired on PBS a couple of years ago and has been in rotation since, but is also available on Amazon Prime. I recommend watching it in pieces because there’s a lot of territory to cover and it is a little challenging to digest in a binge-watch scenario.
THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY (PBS; Amazon Prime)
Ken Burns has presented the definitive documentaries on the Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, World War II, Country Music, the Vietnam War, and more. But perhaps for the first time, his focus is on a single family: a two-term President, a nephew who also becomes the nation’s first and only four-term President, and a niece who becomes the most consequential First Lady in history.
Historian Jon Meacham is one of the central voices in this series, and he compares the real-life Roosevelt dynasty to something that could have been imagined by the playwright William Shakespeare.
Theodore Roosevelt was born just prior to the Civil War and the first two episodes gallop across nearly 50 years of American history, sketching out Teddy’s young life as an asthmatic teenager who, through force of will, made himself into an athlete and adventurer. We also witness his ascent to the Presidency when William McKinley is assassinated. T.R. was the “man in the arena,” and having become famous for his bravery in battle with the Rough Riders, was the perfect person to lead the charge into the 20th century – the American century.
He loved to say, “Bully!” and when it was time to step away from the political spotlight, he couldn’t help himself and started a third political party through which he could run for President again. He took a bullet during a speech – and continued giving the speech. He tried to enlist to fight in World War I even though he was in his 50s. And the old adventurer survived an Amazonian expedition that was so harrowing, he nearly died. Progressivism, expansionism, and American exceptionalism are emboldened and embodied by this legendary man. There just hasn’t been quite another man in the arena like T.R.
We are introduced to Franklin and Eleanor, fifth cousins, through the Roosevelt family tree which is divided somewhat into the Oyster Bay Roosevelts and the Hyde Park Roosevelts. Franklin could be seen as the ultimate spoiled mama’s boy, complete with silver spoon. However, he worked just as hard, and had as many dreams, as his uncle – and though their political paths would intersect over the years, they could not have been more different with their approaches. Eleanor, however, was not naturally outgoing and hid deep insecurity by throwing herself into volunteering for various causes.
Franklin served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the booming 1920s and became more familiar with the levers of power in Washington. We also learn about the complicated marriage partnership of Franklin and Eleanor. While they complemented one another, it was not a sweeping romance like one might think: it was really more of a business partnership. But what a grand partnership it was.
FDR is stricken with polio and struggles to keep his public image of vigor alive. He is enormously successful in hiding his private battle as he emerges to lead the country, and the world, out of the Great Depression. FDR had a keen instinct for how to connect to the common man despite his upper-crust origins. His radio addresses, known as “fireside chats,” gave the country hope during one of the worst periods in its history. Roosevelt also had the ability to wield his political power to rewrite the American social contract with the New Deal programs that are still in existence today: Social Security, the TVA, FDIC, and FHA for example.
The documentary takes us from sepia-toned photographs to black-and-white, and finally living color by the time we reach World War II. Roosevelt is elected to a third, and fourth, term as the war rages. Yet, he proved to be the right man at the right time because his leadership turned out to be just what the world needed. Initially, Franklin tried to stay out of it, but once the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor, he throws his energies into making the United States into the leader we always knew we were. The film details the Roosevelts’ close relationship with Winston Churchill and other world leaders of the period. Franklin and Eleanor truly shaped the postwar world that we inhabit today as we see through their handling of the various crises in the 1940s.
As the series winds down, FDR passes away and World War II ends. Eleanor discovers that Franklin had continued to see his longtime mistress despite his promises that they weren’t talking anymore. She channels her energies into forming the United Nations and becomes an early champion of the Civil Rights movement, friendly with the well-known figures of that era such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She is given the final, moving words of the documentary – and after 14 hours of the Roosevelt story, which is also part of our American story – it connects the viewer with genuine emotion and gratitude for the Roosevelt family’s many contributions.
Michael Bird is a music teacher at Faulkner University.
