Join us in-person in the library or online for a presentation by Fireside Chats host Paul Sparrow.

On April 12, 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt’s husband, President Franklin Roosevelt, died in Warm Springs, Georgia, his old paramour at his side. In an instant Eleanor lost her husband, her job as First Lady, her home in the White House, and had to carry the burden of her husband’s secret betrayal as the whole world watched. In less than a week she had packed up all the family belongings and moved from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to her apartment in Greenwich Village. When she was asked by a reporter what her plans were, she responded “The story is over.”

But her story was far from over. Paul will walk us through Eleanor’s many subsequent accomplishments, which led to President Harry Truman crowning her the “First Lady of the World.”

President Franklin Roosevelt broadcast his first Fireside Chat on March 12th, 1933, just eight days after his inauguration. During his 12 years in office he delivered dozens of Fireside Chats, guiding America through the Great Depression, and guiding a global audience through the horrors of World War Two. FDR’s Fireside Chats were a new form of political communication, using radio to connect with Americans in an intimate setting – right in their living rooms. His compelling and persuasive broadcasts encouraged Americans to believe in democracy and its future. Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, hosts this series of programs that build on the foundation laid by FDR’s Fireside Chats, and find their relevance to our world today.

This series is moderated by Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He has written articles and blogs on them, and has appeared on the CBS Evening News, CNN, CSPAN, the History Channel, and the Washington Post’s Presidential podcast.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer.

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