| The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library is the first of the United States' presidential libraries. It was conceived and built
under President Roosevelt's direction during 1939-40.
History
Built on 16 acres (65,000 mē) of land in Hyde Park, New
York, donated by the President and his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt. The library resulted from the President's decision that a separate
facility was needed to house the vast quantity of historical papers, books, and memorabilia he had accumulated during a lifetime
of public service and private collecting.
Before the Library
Prior to Roosevelt's Presidency, the final disposition of Presidential papers was left to chance. Although a valued part of
the nation's heritage, the papers of chief executives were private property which they took with them upon leaving office. Some
were sold or destroyed and thus either scattered or lost to the nation forever. Others remained with families, but inaccessible
to scholars for long periods of time. The fortunate collections found their way into the Library of Congress and private
repositories.
In erecting his library, Roosevelt created an institution to preserve intact all his papers. These included papers from all
his political offices, New York state senator (1910-13), assistant secretary of
the Navy (1913-19), governor of New York (1929-32), and President of the United States (1933-45) and his private collections of papers, books, and memorabilia on the history of the U.S. Navy and Dutchess County, New York.
Location and Buildings
The Library itself is built of Hudson Valley fieldstone in the style reminiscent of the local Dutch colonial architecture
which FDR favored. A sketch made by President Roosevelt dated April 12, 1937, shows the proposed building placed on the grounds
very close to the site ultimately chosen and a ground plan roughly approximating that of the main block today. He built it with
privately donated funds, at a cost of $376,000 and then turned it over to the federal government on July 4, 1940 to be operated
by the National Archives. By his actions, Roosevelt ensured that his papers would become the property of the nation and be housed
in a library on the grounds of his Hyde Park estate where they would be available to scholars. Robert D.W. Connor, the Archivist
of the United States at the time, said of the President, "Franklin D. Roosevelt is the nation's answer to the historian's
prayer."
Mrs. Roosevelt's Archives
In early planning for the Library the President expressed the hope that Mrs. Roosevelt's papers would eventually find a place
here. In 1942 President Roosevelt made a rough sketch for wings to be added on to the north and south sides of the building
should additional space be needed for her papers. At the time of her death in 1962 Eleanor Roosevelt's papers totaled a
staggering three million pages.
Presidential Libraries Act
Roosevelt's actions served as a precedent. When Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act in 1955, it regularized the
procedures initiated by President Roosevelt for privately built and federally maintained libraries to preserve the papers of
future Presidents. Even though official presidential papers are now public property as a result of the Presidential Records Act
of 1978, and there is legislation limiting the size and financing of museums, Roosevelt's original intentions of preserving
papers in one place and making them accessible to the nation still hold true.
The Museum
Roosevelt hoped the library would become an important research center and attract visitors to the museum. The museum section
of the building opened June 30, 1941. However, the onset of World War II changed Roosevelt's plans, and the official opening of
the library as a research facility was deferred as the President served a third term and then was elected to a fourth term in
1944. He visited the library often during the war to sort and classify his records and memorabilia; and from his study in the
library he delivered several of his famous radio speeches or "fireside chats".
President Roosevelt paid his last visit to Hyde Park in March, 1945 and died on April 12 at Warm Springs, Georgia, at the age
of sixty-three.
Visiting Information
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum is located at 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY, 12538. The museum is open 9
to 5 daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. There is an admission charge for a combination ticket to the
museum and home. Prospective researchers should write or e-mail the library for additional information about procedures to be
followed in making plans to work at the library. Information is also available at this website under the 'Research' section.
Vision of the Founder
The Library reflects the vision that its founder displayed when he spoke at the dedication of the library on June 30, 1941. To
maintain archival facilities and records, he argued that a "Nation must believe in three things. It must believe in the past. It
must believe in the future. It must, above all, believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can
gain in judgment in creating their own future." The library that bears his name has carried forward Roosevelt's message and has
stimulated productive scholarship on his life and times in the same spirit.
External link
|
