Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
Encyclopedia
The Roosevelt Institute is a progressive
non-profit organization devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and
Eleanor Roosevelt
by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of restoring America's health and security. It has offices located in New York, New York, Hyde Park, New York
, and Washington, D.C.
.
The purpose of these organizations was not to memorialize Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, but rather to promote the study of the momentous era in which they played such prominent roles and to inspire others to carry forward their public legacy.
A series of organizational mergers followed the celebrations, programs, and events that took place around the centennials of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s births in 1982 and 1984, respectively. In 1982, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation merged with the Four Freedoms Foundation to strengthen their shared mission of bringing contemporary relevance to the history of the Roosevelt era. In 1987, the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute merged with the FDR Four Freedoms Foundation and the new organization was named the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.
In 2007, the Roosevelt Institute merged with the Roosevelt Institution
, now known as the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network. It remains the non-profit partner to the government-run Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
, the nation's first presidential library. In 2009, it expanded its mission with the launch of the Four Freedoms Center, a progressive policy think tank
, and its economic policy blog, New Deal 2.0.
The Institute's Four Freedoms Center is designed to promote a rigorous debate about progressive policies and values and to deploy their strongest proponents in the public sphere. Its Fellows Program includes influential thinkers and analysts such as Nobel Prize
-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Johnson
, former chief economist to the Senate Banking Committee, and its work has informed the consumer protection efforts of Elizabeth Warren
.
The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network is a forum of 10,000 politically engaged young people at 86 active chapters who discuss, promote, and implement progressive ideas and policies. The Network comprises a diverse cross-section of backgrounds, with women and people of color leading more than half the chapters. The Roosevelt Alumni & Young Professionals Network, launched in 2010, brings together early-career progressives in order to support and encourage future progressive leaders.
Through the FDR Presidential Library, the Institute seeks to promote the Roosevelts' legacy and attract new audiences to their ideas and values. The library, located in Hyde Park, New York, offers programs and exhibitions and produces white papers and blog content that provide a historical context to contemporary challenges.
The Roosevelt Institute also sponsors a number of awards, including:
New Deal 2.0 (abbreviated ND20) is a collaborative blog
focusing on progressive economics, created by web entrepreneur and cultural theorist Lynn Parramore, co-founder of Recessionwire. It was launched on April 29, 2009, the end of President Barack Obama
’s first hundred days
in office, as a reference to the First Hundred Days of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. It has served as a platform for Roosevelt Institute fellows Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Johnson
, Thomas Ferguson
, Mike Konczal, Mark Schmitt
, Matt Stoller, Marshall Auerback, Bo Cutter
, Ellen Chesler, Jeff Madrick
, Richard Kirsch, David Woolner, and Lynn Parramore, as well as other writers and commentators including Elizabeth Warren
, Eliot Spitzer
, William K. Black
, Anna Burger
, and James K. Galbraith
. Aimed at journalists, policy-makers, and engaged citizens, New Deal 2.0 covers topics including financial reform
, unemployment
, housing
, debt
, income inequality
, money and politics
, progressive values, the culture of capitalism
, and the economic challenges facing the country. It also brings an economic perspective to issues including health care
, immigration
, and human rights
, advocating the view that economic outcomes must be considered alongside social goals.
Features
New Deal 2.0 features a number of regular columns written by Roosevelt Institute staff and fellows, including Robert Johnson's "The FinanceSeer" and Bo Cutter's "The Cutter Report," in which they draw on their experience in finance and politics to provide insight on current debates; David Woolner's "Legacy Lessons," which examines the FDR legacy in relation to modern politics; Feminomics, a series on women and the economy edited by Lynn Parramore; "The Swipe," a series on consumer debt written by Bryce Covert; "Young Voices," which showcases young thinkers and student activists; "New Deal Dictionary" and "Econ 102," which explain significant economic terms and concepts, and the "Daily Digest," which rounds up important economic and political news.
Roosevelt Institute fellows and associates have also used New Deal 2.0 to publish several research papers, including "A World Upside Down? Deficit Fantasies in the Great Recession," Robert Johnson and Thomas Ferguson's exploration of the U.S. budget deficit; "Principles and Guidelines for Deficit Reduction," Joseph Stiglitz's blueprint for a progressive response to the deficit; "Democracy in Peril," an examination of American voter turnout
patterns by Walter Dean Burnham
; "The Stagnating Labor Market," in which Mike Konczal and Arjun Jayadev challenge the structural unemployment
explanation for the current job crisis; "The Boom Not the Slump: The Right Time for Austerity," in which Konczal and Jayadev argue that austerity
is the wrong response to an economic downturn; "Understanding Public Opinion on Deficits and Social Security," an investigation of the AmericaSpeaks town hall meetings by Benjamin Page and Lawrence Jacobs; and "1,2,3 Many Tea Parties: A Closer Look at the Massachusetts Senate Race," Thomas Ferguson's study of the Tea Party
's role in the election of Scott Brown
.
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
non-profit organization devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of restoring America's health and security. It has offices located in New York, New York, Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
History
The Roosevelt Institute was initially created through the merger of three Roosevelt family organizations in 1987:- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation, founded by the President’s friends in 1939 with the express purpose of building the first presidential library, an effort directed by FDR to bring order and security to the preservation of the nation’s historical records.
- The Four Freedoms Foundation, founded in 1951 to promote the ideals of FDR’s Four FreedomsFour FreedomsThe Four Freedoms were goals articulated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech , he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:# Freedom of speech and expression# Freedom of worship#...
.
- The Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, founded in 1972 as the successor to the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation that was responsible for building the Eleanor Roosevelt wing of the FDR Library.
The purpose of these organizations was not to memorialize Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, but rather to promote the study of the momentous era in which they played such prominent roles and to inspire others to carry forward their public legacy.
A series of organizational mergers followed the celebrations, programs, and events that took place around the centennials of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s births in 1982 and 1984, respectively. In 1982, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation merged with the Four Freedoms Foundation to strengthen their shared mission of bringing contemporary relevance to the history of the Roosevelt era. In 1987, the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute merged with the FDR Four Freedoms Foundation and the new organization was named the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.
In 2007, the Roosevelt Institute merged with the Roosevelt Institution
Roosevelt Institution
The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, formerly the Roosevelt Institution, is the first student-run policy organization in the United States...
, now known as the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network. It remains the non-profit partner to the government-run Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York is the first presidential library built in the United States. It was conceived and built under the direction of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt from 1939 to 1940.- History :...
, the nation's first presidential library. In 2009, it expanded its mission with the launch of the Four Freedoms Center, a progressive policy think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, and its economic policy blog, New Deal 2.0.
Programs
Both independently and in partnership with the FDR Library, the Roosevelt Institute seeks to generate bold progressive ideas, develop the next generation of progressive leadership, and promote the Roosevelt legacy.The Institute's Four Freedoms Center is designed to promote a rigorous debate about progressive policies and values and to deploy their strongest proponents in the public sphere. Its Fellows Program includes influential thinkers and analysts such as Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson (economist)
Robert A. Johnson is the Executive Director of Economic Policy the Institute for New Economic Thinking, a Senior Fellow and Director of the "Project on Global Finance" at the Roosevelt Institute, and regularly contributes to NewDeal 2.0 with his "FinanceSeer Column." He also formerly traded...
, former chief economist to the Senate Banking Committee, and its work has informed the consumer protection efforts of Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...
.
The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network is a forum of 10,000 politically engaged young people at 86 active chapters who discuss, promote, and implement progressive ideas and policies. The Network comprises a diverse cross-section of backgrounds, with women and people of color leading more than half the chapters. The Roosevelt Alumni & Young Professionals Network, launched in 2010, brings together early-career progressives in order to support and encourage future progressive leaders.
Through the FDR Presidential Library, the Institute seeks to promote the Roosevelts' legacy and attract new audiences to their ideas and values. The library, located in Hyde Park, New York, offers programs and exhibitions and produces white papers and blog content that provide a historical context to contemporary challenges.
The Roosevelt Institute also sponsors a number of awards, including:
- The Four Freedoms Awards Program – Established in 1982 to recognize individual achievement in promoting freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the universal concept of freedom.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt International Disability Award - Established in 1995 by the World Committee on Disability recognizes and encourages progress by nations toward the fulfillment of the goal of the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
World Program of Action Concerning Disabled Persons. - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Award in American History and Public Commentary – Established in 1998 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the fields of American history, public policy and participation in public affairs.
- Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize – Established in 1986 to honor an outstanding work on American naval historyNaval historyNaval history is the area of military history concerning war at sea and the subject is also a sub-discipline of the broad field of maritime history....
.
New Deal 2.0
HistoryNew Deal 2.0 (abbreviated ND20) is a collaborative blog
Collaborative blog
A collaborative blog is a type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high profile collaborative blogs are based around a single uniting theme, such as politics or technology....
focusing on progressive economics, created by web entrepreneur and cultural theorist Lynn Parramore, co-founder of Recessionwire. It was launched on April 29, 2009, the end of President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s first hundred days
First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency
The first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency began with his inauguration on January 20, 2009 as the 44th President of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, and the period is considered a benchmark...
in office, as a reference to the First Hundred Days of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. It has served as a platform for Roosevelt Institute fellows Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson (economist)
Robert A. Johnson is the Executive Director of Economic Policy the Institute for New Economic Thinking, a Senior Fellow and Director of the "Project on Global Finance" at the Roosevelt Institute, and regularly contributes to NewDeal 2.0 with his "FinanceSeer Column." He also formerly traded...
, Thomas Ferguson
Thomas Ferguson (academic)
Thomas Ferguson is an American political scientist and author who studies and writes on politics and economics, often within a historical perspective. He is a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a member of the advisory board for George Soros' Institute for...
, Mike Konczal, Mark Schmitt
Mark Schmitt
Mark Schmitt is an American political scientist and author, and executive editor of The American Prospect, who focuses upon tax and budget policies and the history and role of ideas in politics. He primarily writes, amongst other numerous articles for popular newspapers, a column called 'The Out...
, Matt Stoller, Marshall Auerback, Bo Cutter
Bowman Cutter
Bowman Cutter is an economist, political thinker and businessman in the USA.-Government:Bowman Cutter was an Office of Management and Budget Review Team Leader for the Obama-Biden Transition Committee Agency Review Groups...
, Ellen Chesler, Jeff Madrick
Jeff Madrick
Jeff Madrick is a journalist, economic policy consultant and analyst. He is editor of Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs, visiting professor of humanities at The Cooper Union, and director of policy research at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School...
, Richard Kirsch, David Woolner, and Lynn Parramore, as well as other writers and commentators including Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...
, Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
, William K. Black
William K. Black
William Kurt Black is an American lawyer, academic, author, and a former bank regulator. Black's expertise is in white-collar crime, public finance, regulation, and other topics in law and economics...
, Anna Burger
Anna Burger
Anna Burger, , was the Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union , and Chair of the Change to Win Federation....
, and James K. Galbraith
James K. Galbraith
James Kenneth Galbraith is an American economist who writes frequently for mainstream and liberal publications on economic topics. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior...
. Aimed at journalists, policy-makers, and engaged citizens, New Deal 2.0 covers topics including financial reform
Wall Street reform
Wall Street Reform or Financial Reform was signed by President of the United States Barack Obama on July 22, 2010. Since the economic crisis of 2007-09 , there was an ongoing debate taking place regarding the insufficient oversight and regulation of the US financial system, non-regulated...
, unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, housing
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
, debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, income inequality
Wealth inequality in the United States
Wealth inequality in the United States, also known as the "wealth gap", refers to the unequal distribution of financial assets among residents of the United States. Wealth includes the values of homes, automobiles, businesses, savings, and investments. Those who acquire a great deal of financial...
, money and politics
Campaign finance in the United States
Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the primary source of campaign funds is individuals; political action committees are a distant second. Contributions from both are limited, and direct...
, progressive values, the culture of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, and the economic challenges facing the country. It also brings an economic perspective to issues including health care
Health care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
, immigration
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
, and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, advocating the view that economic outcomes must be considered alongside social goals.
Features
New Deal 2.0 features a number of regular columns written by Roosevelt Institute staff and fellows, including Robert Johnson's "The FinanceSeer" and Bo Cutter's "The Cutter Report," in which they draw on their experience in finance and politics to provide insight on current debates; David Woolner's "Legacy Lessons," which examines the FDR legacy in relation to modern politics; Feminomics, a series on women and the economy edited by Lynn Parramore; "The Swipe," a series on consumer debt written by Bryce Covert; "Young Voices," which showcases young thinkers and student activists; "New Deal Dictionary" and "Econ 102," which explain significant economic terms and concepts, and the "Daily Digest," which rounds up important economic and political news.
Roosevelt Institute fellows and associates have also used New Deal 2.0 to publish several research papers, including "A World Upside Down? Deficit Fantasies in the Great Recession," Robert Johnson and Thomas Ferguson's exploration of the U.S. budget deficit; "Principles and Guidelines for Deficit Reduction," Joseph Stiglitz's blueprint for a progressive response to the deficit; "Democracy in Peril," an examination of American voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
patterns by Walter Dean Burnham
Walter Dean Burnham
Walter Dean Burnham is a leading expert on American elections and voting patterns. He is best known for quantitative analysis of national trends and patterns in the popular vote, in developing the "Party Systems" model, and for assembling county election returns for the whole...
; "The Stagnating Labor Market," in which Mike Konczal and Arjun Jayadev challenge the structural unemployment
Structural unemployment
Structural unemployment is a form of unemployment resulting from a mismatch between demand in the labour market and the skills and locations of the workers seeking employment...
explanation for the current job crisis; "The Boom Not the Slump: The Right Time for Austerity," in which Konczal and Jayadev argue that austerity
Austerity
In economics, austerity is a policy of deficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided. Austerity policies are often used by governments to reduce their deficit spending while sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to pay back creditors to...
is the wrong response to an economic downturn; "Understanding Public Opinion on Deficits and Social Security," an investigation of the AmericaSpeaks town hall meetings by Benjamin Page and Lawrence Jacobs; and "1,2,3 Many Tea Parties: A Closer Look at the Massachusetts Senate Race," Thomas Ferguson's study of the Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
's role in the election of Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
.
External links
- http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/ Official website
- http://www.newdeal20.org New Deal 2.0