Primary Sources: U.S. Presidents

From the Library of Congress; available in audio with a text transcript

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Address to Congress January 6, 1941. Online transcript provided by the the W.W. Norton Company.

"The First Typed Draft of Franklin D. Roosevelt's War Address"

Audio and transcript of Roosevelt's speech to Congress asking that war be declared between the U.S. and Japan.

Audio and transcript of the Day of Infamy Speech given by Roosevelt before to Congress December 8 1941

Access documents to documents related to the declaration of War. It includes proceedings from Congress, Roosevelt's radio address of December 9, 1941, etc.

"Disability is an aspect of human experience that crosses all boundaries of race, class and gender, and it leaves a trail in all societies, everywhere. Our Collections aim to reveal the rich possibilities and directions disability history offers as a means to study our collective human experience."

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1933

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1945

"a virtual research room and digital repository that provides free and open access to the digitized collections of the Roosevelt Library—to everyone, anywhere in the world. Whether you are a lover of history, a student working on a school project, or a scholar, FRANKLIN allows you to keyword search for archival documents and photographs and to search, browse, and view whole files, just as you could if you came to the Library’s research room in-person. Now available online are some of the most important documents of the twentieth century – primary source documentation of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s experiences leading the nation through the Great Depression and World War II."

In addition to information on visiting and using the collections, the site also provides digital resources including documents, photos, and audio/video.

"Selection of recordings drawn from a larger tangible collection of glass-base, 16-inch broadcast transcriptions held by the UNT Music Library. These examples from the 1940s include speeches from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other politicians, news reports, and musical programs."

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1941

Resources related to the Inaugurations of Franklin D. Roosevelt from the Library of Congress. Use the next link to advance through each of the 4 inaugurations.

A selection of mostly audio sources by Franklin Roosevelt.

"Beginning with letters from Lehman's family in the late nineteenth century, the series documents the range and scope of Lehman's long career in public service. In addition to family letters, the Special Correspondence Files contain letters from every President of the U. S. from Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, as well as from notables such as Dean Acheson, Benjamin Cardozo, Paul Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, W. Averill Harriman, Harold Ickes, Robert F. Kennedy, Fiorello LaGuardia, Henry Morgenthau, Alfred E. Smith, Adlai Stevenson, and Robert Wagner, among many others."

"Letter, Franklin D. Roosevelt to J. Robert Oppenheimer thanking the physicist and his colleagues for their ongoing secret atomic research, 29 June 1943."

A series of interviews made with various people regarding World War II.

A collection of recordings of FDR held at the National Archives, some of which are available online.

"... offers multimedia resources to teachers, students and the general public to enhance understanding the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the life and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt."
Some items in the film library are available to view online - look for the View link next to a title.

"This photographic collection dates from 1913, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed the office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy, through his presidency (1933-45) and World War II, to his fourth inauguration in on January 20, 1945. They are arranged chronologically by date. "

"Artifacts such as the ones in this collection, located in the Joseph M. Jacobs and Lowery Collections of FDR memorabilia at the Roosevelt University Library, illustrate the extraordinary popularity of America’s 32nd president. Through these artifacts, we see the way in which Franklin D. Roosevelt and New Deal liberalism influenced the public careers and private lives of Americans in Chicago and across the nation."Collection provided by: Roosevelt University

Letters from the Library of Congress's Freedom's Fortress collection.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1937

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Statement on Political Arrangements in North Africa made by Lieut. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Allied Commander in Chief in North Africa."
November 17, 1942

January 3, 1934, January 7, 1943, January 11, 1944, January 6, 1945, January 4, 1935, January 3, 1936, January 6, 1937, January 3, 1938, January 4, 1939, January 3, 1940, January 6, 1941, and January 6, 1942

Speech by Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney given at the Annual Convention of California Federation of Democratic Women's Study Clubs, San Francisco, ca, July 23, 1936.

The text of the agreements reached at the Yalta Conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.

"The relationship between African Americans and Franklin D. Roosevelt presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, Roosevelt never endorsed anti-lynching legislation; he accepted segregation and disenfranchisement; and he condoned discrimination against blacks in federally funded relief programs. On the other hand, Roosevelt won the hearts and the votes of African Americans in unprecedented numbers. Many black Americans not only voted for Roosevelt; they made him into a hero. “Franklin,” “Eleanor,” “Delano,” and even “Roosevelt” became popular first names for black children in the 1930s. And many African Americans hung the president’s picture on their walls beside those of Christ and Lincoln. Another indication of the powerful impression that Roosevelt made in the black community was Big Joe Williams’ recording of a blues tribute on the occasion of Roosevelt’s death in 1945, “His Spirit Lives On.” "

"The relationship between African Americans and Franklin D. Roosevelt presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, Roosevelt never endorsed anti-lynching legislation; he accepted segregation and disenfranchisement; and he condoned discrimination against blacks in federally funded relief programs. On the other hand, Roosevelt won the hearts and the votes of African Americans in unprecedented numbers. African Americans who supported left-wing parties, however, were more likely to be critical. Langston Hughes, a playwright, poet, and novelist, became a socialist in the 1930s. Although he did not join the Communist Party, he spent a year in the Soviet Union and published his works in magazines sympathetic to liberal, socialist, and Communist causes. In Hughes’s “Ballad of Roosevelt,” which appeared in the New Republic in 1934, the poet criticized the unfulfilled promises that FDR had made to the poor. Hughes’s style in this poem showed his distinctive merging of traditional verse with black artistic forms like blues and jazz. " History Matters - GMU

National Archives Identifier: 197302
Creator(s): President (1933-1945 : Roosevelt). (1933 - 1945) (Most Recent)
From: File Unit : First Carbon Files, 1933 - 1945
Collection FDR-PPF: Papers as President, President's Personal File, 1933 - 1945

Freedom of the Seas

Following The Declaration Of War On Japan

The Seven Point Economic Stabilization Program

Cost Of Living And The Progress Of The War

Federal Seizure Of Coal Mines

Progress of the War

The Teheran And Cairo Conferences

The Fall Of Rome

Opening The Fifth War Loan Drive

"Washington DC: The President again addresses the nation, expressing optimism and outlining his program to expedite work relief to all sections of the country." sound of FDR speaking Fireside Chat #7. (partial newsreel)

These clips deal with the New Deal. They include six of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats on the economic policy for fighting the Great Depression. All clips are somewhat edited partial Universal Newsreels. In these recordings Roosevelt reads shortened versions of the speeches.

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a total of 31 Fireside Chats from the initial days of his first administration to the dark days of World War II. He used these opportunities to explain his hopes and ideas for the country, while inviting the citizenry to “tell me your troubles.” The first broadcast set the pattern for the content and tone of the rest: FDR patiently and calmly explained the complexities of the nation’s banking crisis in a way that was understandable and accessible to the masses. Listeners responded. High school students and state Supreme Court justices told FDR that his empathetic style and reassuring message helped them regain their confidence in the banking system and in government itself. The five letter writers included in this selection listened to this first Fireside Chat with friends and family in their living rooms and offices. Their letters also vividly convey the power of the new medium of radio to reach listeners and actively engage them in politics."