Stories

In 1945, FDR and King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia secretly met aboard the USS Quincy. It was the first time a U.S. president met with a Saudi Arabian king. Their friendship and the exchange of gifts is the story of a wheelchair in U.S. diplomatic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

World War II was the defining moment of the twentieth century, a time when life and liberty were being extinguished around the world, and civilization itself was in peril. America responded, uniting as never before or since in a common purpose to defeat the forces of evil and the spread of totalitarianism.

Perhaps no sitting U.S. President was more active in designing his memorial legacy than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. By his second term in office, FDR was planning the presidential library and the preservation of his home—gifts to the people of the United States. He also expressed his wish to be buried in the rose garden at his family home in Hyde Park, and even outlined the details for a simple monument to mark his grave.

Sailing on ice began as a utilitarian mode of transportation for the Dutch, who attached metal and wood runners to the bottoms of hulled working boats. Wealthy residents of the Hudson River embraced the recreational potential for sailing on ice, including perhaps the sport's most famous captain, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt's fireside chats were delivered by radio between 1933 and 1944. FDR used these radio addresses to present his programs and ideas directly to the public, thereby redefining the relationship between the President of the United States and the American people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, combined with his enthusiasm for conservation, laid a firm foundation for protecting the nation's natural bounty. President Roosevelt left a conservation legacy essential to a healthy 21st-century environment—one that we continue to build upon today.

FDR's blue Ford Phaeton, specially designed and fitted with hand controls that allowed him to drive without the use of his legs. He used this car at Hyde Park and enjoyed driving around the countryside.

FDR's is the only Presidential library ever used by a sitting president. When it opened to the public in June 1941, FDR was beginning his third term. He used this study as a place to conduct government business, receive visitors, and work with his books and papers during his many visits to Hyde Park.

Franklin Roosevelt used this desk in the White House Oval Office to preside over the business of the nation. Here he met national and world leaders and delivered hundreds of press conference.