NPC Luncheon with Ken Burns, Filmmaker

Filmmaker Ken Burns discussed his PBS documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History at a National Press Club Speakers Luncheon September 15, 2014 in the Holeman Lounge. The seven-part, fourteen hour film covers the lives of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962. During the course of the Roosevelt Century, Theodore would become the 26th President of the United States and his niece Eleanor would marry his fifth cousin Franklin, who would become the 32nd President. Ken Burns chronicles how these three individuals not only redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, but also defined the role the United States played on the modern world stage. Among the topics covered are the creation of the 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. The series also tells touching family stories about love, betrayal, loyalty, and personal courage.