Welcome friends, to the ROOSEVELT RUMBLE!!!
Heh, yes, I just coined that term, what of it?
This entire day (which, by the time I post this, was two days ago, oops,) was a day dedicated to the Roosevelts, one of the most famous and prestigious political families in American History, which has given us two of our great presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt!
Though both are fifth cousins, the Roosevelt Presidents have deep and expansive family roots in New York, and what better place to learn all about them than at their homes?
This is our look into Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, so strap yourselves in, and we will be OFF!
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
First, let me note that Long Island (or at least this part of it), was absolutely gorgeous.
So lush and green… I can understand why Theodore Roosevelt loved it so…
Ready for a bit of genius logic? Well, Oyster Bay, the town where Sagamore Hill is located, has a bay full of oysters!
Sorry, that might seem a bit of a no-brainer… still, Oyster Bay produces 75% of American Oysters, which makes it a very valuable asset to the seafood market. This bay is also nice, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
Coming up the hill, we saw the home from a distance! Sagamore Hill!
Parking our car, we wandered the paths towards the site’s museum. This clear area is quite peaceful, and especially on such a clear and hot day.
Formerly Archie Roosevelt’s (TR’s son’s) estate, Old Orchard residence has been converted into the Visitor-Center and museum!
A flag which honored Teddy’s service in the Spanish-American War, at which point he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He led the infamous charge up San Juan Hill during the titular battle, and received much public fame, as well as a Medal of Honor. He remained a very proud and active supporter of the military throughout his life.
Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Martha Bulloch were TR’s parents, and had come from a long line of wealthy aristocrats based in New York. They both were major influences in a young Theodore’s life, which helped to instill him with responsibility for his actions, and humility striven by service.
On Valentine’s Day of 1884, two terrible events drew Roosevelt into a deep depression… first the passing of his first wife Alice, and then, hours later in the same house, his mother passed as well.
Theodore Roosevelt found solace in his ranch in the Dakotas, where he gained much appreciation for conservationalist efforts, which further channeled his love of nature.
One of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Rider outfits from his service in the Spanish-American War! Teddy recruited many of the Rough Riders right in San Antonio, Texas, at the Menger Hotel downtown. It’s nice to see connections like this.
Would you even recognize TR as these people? I certainly couldn’t.
Roosevelt’s political career was certainly fast-paced, and by 1901, the man had over-time held the positions of NYC Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, and as Vice-President under William McKinley. Fun fact, the photo on the left of Roosevelt and McKinley is actually two different photos that were stitched together. The difference between the Ohio Politician and the New Yorker-turned-cowboy could not be any different.
The trust-buster that was Theodore Roosevelt helped to break up the monopoly empires that had long dominated America over the past decades, helping to begin the end to the likes of Standard Oil Company and Carnegie’s Steel Productions.
One fascinating event that occured in 1912 to him was someone trying to kill him with a pistol while the ex-president was running for an unsucessful third term. During his speech, Roosevelt was shot in the chest by a disgruntled worker, but not in a fatal area. TR then proclaimed:
With his bloody shirt he proceeded to FINISH HIS SPEECH. 90 Minutes later, he calmly walked to the nearest hospital and survived…
Do I even need to say anything? It’s amazing… he had grit for sure.
A death mask of TR taken shortly after his death. It is eerily accurate.
For his negotating of the Russo-Japanese War, TR earned himself the Nobel Peace Prize (he is one of four Presidents to have done so, with the others including Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama)! This particular one is a facsimile however.
And who could forget the Teddy Bear? Named after TR after he refused to shoot a black bear while hunting, it became a popular toy worldwide.
TR was the first president to ride both a Car and an airplane while in offic! He was kind of brave for that former title, even if it was only for a few seconds in the air.
What a large family… TR dearly loved his family, and considered it to be the only thing he loved more than leading an active life.
On the ticket of the “Bull Moose” Party during the 1912 Election, Roosevelt split votes from incumbant William Howard Taft, allowing Woodrow Wilson to win the White House. Nonetheless, Roosevelt to this day the most powerful third-party canidate in American History.
We hurried back outside to the house, and found the beautiful 22-room mansion that TR called his “Summer White House”. He dearly loved this place.
The views around this place were absolutely spectacular.
The front of the house. Tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and start every hour.
There’s me and mom up there! It was really quite comfy up thre.
And what a gorgeous view too…
This slab marker once covered the original grave of Quentin Roosevelt, one of TR’s sons that was shot down during combat in the First World War. His death deeply hurt TR emotionally, as it was he that helped to encourage him to go to war. He only lived a year after he received word that Quentin was gone.
The Presidential Seal was located on the outside of the house, fashioned nicely.
Our tour-guide (who sounded an awful lot like Comedian Milton Berle), led us into the darkened house, where there was no photography of any kind allowed. So, I’ll have to rely on a couple of stock photos again (sorry for the poor quality).
Relics dotted the formal parlor of the house, many hunting trophies of which were shot and aquired by TR himself. Though this picture does not show it, there were items there such as his hat and sword used during the Charge of San Juan Hill, a small set of samurai armor aquired during the Russo-Japanese negotiations, and countless books… TR loved books very much, and like many presidents, just soaked them up like a sponge.
The family shared all their meals in here, and would also receive any formal visitors here for dinner.
TR’s den, which he used as his formal office and library. This functioned a lot like the Oval Office would, and even had a direct line to the Executive Mansion (It was TR that first labeled the Mansion as “The White House”. The name stuck.)
This room was where Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919 at the age of 60. A political opponent of his said respectfully of him:
“Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.”
Speaking of Theodore Roosevelt’s death, let’s head to the cemetery where he’s buried!
Youngs Memorial Cemetery
Back down the road, was a very small cemetery, “Youngs Memorial Cemetery” to be precise.
This beautiful hilly cemetery leads to TR’s grave. Let’s check it out.
Hehe! I can’t wait!
My mom with some gorgeous flowers. Wish we had these in Texas.
These 26 stairs represent Theodore Roosevelt’s place as our 26th President. I named each of his 25 predecessors as I went up each step.
Here we are.
Within this small plot, Theodore Roosevelt and his wife Edith lie buried… it is just barely over 100 years since Roosevelt died in 1919…
Really, it’s a very nice spot.
Headstones (or in this case, footstones) of this type are always present on veteran’s gravestones. My grandfather has one on his for example, for his brief service in World War II.
A nice view overlooking the bay.
Ah Teddy Roosevelt… no historic individual could better portray adventurous spirit or a slakeless drive to get work done… and that’s not just because of his habit of drinking a gallon of coffee a day (and, with six cubes of sugar in each cup might I add).
He found things that could keep him going… spending time with family, improving american quality of life, negotiating with foreign policy, and simply being a dedicated person in whatever he did. That comittment is simply one that would not seem human… but he is still human after all. Maybe we can learn a bit from his example that, should we put our minds to it, we can acquire that same energy and put it forth into whatever we want to accomplish.
And now, it’s time to learn about the OTHER famous Roosevelt President… FDR.
It was a 2-hour drive that took us from Oyster Bay to Hyde Park, and one that would take us through the outer boroughs of New York City, (across the bridge above into The Bronx), and out into mainland- New York!
Passing through the Hudson Valley, we came across the sign! We’re close!
Hyde Park, located just north of Poughskeepie, has long been the residence of the Roosevelt family branch that FDR was descended from. Though there are other sites such as Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kil and the Vanderbilt Mansion located here, FDR’s Historic site was what we came for.
And so we arrived!
Home of FDR National Historic Site/FDR Library and Museum
Pulling into the visitor-center, we got our bearings and necessary information to tour the place.
Since the FDR Library is yet another of the Main 13 Presidential Libraries that I have on my list, I got the official stamp for my passport! We’ve come a long way… 12 of the 13 library stamps we now have, and the JFK Library in Boston is all that I have left! Mwuhahaha!
-Cough-, Sorry, something in my throat.
Well, as you can see on the map above (if possible, the quality isn’t the best again with this stock photo), this is a large map of the entire place! Four different features stand out in this mass-historical complex. Other than the visitor-center, the remaining three are the Library and Museum (located in the building in the center-right of the map), the Rose Garden (located in the south center of the map, where Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are buried), and his home of “Springwood”.
Some old farming-plots on the property, which, as one could predict, still contains fresh plants not yet in season..
Statues of FDR and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The two formed a close bond between one another that perhaps secured U.S. support of Great Britain and the Allied Forces in World War II, following the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Churchill famously said of Roosevelt, that
Two pieces of the Berlin Wall. Though constructed after Roosevelt’s untimely death in 1945, it was Roosevelt that championed the idea of “Freedom from Fear”, which can be related to the crumbling remains of the Wall.
Now then, into the Rose Garden we go…
That pedestal you see behind the gravestone belongs to none other than Fala, FDR’s beloved dog. He was perhaps the most famous presidential pet ever, and is buried here.
And here we are. One of our greatest figures in American History, and the face on countless american dimes.
The white marble tombstone is not actually the grave; the two little cutouts in the grass in front of it are however. The far one with the American Flag at the head belongs to Franklin, and the one closer to us belongs to his wife, Eleanor, who was perhaps one of our greatest first ladies.
It’s so simple a burial to be honest… even with all he did, his memorial marker simply reads:
You’ve got to admire that.
And nearby, this his home of Springwood!
FDR was born in this very house, and his mother, Sara Delano, lived here well into her son’s presidency until her death in 1941.
The house exterior is in need of a tiny bit of restoration work (the pillars in front had the paint peeling off), but nonetheless depicts the terrific grandeur of wealth that the Roosevelt family had.
These are some of the most unique and perfectly intact flowers I have ever seen…
We were then let into the house by a Park Ranger.
The main entrance hall served as a hub of access into all of the rooms in the lower level. Like these.
The formal parlor room of the house. I found it fascinating that even the chandeliers were plated with china…
The dining room, where the Roosevelts received very special heads-of-state such as the King and Queen of England, as well as Winston Churchill.
That chair pulled out belonged to him, and he would sometimes work here late at nights…
Roosevelt’s personal library, which he often used as an office during the time he spent here.
Fun fact, Franklin did not own this house until his mother’s death in the 40’s. He had A ROOM. The President of the United States, perhaps the most powerful figure in the entire world, had a room in his mother’s house…
If that is not a great irony, then I don’t know what is.
An interesting and ornate piece of furniture. The Roosevelts certainly came from old money.
This poor quality picture depicts Sara Delano Roosevelt’s “snuggery”. A snuggery is an odd term for a person’s “private den”, and Sara Delano ran the affairs of Springwood from this room.
James Roosevelt, Franklin’s father, died when he was young, and Sara remained at Springwood for the rest of her life. She was the first parent of a president to vote for her son in an election.
This little makeshift-wheelchair is one of several that FDR adapted to suit his needs around his main locations, such as The White House, here at Springwood, or at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. This elevator was what he would use to hoist himself up to the second level and down again.
Upstairs, one could find several bedrooms, including FDR’s mother’s room.
Franklin’s boyhood room, where he spent his childhood years! As each of Franklin’s four boys left the home one after the other, the next elder sibling in line would reside in here.
This guest room was where important dignitaries (like the King and Queen of England) stayed during their time at Springwood. Did you know that the Roosevelts served hot dogs to the royal couple during their stay here? I can’t imagine what they must have felt like)…
This room was where on January 30th 1882, a ten-pound baby boy was born to Sara and James Roosevelt… this boy would go on to become on of our nation’s greatest leaders.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s room. Eleanor never liked to stay here too long, as it was mostly Franklin’s mother’s domain. She preferred to stay at her cottage at Val-Kil, just down the road.
Franklin’s bedroom. It was likely more spaced out to help his movement around the place in the wheelchair.
And also the side porch! The estate offers a sweeping view of the Hudson Valley.
The side of the building, and opposite this perspective is…
The Hudson Valley.
Now let’s head into the Library!
There’s me with the passport!
This library is very special… it is the first of the Main 13 to have been created, and the only one to be founded while it’s subject was still in office! FDR needed a place to store all of those documents over his long service in the Oval Office (many of the archives of which are located below the ground floor).
Such an iconic face…
The entrance hall to the library had this charming of FDR with one of his famous quotes above. Just that smiling expression is enough to make you smile along with him…
Franklin and Eleanor, one of the greatest political duos in the White House…
FDR came into office during the Great Depression… perhaps the greatest and longest economic crisis in world history… millions had become unemployed, and there was simply no hope or security that could support families… incumbent President Herbert Hoover, blamed for all of the Depression’s ill effects, lost to FDR in a terrific landslide.
The two men were very bitter opponents towards one another, and Hoover (left) would go on to be one of his fiercest critics.
Several of his effects, which include one of his trademark hats, his family bible (which he was sworn into office upon), and the Pince-nez glasses that he wore to the Inauguration! (Pince-nez actually means “pinch nose” in french, which seemed appropriate).
Some facsimiles of FDR’s speech notes. He was a very particular speech-giver, and possibly one of the greatest orators in Modern History.
Several exhibits detailing the lineage of the Roosevelt Family, and of FDR’s earlier life.
Polio hit FDR hard… he had to use leg-braces, a cane, and the physicl support of a nearby person to walk without his wheelchair… if anything however, he didn’t let the disability of his legs get in the way of his agendas and willpower. If anything, it helped to strengthen his commitment to his principles.
This library is not afraid to speak of the more controversial aspects of Franklin Roosevelt, including a number of his alleged “mistresses”. Unfortunetly, his relationship with Eleanor would never be the same afterwards.
FDR completed a whirlwind of legislation even in just his 100 days in office! He believed in supporting the people so they could support themselves, as opposed to constant reliance on the government. I certainly respect that.
The repeal of the 18th Amendment (and of prohibition), was a very popular move, which helped to provide a bit of income in the economy.
The Four Freedoms, shown above, all represent goals that FDR sought to restore to the American People.
A chart showing the blue line of Government Spending, and the red line of unemployment, all of which correlate during his presidency. Towards the end, and at the beginning of World War II, Spending skyrockets, and unemployment plummits sharply.
Though FDR’s “New Deal” programs (such as The Works Progress Administration (WPA), National Recovery Administration (NRA), The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Social Security did not officialy end the Depression, they helped to not only provide a bit more relief to the impoverished of the nation, but also instilled hope throughout the nation of a better tomorrow.
Perhaps Roosevelt’s greatist political tool was his wife, who served as an emissary of the White House far and abroad, and was his eyes and ears to the plights of the most common people. 
And who could forget his legendary fireside chats? For the first time, regular broadcasts by the president could be conveyed to the American People, not only making them feel that their President was closer to them than before, but also allowing FDR to rally public support for his political propositions.
The radio just poured FDR’s assertive tones into millions of american homes.. it must have been a truly beautiful event to just listen to…
It’s hard to believe that many of the “Greatest Generation” have already passed into memory… they dwindle by the day, and within a few years, they may soon be lost to us. Those that lived and served in those times were proud to be Americans, and to have lived in the “Era of Roosevelt”.
And who could forget the most famous presidential pet of them all!?
Fala the scottish terrier was perhaps Roosevelt’s best companion, and was endeared in the hearts of the american people. Fala even had his own reporters following after him, noting his everyday activities wherever he was… And Fala sorely missed Franklin upon his passing, and was never the same dog since.
Several of Eleanor Roosevelt’s travelling effects, including her wartime outfit and her suitcase. She was especially essential in laying out the foundations of the United Nations.
And she had written countless books too.. until her death in 62, Eleanor Roosevelt was perhaps one of the most respected women in the entire world.
The museum elaborated on the war-years of Roosevelt’s administration very well, and had some very interesting drafts…
Though you likely can’t see it, this is the first draft of his “Day of Infamy” speech, which took place only a day after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. The first line of the draft originally read: “A date that will live in World History”. That line was scratched out, and changed by FDR’s handwriting, to “A date thatt will live in Infamy.” Just that once change made the entire line much more memorable, but it is hard to imagine that it could have been a date that would live in “World History”. I’m kind of glad it didn’t.
FDR’s actual office desk which he used in the Oval Office (he did not use the traditional “Resolute Desk” that is commonly used in various administrations).
Imagine what stress that he had when he had to tackle both The Great Depression and the Second World War… it must have certainly taken it’s toll on him…
The country was struck in horror when Roosevelt suddenly died in Warm Springs, Georgia of a massive stroke, and was an event that would be recalled as just as tragic and pungent as it was with President Kennedy’s asassination, or the September 11 Attacks.
The library was dedicated by then-President Roosevelt himself! He had his own personal study here, and used it regularly during his twelve years in office (he was the longest-serving Commander in Chief in American History, serving three full terms, and part of a fourth term).
Presidential Libraries are not book libraries in the typical sense… they are repositories of knowledge, and classrooms of democracy.
The official personal and public documents of the President are recorded within these archives, and are open to the public for further study and understanding. Though other libraries had been set up before this, the FDR Library was the first one to explicitly be available to the general public. It was FDR that started the long precedent of sucessor presidents to set up their libraries as well.
Some items in the library storage included these paintings (most of which were owned by FDR),
And his special Ford Automobile! This car is actually ingenious, because it has a clever contraption built into it.
Since FDR was incapable of using his legs, he designed a hand-brake system that would brake the car instead! It was perhaps a special design that he made famous.
Well, not much else can be said about Franklin Roosevelt that hasn’t already been covered here… he had charisma, he had responsibility for his country’s wellbeing, and he was genuinely caring of others and their plights, which in the end properly place him among the greatest ranks of our Commanders in Chief. Many following presidents and millions of other people emulate him as their role-model, and seeing this library, it is certainly no suprise to see why. Thanks FDR!
Thank you for once again putting up with my late post! Circumstance hasn’t been kind to my time to work on the blog, and as I post this, I will currently be staying in our hotel room in Vermont, where we will explore the northernmost points of our trip with some of our Northerner Presidents, and soon arrive on the edges of Boston itself, and to the final days of our long trip!
I’ll be sure to post yesterday’s post ASAP, as it had some very neat places to visit!
Until then however, take care, and keep on rollin’!
Suffice it to say, this church was beautifuly and masterfully crafted, and was a wonder to behold. The President and his family also worshipped here whenever they were in town, and away from their home in Northampton or the White House.
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 