Last Sunday night, September 14, PBS began airing a 7-part, 14-hour documentary series about two U.S. presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt.
This is another masterpiece by Ken Burns, that is, if you like interesting and lengthy stories based on extensive research and seamlessly stitched together for our viewing pleasure.
All I really want to say here is that if you want to understand much about politics and economics in the United States today, see this series. Burns lays it out in the first episode: neither Teddy or FDR interpreted the U.S. Constitution as a document that limited their power; they decided their policies and choices on the basis of “If the U.S. Constitution does not forbid it, then I can do it.”
This series is fascinating.
I have only seen two of the three episodes aired so far, but I already know that I dislike Teddy’s war mongering and imperialist ideology and actions but he sure knew how to take on big business to the benefit of the common good – while circumventing the U.S. Constitution most of the time.
If you are a person with an opinion, do watch this series – and ask questions, and do some follow-up research of your own. I think Burns shows us that we don’t have to be the most entertained culture on the face of the earth, that we can be the most informed culture if we are willing to engage in our history. Ken Burns has provided multiple points of entry over the years: CLICK HERE to se the complete Ken Burns Collection from PBS.
CLICK HERE and You can watch all the episodes online of “The Roosevelts: An Intimate Portrait.”
THE ROOSEVELTS: An Intimate History
Airs September 14, 2014 at 8pm. Check local listings
THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY 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.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In