Presidential Libraries: A (Quiet) Walk Through America's History
For political history buffs, a visit to a Presidential library might be a welcome diversion from normal vacationing.
Most libraries, containing the papers of our past leaders, also have museums open to the public--like these of some of the 20th Century presidents:
Gerald Ford Library and Museum
The most recent president to pass away, Gerald R. Ford, is honored at his alma mater. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor hosts The Ford Library, which is noted particularly for its archival materials from the Cold War era. Current holdings include 21 million historical documents and more than 500,000 audiovisual items. The 1974-77 presidential papers of Gerald Ford and his White House staff form the core collection.
If you'd like to explore the Ford Museum, however, you will have to travel 130 miles west to Ford's hometown of Grand Rapids. His is the only museum in the Presidential libraries system to be geographically separate from the library component. Here the public is encouraged not just to view history but to participate in it as they learn about President and Mrs. Ford. A number of activities are held year-round, including community events, naturalization ceremonies, and children's activities.
Ronald Reagan Library
The Ronald Reagan Library at Simi Valley, California highlights Reagan's eight years in the White House, especially the end of the Cold War, including an exact replica of the Oval Office and a piece of the Berlin Wall, which Reagan successfully urged Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down.
The library features the Air Force One Pavilion, at which visitors can actually board the aircraft that once served as the "Flying White House." Additionally, the Library houses personal papers collections including documents from Reagan’s eight years as governor of California and highlights from his film career.
Jimmy Carter Library
Jimmy Carter has lived much of his life in the modest farming hamlet of Plains, Georgia. When he was not serving as a Navy officer, governor of Georgia, or President, he went back to Plains. But his library is not located in the tiny town. Instead it resides in bustling Atlanta, on Freedom Parkway.
Carter's Nobel Peace Prize is displayed there, and the library has a regular display of exhibits—not limited to just the doings of Democrats, by the way. In 2004, for example, the library presented a show with actors portraying Republican Teddy Roosevelt and his wife.
The Carter Library also houses an "After 9/11" exhibit displaying letters, poems, paintings, and photos that poured in after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
John F. Kennedy Library
The JFK library at Columbia Point in Boston is one of the more dramatic Presidential library buildings, featuring a nine-story concrete tower and a glass-enclosed pavilion. There are also two 230-seat theaters on nine acres of landscaped park, dotted with pine trees, flowering shrubs, and wild roses that imitate the haven of Cape Cod where Kennedy spent so many summers. Kennedy's sloop, Victura, is also displayed on the lawn.
The museum features a display of the Declaration of Independence, which includes one of the few surviving original prints of the declaration. From time to time, speakers such as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright come to discuss current U.S. policy.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
The simple 19th century Eisenhower family home, two miles south of Abilene, Kansas, is the center of the Eisenhower library complex, depicting the President's life from early childhood through two terms in the White House.
Eisenhower is buried at the library, which preserves 23 million pages of manuscript and audiovisual materials.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library
Roosevelt's Library and Museum is located at his home on the Hudson in Hyde Park, NY. Visitors can tour not only the museum but also his house. A regular schedule of events highlights the career of the nation's longest-serving President. Roosevelt came to office at the height of the Depression in 1933 and died just a few months before World War II ended 12 years later.
Online Resources
For more on all libraries of 20th century presidents administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, click on www.archives.gov.
Ford Library: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov
Reagan Library: www.reagan.utexas.edu
Carter Library: www.jimmycarterlibrary.org
Kennedy Library: www.jfklibrary.org
Eisenhower Library: www.eisenhower.utexas.edu
Roosevelt Library: www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
Books
Find these books online at Barnes & Noble.com.
Windows on the White House: The Story of Presidential Libraries , Curt Smith, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., January 1998
Reagan in His Own Voice , Simon & Schuster Audio, November 2001 (Abridged, 5 CDs, 6 hrs)
John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio: History as Told through the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum with CD (Audio), Charles Kenney, Public Affairs, October 2000
Dwight D. Eisenhower: (The American Presidents Series) , Tom Wicker, Arthur M. Schlesinger,Jr., Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated, November 2002
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (The American Presidents Series) , Roy Jenkins, Arthur Meier Schlesinger , Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated, November 2003
