Ken Burns might well be the current King of documentaries on television. This week on PBS stations around the country his 14 hour epic coverage of The Roosevelts is airing, covering over 100 years of the family, from the birth of Theodore in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962.
Continuing one of my favorite aspects of public broadcasting today, on the website teachers can find lesson plans and materials to accompany the program.
There are been a great many Americans, and American Families that have played significant roles in the history of our country. On the PBS website they capture, in a nutshell why Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt deserve 14 hours worth of attention over the course of 7 nights:
Together, these three individuals not only redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, but also redefined the role of the United States within the wider world.
The series encompasses the history the Roosevelts helped to shape: the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. It is also an intimate human story about love, betrayal, family loyalty, personal courage and the conquest of fear.
Narrated by Peter Coyote. Meryl Streep is the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt, Edward Herrman the voice of Franklin Roosevelt, and Paul Giamatti the voice of Theodore Roosevelt. Patricia Clarkson is the voice of FDR’s devoted cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckley. Other voices include Adam Arkin, Keith Carradine, Kevin Conway, Ed Harris, John Lithgow, Josh Lucas, Carl Lumbly, Amy Madigan, Carolyn McCormick, Pamela Reed, Billy Bob Thornton and Eli Wallach.