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Poster for The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

7.7/10 38 votes
DocumentaryHistoryWar & 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.

Created by:
Ken Burns
Cast:
Peter Coyote, David McCullough, Meryl Streep, Edward Herrmann
Language:
English
Country:
United States of America
Network:
PBS

Episode guide

Seasons

1 available

Miniseries

Episodes

Episode 1 selected
Still from Get Action (1858-1901) E01

Episode 1

★ 8.0

Get Action (1858-1901)

2014-09-14 · 115m

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.

Current episode
Still from In the Arena (1901-1910) E02

Episode 2

★ 10.0

In the Arena (1901-1910)

2014-09-15 · 117m

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.

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Still from The Fire of Life (1910-1919) E03

Episode 3

★ 9.0

The Fire of Life (1910-1919)

2014-09-16 · 117m

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.

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Still from The Storm (1920-1933) E04

Episode 4

★ 10.0

The Storm (1920-1933)

2014-09-17 · 117m

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.

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Still from The Rising Road (1933-1939) E05

Episode 5

★ 10.0

The Rising Road (1933-1939)

2014-09-18 · 117m

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.

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Still from The Common Cause (1939-1944) E06

Episode 6

★ 10.0

The Common Cause (1939-1944)

2014-09-19 · 116m

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.

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Still from A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962) E07

Episode 7

★ 10.0

A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

2014-09-20 · 112m

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.

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Cast

Peter Coyote

Peter Coyote

Narrator (voice)

David McCullough

David McCullough

Self - Historian

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

Eleanor Roosevelt (voice)

Edward Herrmann

Edward Herrmann

Franklin Roosevelt (voice)

Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti

Theodore Roosevelt (voice)

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Self - Historian

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

John Lithgow

John Lithgow

James Roosevelt (voice)

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Self (archive footage)

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