Franklin D. Roosevelt: Diary and Itineraries

This series of 14 microfiches gives an hour by hour overview of the daily business of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It covers FDR’s scheduled meetings and trips he undertook as president. The collection runs from January 1933 until 15 April 1945, days after FDR’s death, covering his four terms in the White House.

FINDING AIDFDR: Diary and Itineraries

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Usher Books

This collection of 64 microfiches reveal who was when in the White House and which house guests were present. As the “Diary and Itineraries” show the political appointments, the “Usher Books” document the social life of the Roosevelts.

FINDING AIDFDR: Usher Book

Map Room Messages of President Roosevelt, 1939-1945

This microfilm collection consists of nine reels. It focuses on the communications between the allied leaders during World War II mailed from the Map Room in the White House. The first six reels are concerned with messages between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. Reel seven involves communications between Roosevelt and Stalin. Messages between Roosevelt and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, and between FDR and the American ambassadors in Russia, China, and Great Britain can be found in reels 8 and 9.

FINDING AIDMap Room Messages of President Roosevelt, 1939-1945

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Office Files, 1933-1945

These papers have been collected by FDR’s private secretaries Missy Lehand and Grace Tully and consist of confidential correspondence, memos and reports. The office files are divided in four categories:

– Safe and Confidential Files contains top secret information from World War II regarding support to allies, developments in hostile countries and prominent domestic and foreign politicians (reels 1-22).

FINDING AIDSafe and Confidential Files

– Diplomatic Correspondence File contains messages between FDR and his diplomats abroad and with the State Department. Some countries have a special subject file such as the military situation in Great Britain and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (reels 1-36).

FINDING AIDDiplomatic Correspondence

– Departmental Correspondence File contains confidential correspondence between FDR and the State Departments of State, War, Navy, Treasury, Justice, and Interior. It is a rich source on the activities of the department’s secretaries and international developments (reels 1-17).

FINDING AIDDepartmental Correspondence File

– Subject Files contains 45 reels of microfilm concerning the political activities of FDR and his staff, the relationship between FDR and the Supreme Court, and Roosevelt’s personal business (reels 18-39).

FINDING AIDSubject Files

Documentary History of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration

This multivolume print publication presents the most revealing documents from more than 17 million pages concerning the Roosevelt administrations. Through the use of a variety of manuscript collections, researchers will have critical insight into the machinations of the Roosevelt White House, Roosevelt’s presidential style, his policies and programs, and the colorful characters who advised and influenced the President. Scholars and students will benefit from the collection’s focus on such topics as New Deal relief, rehabilitation, and reform programs and policies; legislative crises; Roosevelt’s presidential style and personal affairs; influences on the administration; growing war clouds in Europe and the Far East; “Good Neighbor” relations with Latin America and Canada; national security and defense issues; relations with foreign countries; and the prosecution of World War II. For ease of use, each volume features a general introduction on the FDR presidency; a discussion of the history behind the volume’s topic and the research value of the documents that are included; a table of contents showing type of document, correspondent(s), file origination, and document description; and a detailed subject index.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Foreign Affairs, 1933-1939

The printed collection documents President’s Roosevelt’s involvement with and concern for foreign affairs during the crucial pre-World War II period. These published papers include information on the formal relations of the United States with other countries, the domestic background and political influence against which foreign policy decisions were made. Personal and unofficial contacts with representatives of foreign governments, the efforts of FDR to gain support for his policies with the press and public, and political divisions and maneuverings in Congress related to foreign affairs. The documentary story of FDR’s involvement in foreign affairs in divided in two series. The first three volumes cover the years between 1933 and 1937, while volumes 4 to 16 start with Roosevelt’s second administration running until the outbreak of the war in Europe in September 1939.

Complete Presidential Press Conferences of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945

FDR is remembered as a master of communication and was superb at handling the press and media. The first president to modernize relations between the White House and the press, he held numerous press conferences submitting himself to an unprecedented twice-weekly questioning. The book collection consists of fully printed versions of transcripts of all FDR’s press conferences. It serves as a rich source of information on the major political events during Roosevelt’s four terms and on the relations between FDR and the press. Every year is divided into two volumes running 25 volumes from 1933 to 1945. Each year is indexed alphabetically by subject.

Lesley Kuhn Collection of Roosevelt Newspaper Clippings

Journalist and FDR admirer Lesley Kuhn has donated a collection of around 300 newspaper and magazine clippings on the Roosevelt era to the Roosevelt Study Center. The original articles were published between 1920 and 1965 but focus mainly on the 1930s and 1940s. The collection not only sheds light on FDR’s personality and policies, but also devotes attention to Eleanor Roosevelt and to the lives of the Roosevelt children. The Kuhn Collection is easily accessible through an index and database.

FINDING AID: Lesley Kuhn Collection Index