president told through the eyes of the five unsung women that influenced roosevelt's roosevelt. this book is a presidential chronicle unlike any other. kirkus reviews writes that the book is a fascinating celebration of women who helped make an iconic precedent. o'keefe's prose brings vitality and nuance to his subjects. he will be in conversation with susan page. susan, who is currently the washington chief of usa today, is an award winning journalist and author. her books madam speaker, nancy pelosi, the lessons of power and the matriarch barbara bush and the making of an american dynasty. both new york times best sellers. her biography of barbara walters the rule breaker has just been published last month. everyone, let us all welcome edward o keefe and susan page. hey, it's great to be here. thank you all for being here. look at the great crowd. you. oh, this is great. thank you for a book that got a incredible review this morning in the wall street journal. you want to you want to take a look at that. such a really just such a interesting book and you know and there are a l

and so theodore roosevelt. the fourth arranged for a call with, the senator during the omnibus negotiations 2020, slightly intense time. and we got a few minutes with the senator and he said, look at it. don't don't pitch me on this. i love the idea of a tr library. i just have one question where new york is the library? and we said, well it's in d, not ny. it's far, a little farther west western western new york. and he's long pause and said, i'm going to have to call you back. it was a very tense 24 hours. and eventually we got the word that they supported it. the short answer there were any number of efforts to memorialize theodore roosevelt, a theodore roosevelt national park, the preservation of sagamore hill, the boyhood home. but he predated the presidential library system. so there have been thoughts to potentially have it in the. but we were very fortunate to have it in the west. and we invite you all to come to north dakota in 2026 or beyond and enjoy the tr library and connect. i don't want to take u

and so roosevelt being roosevelt, he suddenly turns and is just like, okay, that's it.i'm out of here by like i'm done with this sitting, which is what we call the the, you know, sort of session between an artist who's painting another person. so the sitting is basically being called over. and you can tell that he's like in command, you know, he's like, done. and he just put his hand on the new war, which is the sort of banister, the ball that's decorative of the beginning of the staircase banister. and it's got his hand on his hip. and he's very much in that arrogant, like, i'm a this is done, we're done, you know, kind of pose. and sergeant then just said, oh, this is it. it's perfect. let's that's that's the pose that we need. and so he painted roosevelt in this very commanding, arrogant way. what do you think that tells us anything about what he thought about these nations that we've been talking about in the exhibit? i think it's a good conclusion for us land on because it bookends the the the time period that we're talking about through the americas presidents whi

so roosevelt gave a fireside chat. so here is where fdr discovered and harness the full impact of radio, of course, based on his own absolute mastery of this relatively new national medium. i'm not going to play that first chat, but we are going to play and it is available on youtube both as an audio and as a version he gave for fox, movietone news right after finishing the fireside chat. but i do want to play. i think it's appropriate a bit of the chat he offered on d-day, for which he wrote his own text in the form of a long and heartfelt prayer for the safety and success of the troops. so let's listen to part of it. fdr on june six, 1944, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. my fellow americans. last night, when i spoke with you about the fall of rome, i knew at that moment the troops of the united states and our allies were crushing that battle in another and greater operation. it has come to pass with success thus far. and so in this poignant hour, i ask you to join with me in prayer almighty

so roosevelt gave a fireside chat. so here is where fdr discovered and harness the full impact of radio, of course, based on his own absolute mastery of this relatively new national medium. i'm not going to play that first chat, but we are going to play and it is available on youtube both as an audio and as a version he gave for fox, movietone news right after finishing the fireside chat. but i do want to play. i think it's appropriate a bit of the chat he offered on d-day, for which he wrote his own text in the form of a long and heartfelt prayer for the safety and success of the troops. so let's listen to part of it. fdr on june six, 1944, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. my fellow americans. last night, when i spoke with you about the fall of rome, i knew at that moment the troops of the united states and our allies were crushing that battle in another and greater operation. it has come to pass with success thus far. and so in this poignant hour, i ask you to join with me in prayer almighty

between booker t and and teddy roosevelt? what's the link? and obvious for teddy roosevelt.ght years old and he's looking ■?s coming through broadway? lincoln's body. and his dad says lincoln's assassination is something you got to remember. i want you. and he brought him to his grandfather's house and he's looking atmebody he used to talk to the picture and statue of lincoln, it would got in the rest of his life. sioned that he had a relationship with them they were loveferson love lincoln now for douglass that's him you know where he istuskege. so picture this booker t washington up to one m else. and it was frederick douglass picture. great. it must have been f that 20 something to have frederick douglass come visit the and give him his blessing. it's beyond belief in many respects. so as i told you aboutqf booker washington and what he got to get to tuskegee, i'm giving you the short course because i still wa book. but i do want to give you an idea about teddyare sitting there saying bright, it's huge stretch to c that's 'd hard to get throu'not comparing them directly b

so roosevelt gave a fireside chat. so here is where fdr discovered harness the full impact of radio, of course, based on his own absolute mastery, this relatively new national. i'm not going to play that chat, but we are going to play and it is available on youtube both as an audio and as a version he gave for fox, movietone news right after finishing the fireside. but i do want to play. i think it's appropriate a bit of the chat he offered on d-day, for which he wrote his own text in the form of a long and heartfelt prayer for the safety and of the troops. so let's listen to part of it. fdr on june six, 1944, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. my fellow americans, last night when i spoke with you all about the fall of rome, i knew at that moment the troops of the united states and our allies were crossing the channel in another and greater operation. it has come to pass success thus far. and so in this hour, i ask you to with me in prayer almighty, our son. pride of our nation. this day, set upo

look at booker t and teddy roosevelt. look at how many appearances they have looked, the way they talk about each other, look at the way they write about each other and how many people's would change the perceptions which were fixed forever, because these two guys who decide to leap their times and say, make things better. but the other thing to keep in mind too, is they both had to be practical. they say america can only move so fast. that's what they learned from the white house dinner. we got to move in a way that isn't so disruptive that. we turn people uncomfortable, which turns things with burning crosses in schools going on fire. and he had watch that. that's why w.e.b. dubois and others said booker t, you too compromising. you too understanding. it's not right that america is not equal, that people treat people differently. and he says, i'm dealing with the america in and i know where i wanted to go. i want to help and dubois, in many respects was never a slave, did not experience what he experienced. he had great

i'm like, what do i what do ioky roosevelt? what's the link? obvious for teddy roosevelt.old and he's looking gh broadway? lincoln's body. and his dad says lincoln's assassination is something you got to remember. i want you. and he brought him to his grandfather's house and he's he used to talk to the picture and statue of lincoln, it would got in the rest of his life. he actually envisioned that he had a relationship with them they were love for douglass th's him you know where he is? tuskegee. so picture this booker t washington up to one mor and it was frederick douglass picture. great. it must have beor that 20 something to have frederick douglass come visit the and give him his blessing. it's beyond belief in many respects. so as i told you about washington and what he got to get to tuskegee, i'm giving you the short course because i stil. but i do want to give you an sitting there saying bright, it's huge stretch to comre t t'd hard to get throught■c comparing them directly but teddy roosevelt had money. the one thing he didn't have was health the kid grew up. he ha

roosevelt.ends of the national world war ii memorial for inviting me to the ceremony today. i would also like to thank the audience for being here to commemorate the 80th anniversary of d-day. june 6, 19 44, i have course had not been born. my father was seven years old and it was likely that he had not yet gone to bed on a ranch southwest of fort worth texas, where he listened to his grandfather pray before the country that evening. among his many legacies, the normandy landings represented the delivery of humankind to a better world. where people reaffirmed at great costs the central ideas of human dignity, liberty, and the rule of law. the ideas upon which this country was founded. at a time when the outcome of the great contest to sustain those values hung in the balance, the president of the united states chose not to make a speech, but with the people of this nation to make a solemn request to the almighty. a decision reflecting a worldview defined by humble acknowledgment of the limits of

but at any rate, you have roosevelt, you know, going after some of those issues, you know roosevelt having having was it booker t washington? i think over the white house for dinner. you know, so there was certainly racial progressivism there as well but not everything was perfect during roosevelt's either era. but i think you're talking about two very different kind of views, progressivism. you're talking about james garfield versus roosevelt. however, i will say that theodore roosevelt did have a lot of great ideas. obviously but one of the best ones he ever had was in 1907. he made james are garfield. james rudolf garfield is of the interior. and that was the son of james president. james mrs. lucretia garfield. so so james garfield son. that was secretary of the interior under theodore roosevelt. and carolyn all the way from australia as a very popular question, we, we love our first ladies on history happy hour and she'd like to know a little bit more about lucretia garfield what was their relationship like and how did she have any impact on? her brief time in the white house? oh, wow

and of course, franklin roosevelt was inspired by his cousin, theodore roosevelt lincoln's hero is thomas jefferson. every pitch he made on slavery was tied. the declaration of independence and not really to the constitution. so, yeah, presidents, at least most of them until the recent read history closely and wanted to emulate the great presidents. i think we all wish they still did that today. okay. washington one thing that struck me reading your book was i have sort of two images of of washington. one is an incredibly good looking sort of studly guy in a uniform on a big white horse who's the man and yet incredibly humble i mean, just sort of eerily humble. can you reconcile this and talk to us about why that was? well, one of the great traits that george washington had was that he was self-aware. he knew his strengths were he knew his weaknesses were he knew that he was not a great public in large part because he had trouble talking. he had a grasp the breathy voice that from a childhood respiratory illness. and famously he very few teeth. in fact, by the time he was president, i thi

franklin roosevelt, take takes this a step further. so he capitalizes is on radio and uses that to create an intimate connection with with the public and. i'm going to play you a quick clip just to give you a sense of what this sounded like. again, thinking about if you were a listener, you were tuning in your radio, into your radio during the 1930s to listen to your president. this would have been what you heard. ladies gentlemen, the president, the united states. my friend, i want to talk for a few with the people of the united states about banking, to talk the comparatively few wonderful and the mechanics of banking. but more particularly with the overwhelming majority of you who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks, what are they do just in very simple opening. he definitely personalizes the the chat he uses. i you we and he creates this personal link between the presidency and the people so that they feel like he's on their side and they also have a place in this huge bureaucratic thing that he has begun

and of course, franklin roosevelt was inspired by his cousin, theodore roosevelt lincoln's hero is thomas jefferson. every pitch he made on slavery was tied. the declaration of independence and not really to the constitution. so, yeah, presidents, at least most of them until the recent read history closely and wanted to emulate the great presidents. i think we all wish they still did that today. okay. washington one thing that struck me reading your book was i have sort of two images of of washington. one is an incredibly good looking sort of studly guy in a uniform on a big white horse who's the man and yet incredibly humble i mean, just sort of eerily humble. can you reconcile this and talk to us about why that was? well, one of the great traits that george washington had was that he was self-aware. he knew his strengths were he knew his weaknesses were he knew that he was not a great public in large part because he had trouble talking. he had a grasp the breathy voice that from a childhood respiratory illness. and famously he very few teeth. in fact, by the time he was president, i thi

roosevelt was a northerner.n washington received information he was worried about what to do because he was worried there could be backlash. he ultimately decided that he wanted to be giving roosevelt the advice because he could advise him to a port -- to a point on black interest and he felt he could not turn down an invitation to the white house. so he went, they had their dinner. everything went fine. they went upstairs and smoked cigars afterwards. when the news broke out that washington had dined at the white house -- your previous call mentioned something like this. there had been blacks in the white house as staff, there had been entertainers that performed , but nobody had been invited to sit down and have a formal dinner. the southern press was incensed by the news that washington had dined, in part because they consider the white house to be in the south and the vitriol and the hatred that spewed out towards roosevelt and washington itself. i quote some of it in the book but it is the most hateful rhet

and taft was theodore roosevelt's secretary of war and right hand man and. it's important to remember that taft earlier on in his career is civilian governor of the philippines. there's a tendency to think of taft primarily as judge, but his work in the philippines suggests a deep experience in executive authority that then translates into the presidency and to put this all together, i think the new understanding of what the state was doing gives us a host of issue areas to look for presidential power and looking for presidential power throughout the 1800s reveals extensive exercises of presidential power by numerous presidents. the this fascinating is also lindsay as historians you know, we love ranking presidents, right with every year there's a you know, a new ranking and things don't change all that much. but the three presidents that stephen is talking about so usually ranked very high on that list of presidents. so to if stephen is right and and and i think he is too we need to rethink the way we rank our presidents. well thank you so much for that que