Experiment on. By the early 1920s, she was getting very active in political life. She really needed her own space to bring friends and associates, have a place where she could talk politics and plan political strategy. Fdr realized the big house really didnt serve Eleanor Roosevelt purposes well, because that was her motherinlaws house and choose to save it for to say that for 40 years, she was just a visitor there. It was important for her to have her own space where she could really do things that she was interested in and not have to worry about whether or not her motherinlaw had to give her permission to do this or that in her motherinlaws home. This was her little space. The building we are in right now, which later became Eleanor Roosevelt home was really initially built to be a furniture factory that she started because she was very concerned about young people in her community of hyde park or farmers who can make a decent living through farming. She thought by teaching them a trade, they could add to their earnings have a much better life. Nancy cook, one of the ladies who shared the cottage with Eleanor Roosevelt basically ran the valkill industries and it was a nineyear operation went from 1927 to 1936 and made some really nice furniture there. In this room, all of the wood things that you see except for the trunk are examples of the valkill furniture that was produced here. They also made pewter products for a while. It was a time in her life when she was first lady of new york state, then the nation. Her official duties kept her extremely busy. But her committed commitment to her community and valkill industries never wavered. However, the Great Depression came along, the furniture was all handmade and pretty pricey. A little table would have cost you about 145, which was a small fortune during the Great Depression years. Mrs. Roosevelt used to say that she ended up being the best customer the valkill industries ever had. When it became too much for her to keep on going with it financially, she then with great reluctance in 1936 shut down the valkill industries and remodel this building into her home. She called her cottage of 20 rooms. The outside the building pretty much looks like a furniture factory. It is stucco over cement block and as one child described it, it looks like a whole lot of houses bunched together. The building was built in several stages, to separate two separate factory buildings and then additions are added on for showroom and pewter forge and so forth. Inside, its kind of like anyones home. Is nothing elaborate and people who come here feel very much at home. The visitors do. But the people who came to visit mrs. Roosevelt also felt very comfortable and relaxed, because her whole point was to have people come here and talk and share ideas, and talk about issues of the day and how perhaps they could deal with those issues. Eleanor roosevelt, nancy cook and dickerman met in the early 1920s. Nancy cook was on the democratic committee. She invited Eleanor Roosevelt to come speak at a luncheon as she was just getting really involved in political activity after fdr had contracted polio and was not able to really keep his name in front of the public because his dream was to become president of the United States one day and she wanted to keep his dream alive at a time when he was really feeling pretty down over the fact that he might not be able to walk again. So she was going out and trying to keep his ideas in front of the American People. I have this opportunity of greeting the people of Southern California and telling them what a pleasure it is to be here, even for a little while. Thats when she met nancy and mariam when she went to speak at a luncheon of the Womens Division of the new york state democratic committee. They were two veterans of the political scene, they were very active in political life much earlier than Eleanor Roosevelt was. Nancy and marion were life partners. Marion was very active in politics and ran for Political Office in 1919, very early on after women have gotten the vote. She garnered quite a few votes. She didnt win, but she did get quite a few votes for that time period. Nancy and marion became Eleanor Roosevelts political mentors when Eleanor Roosevelt was just Getting Started in political life. We are in a room that originally was a living room in office for Eleanor Roosevelts secretary mel Mina Thompson or tommy, she was called. She lived here until her death in the early 1950s, with Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt took over the use of this area and this became her office sitting room. This is where she would receive guests. This is where she would work every day. At this desk, which was made at the valkill industries. The industry thing about the desk is theres a little lame plates on there. Its actually her first name is misspelled on the nameplate. This was given to her as a gift by a child. She obviously noticed right away that her name was misspelled but you didnt say a word, she said thank you very much and she used it from that day to the time of her death. This tells you a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt. It was not important to her that her name was misspelled, she appreciated the gift of the child had given her. Mrs. Roosevelt wrote a daily column, which was her way of reaching out to the American People and connecting the government to the American People during a time when people were feeling a lot of fear, a lot of despair after the Great Depression happened and people had lost everything. Their homes, their jobs, their life savings rate with her close friend Lorena Hickok who suggested she do the column, and it was a column that Eleanor Roosevelt wrote six days a week, no matter where she was. She could be traveling overseas, that column would be written. But many times, the column was written right here at this desk at valkill. It really made people realize that the first lady was more than just a hostess at the white house. The first lady at that point was a partner with the president of the United States. That she was there, sharing her thoughts and ideas with the president and even suggesting some of the changes he needed to make to help improve peoples lives. People realized they had a very activist first lady and Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor roosevelt and fdr were radio people. This was before television was really produced wildly and Eleanor Roosevelt had her own radio program, very unusual. She was the first first lady to really have a radio program. When pearl harbor happened, Eleanor Roosevelt was the first person to address the American People about pearl harbor, not the president of the United States, but Eleanor Roosevelt. I am speaking to you tonight and very serious moment in our history. The cabinet is convening and the leaders in congress are meeting with the president. The state department and army and Navy Officials have been with the president all afternoon. In fact, the japanese ambassador was talking to the president at the very time that japans airships were bombing our citizens in hawaii and the philippines. And sinking one of our transports loaded with lumber on its way to hawaii. By tomorrow morning, the members of congress will have a full report to be ready for action. In the meantime, we, the people, are already prepared for action. It was the first time that a first lady and probably the only time that a first lady would have addressed the nation about a national crisis. Mrs. Roosevelt had one of the modern inventions of that time, the television in her home. She wasnt a television watcher, maybe she turned it on to see political conventions or Important News story. But she was a person who used to television again to get ideas out to the american public. She had her own Television Program called prospect of mankind. But also, she did a commercial for television for product back then called good luck margarine. Back in those days, for a former first lady to do a Television Commercial was considered a scandal. Years ago, most people never dreamed of eating margarine, but times have changed. Nowadays, you can get a margarine like the new good luck that really tastes delicious. That is what i spread on my toast. I thoroughly enjoy it. After she did that Television Commercial and she did it not to make money for herself, she wanted to use that money to help feed poor people overseas. She wrote to her daughter and said, when i have completed that commercial for television, i got tons and tons of letters here commenting on it. She told her daughter that it was kind of divided. Half the people who wrote to me were sad, i really my reputation. And half the people wrote to me were happy that i ruined my reputation. We are now entering Eleanor Roosevelts living room, and this is where after meals, people would gather and sit and talk about issues that they perhaps has started talking about during the meal here in the dining room. Mrs. Roosevelt usually sat in this chair, this was her favorite chair and then everyone would gather in these other chairs to sit. Sometimes she had such a huge group, it was almost literally walltowall people. People even seated on the floors. One of her friends said her hobby and lifeless people. She collected them and you definitely did that hero valkill. This was a place where she loved to have conversation. Over here in this area, she had a life where he, and she was an avid reader. She read books on almost any topic you can imagine. Both fiction and nonfiction. She loved reading poetry aloud. Quite often, when her grandchildren visited her in the summer, she would have them here and she would read aloud to them. On a nice day, she would be reading to them outside. But she would always spend time every single day when she was here reading to her grandchildren. One of her grandchildren told us that the moment they arrived, their grandmother would hand them a suggested Summer Reading list. They didnt really appreciate it. But she did this because she wanted them to at least read a book during their visit here, which he felt was very educational and important to them. For this alcove really has a very important part in the story here and valkill. Its a bit historic. She and john kennedy, then senator john kennedy met in this alcove. The meeting happened because john kennedy was running for the presidency of the United States in august of 1960. He wanted Eleanor Roosevelts support. The Democratic Convention had nominated john kennedy. She really wasnt especially fond of john kennedy. She felt he was a little bit too young to be president and she was worried about his commitment to civil rights legislation. But he needed her support, he felt, in order to win what he knew would be a very close election. She was very powerful woman in the Democratic Party at a time when women didnt have a lot of power in politics, but Eleanor Roosevelt did. She was well respected and she knew that without her support, he might not win that election. He came literally here, wanting to get her support, asking for support. They had a very intense meeting here together. She wanted him to promise that he would support civil rights legislation if he became president. That was a cause very close to her heart. She made him promise that. When he finally agreed to do that, she did agree to support him. John f. Kennedy came to visit me at hyde park. We talked together and i learned that he was truly interested in carrying on many of the things which my husband had just begun. Mr. Kennedy is a strong and determined citizen who, as president , would provide the leadership for greater Social Security benefits, which the social welfare of a civilized nation demands. I urge you to study mr. Kennedys program, to look at his very remarkable record. And i think you will join me in voting for john f. Kennedy for president. That election was close, but he did win, and there were many people who felt it was her activism and her support of him they gave him that little extra edge to become president of the United States. Mrs. Eleanor roosevelt arrives in paris. One of the delegates from 58 countries converging on the french capital of the most critical session of the General AssemblyUnited Nations history. Eleanor roosevelt became a delegate to the United Nations because once she left the white house, president truman decided that he wanted to do something that fdr had always planned on doing, which was to establish a United Nations in the hope that an organization like that would prevent future wars. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had lived through two major wars, world war i and world war ii, and they wanted the future to be a peaceful one. President truman felt that Eleanor Roosevelt would be the perfect person to represent the United States at the organizing initial, organizing meeting of United Nations. She was actually the only woman delegate from the u. S. She knew that none of the men were too happy to have her as a member of the delegation. She figured they were trying to find a spot for her were she could do the least damage. As she said, they thought she didnt have the qualifications to be a good delegate. They put her on a committee called committee three, which was going to work on more social kinds of programs. That would end up being the most Important Committee they had at the United Nations, because her proudest achievement was the universal declaration of human rights. In the 30 articles that are in the document, it outlines all the rights every human being on this planet should have, in order to achieve world peace. She always felt that was the one thing she accomplished that made everything she did prior to that worthwhile. On the second floor of mrs. Roosevelts home and we are now entering her bedroom. And this was a room she probably didnt use it a lot during the year, because she was traveling. When she was first lady, she traveled a huge amount of time. This was a time when airplane flight was fairly new, but she was a woman who liked to try new and unusual things. She loved flying. In fact, even during the war years, mrs. Roosevelt traveled overseas at a time when it was pretty dangerous to be traveling overseas, but she wanted to study what people in europe were doing during wartime. She went into some not very safe areas in the pacific, because again, she wanted to report back to the president what was happening during the war. And even after she left the white house, she was traveling on behalf of the United Nations and even after she left the u. N. , she was kind of a goodwill ambassador, talking about the u. N. And the importance of people supporting United Nations. It is right that we should be gravely concerned with the facts that still separate us from each other with the problems we left unsolved. Off of this bedroom, there was her favorite sleeping area. Her sleeping porch. Sleeping porches were added on houses during the time when airconditioning was not something most people had. And Eleanor Roosevelt was a person who loved outdoors and nature. Here at valkill, she would take at least two or three walks every day with scottie dogs who would accompany her. And her outdoor time was a time when she could kind of think about things and just relax and enjoy nature. In her daily column she would talk about things she could see from her sleeping porch, the birds in the trees in the pond or the purple loosestrife, which was her favorite flower that grew in the pond. She would talk about every year in july and august, she could see a garden from here, she could see the tennis court that was put in for the family to enjoy. And even the outdoor fireplace where barbecues were held during fdrs lifetime, as well as during the time Eleanor Roosevelt lives here on her own. Hot dog were a big way of entertaining guests. Valkill was the backyard to the big roosevelt home, and during the summertime, it was used a lot for parties and picnics. There was a Swimming Pool here too, in front of the Stone Cottage with a president clinton to swim. It was a popular pool, because people like king george the sixth of Great Britain and Winston Churchill both swam in that pool. Eleanor roosevelt passed away november 1962. And when she died, this was not given over to the National Park service as fdrs home was. Her son, john, was living here at the time of her death in the Stone Cottage. By then, nancy cook and miriam dickerman had moved away. He decided to sell valkill. It offered to the National Park service and the federal government in 1970 and they were not interested. So we sold the property and he sold Eleanor Roosevelts furniture at public auction. It was in 1975 that a Grassroots Movement here in hyde park started the movement to save valkill and make it into a National Historic site. Eleanor roosevelts story is not just the story of a first lady, but its a woman activist who really devoted her life to improving the world. She had always hoped that there would be world peace someday. Shes really an inspiration to women, because she was a woman of great courage, who spoke out against issues that really needed to be addressed, like civil rights. And she made a difference in the world, and she is such an incredible role model for women, even today. She was a woman who was way ahead of her time. She was a woman who was very important in the 20th century, but her ideas in the 21st century still ring loud today. We are on the hudson river today and we will show you some of the local sites and sounds you can enjoy in hyde park. Much of the river you will visit today was referred to as million ors millionaires row because of the many homes owned by the wealthy families. It has been used for trade and travel in the river continues to serve as an important trading route. It is 350 miles long that begins in the enron duck mountains and ends in york harbor. At its widest point it is almost three miles wide and at its deepest merely to enter feet deep. But the river is one of ameri