The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

2014 - 2014

Get Action (1858-1901)

14th September 2014

Episode 1

A frail, asthmatic young Theodore Roosevelt transforms himself into a champion of the strenuous life, loses one great love and finds another, leads men into battle and then rises like a rocket to become the youngest president in American history at 42. Meanwhile, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, brought up as the pampered only child of adoring parents, follows his older cousin’s career with fascination.

In the Arena (1901-1910)

15th September 2014

Episode 2

Murder brings Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency, but in the seven years that follow, he transforms the office and makes himself perhaps the best-loved of all presidents, battling corporate greed, preserving American wilderness, carrying the message of American might around the world. FDR weds Eleanor Roosevelt, and jumps at the chance to run for the New York state senate.

The Fire of Life (1910-1919)

16th September 2014

Episode 3

Theodore Roosevelt leads a Progressive crusade that splits his own party, campaigns for American entry into World War I — and pays a terrible personal price. Franklin masters wartime Washington as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, while Eleanor finds personal salvation in war work. Her discovery of Franklin’s romance with another woman transforms their marriage into a largely political partnership.

The Storm (1920-1933)

17th September 2014

Episode 4

Franklin Roosevelt runs for vice president in 1920 and seems assured of a still brighter future until polio devastates him. He spends seven years struggling without success to walk again, while Eleanor builds her own personal and political life of. FDR returns to politics in 1928 and acts with such vigor during the first years of the Great Depression that the Democrats nominate him for president.

The Rising Road (1933-1939)

18th September 2014

Episode 5

FDR brings the same optimism and energy to the White House that his cousin Theodore displayed. Aimed at ending the Depression, his sweeping New Deal restores the people’s self-confidence and transforms the relationship between them and their government. Eleanor rejects the traditional role of first lady, becomes her husband’s liberal conscience and a sometimes controversial political force.

The Common Cause (1939-1944)

19th September 2014

Episode 6

FDR shatters the third-term tradition, struggles to prepare a reluctant country to enter World War II and, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, helps set the course toward Allied victory. Meanwhile, Eleanor struggles to keep New Deal reforms alive in wartime and travels the Pacific to comfort wounded servicemen.

A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

20th September 2014

Episode 7

Frail and failing but determined to see the war through to victory, FDR wins re-election and begins planning for a peaceful postwar world, but a cerebral hemorrhage kills him at 63. After her husband’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt proves herself a shrewd politician and a skilled negotiator in her own right, as well as a champion of civil rights, civil liberties and the United Nations.

Top Cast

Peter Coyote•David McCullough•Meryl Streep

Director

Ken Burns

Writer

Geoffrey C. Ward

Documentary History War & Politics

Chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. This seven-part, fourteen hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962.

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Full Cast

Peter Coyote Image

Peter Coyote

Narrator (voice)

David McCullough Image

David McCullough

Self - Historian

Meryl Streep Image

Meryl Streep

Eleanor Roosevelt (voice)

Edward Herrmann Image

Edward Herrmann

Franklin Roosevelt (voice)

Paul Giamatti Image

Paul Giamatti

Theodore Roosevelt (voice)

Theodore Roosevelt Image

Theodore Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

Doris Kearns Goodwin Image

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Self - Historian

Franklin D. Roosevelt Image

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

John Lithgow Image

John Lithgow

James Roosevelt (voice)

Eleanor Roosevelt Image

Eleanor Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

Full Crew

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Director

Geoffrey C. Ward

Writer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Writer

Matt Rigby

Assistant Sound Editor

Kurt Parlow

Assistant Camera

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