Our Mission

The mission of the Roosevelt Institute is to inform new generations of the ideals and achievements of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and to inspire the application of their spirit of optimism and innovation to the solution of current problems. We believe, as FDR did, that the Four Freedoms are essential to a flourishing democracy, and we create programs to encourage those freedoms at home and abroad. The Institute commemorates the significant events of the Roosevelt years and works with educators to improve the teaching of that pivotal period in American history.


Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt communicated by word and deed a vision of a just and compassionate society. Now, more than ever, nations in many parts of the globe are looking for models for the development of democratic systems of government. The Roosevelt Institute believes that the spirit of pragmatic idealism that these two great leaders brought to the problems of their time can continue to inspire the struggle for peace and social justice everywhere in the world.