Historical Places in the Mid-hudson

Today was a very busy day. We visited three different historical houses that were close to each other. Even though it was cold and it was raining, I enjoyed today very much.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's House

The first historical house that we visited was the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The picture above shows the frontage of FDR’s house. I was fascinated by the design of the building. It looked to me like the mansions in Florida. The small columns in the front and in the balcony make the house look gorgeous. In addition, the white and green in the windows plus the palm plants in the front give the house a beach house look. the back of the house has beautiful view to the Hudson River and the mountains. It seems that The Hudson River was part of many important people in the history of the U.S..  For instance, Franklin D. Roosevelt grew up watching the Hudson River. He was born and died in this house even though he traveled a lot.
Franklin Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. Both of his parents came from prominent Hudson River valley families. Roosevelt did not have a lots of contact with children of his age because he never went to school. Instead, he was educated by tutors and governesses. Even though he did not have contact with other children, he traveled a lot to Europe with his parents. He did not have the fun to play with other children but at least he traveled to different countries. When he turned 14, he was sent to a philosophical school in Groton. In this school, Roosevelt learned that everybody not only has privileges and respect in a society but they also own duty.  This school taught Roosevelt social responsibility.Roosevelt attended Harvard where he graduated in 1904. Later he attended Columbia Law School. Roosevelt started following the political steps as his cousin Theodore Roosevelt who was a previous president. He became part of the senate where he started to draw attention due to his last name and his reform temperament. He did not only become part of the senate but he also worked in the Navy. In 1913, he was named as assistant Secretary of the Navy. Now, Roosevelt was part of two important organizations.

Elevator

Unfortunately, Roosevelt contracted polio when he was 39 year old. The picture above shows the elevator that he used to transport himself to the different levels of the house. I was amazed when I learned that there was an elevator in the house. The curator explained that the elevator was installed when house was restored. A portable ramp was also built. The ramp was removed when visitors came to visit and it was put back on when the visitors were gone. Roosevelt did not want anybody to know that he had polio since back in those days, physical disabilities were associated with mental disabilities. Roosevelt was really positive. He started physical therapy hoping that he was going to walk again. However, he never did. It must have been very hard for him go through such a terrible transition. I can’t imagine myself not being able to walk. I feel that If I miss one of the limbs it would be the end for me because many job nowadays require physical work. The fact that Roosevelt kept going, it is very motivating. Since he lost some familiar members due to a fire, he was afraid that because he could not walk he would not be able to go down stairs in the case of a fire. He, then decided to practice his escape by rolling down the stairs with nobody’s help. That is the attitude!When Roosevelt became president, he dealt with the great depression and War World II.  He funded many programs in order to help the poor during the depression. Being in Franklin D.  Roosevelt House was a great experience. However, I was bothered by the fact that his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was not mentioned at all. Even though the house belonged to Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt should have had some attention since she was his advisor and confidante. Since Franklin could not walk, Eleanor visited and reported on the places he was not able to go. Despite Franklin’s infidelity to his wife Eleanor, she stuck to him when he needed her and that makes her important enough to be mention in his husband’s house.
Even though the curator at Franklin D. Roosevelt's house did not mention Eleanor, we visited her house and learned more about her life. 

Vanderbilt's Mansion

The second historical place that we visited was the Vanderbilt mansion. This mansion was just a few minutes away from Roosevelt’s House. It was built during the Gilded-age which was the period of time that the government did not levy any taxes and thus what one earned was exactly what he or she kept. In other words, people were getting big profits. The Vanderbilt family ran different types of businesses in New York. The family ran the New York Central Railroad. During this time, trains served as a good way of transporting goods. Due to this, the Vanderbilt family made a good profit. In May 1895, Frederic and Louise Vanderbilt purchased Hyde Park which provides a wonderful view to the Hudson River. Here they built the Pavilion House which was where they stayed while their mansion was being constructed. It took two years to build the mansion.

The mansion consists of 54 rooms and 22 fire places. Even though there were 22 fire places, only two of them were used. The living room, the dining hall and the library were in the first floor. The family bedrooms were in the second floor while the kitchen was in the basement. In addition, the male servants had their own place in the basement while the female servants stayed in the third floor. The architecture of the mansion is extremely gorgeous. According to the curators, the Vanderbilt wanted their mansion to resemble a king’s mansion because they believe they were the loyalty. The mansion was usually for intimate parties of 20 people. The mansion symbolizes the prosperous period that hit America during the Gilded-age. This house was the most beautiful one that I have even seen and I definitely would like to live in it.

Eleanor's House

Dinning Table

Our third and last historical place of the day was the Eleanor Roosevelt house. As I mentioned before, Eleanor became the eyes of Franklin Roosevelt when he contracted polio. Eleanor’s life was not very happy. Her mother underestimated her because she was not as pretty as the other girls. I guess that since women did not have a say back in the days, they relied on their beauty in order to attract wealthy husbands. Eleanor did not need the beauty because she was smart enough to find her voice. Even though her father was an alcoholic, he made her feel special and gave her the love that her mother did not give her. Unfortunately, her father died a year after her mother died. She now moved with her grandmother who sent her to England to study when she was a teenager.Years later, she married Franklin D. Roosevelt who cheated on her with her secretary Lucy. Even though he cheated on her, she decided to stick with him. Both, her childhood and adulthood were not very happy. She now was living with someone who cheated on her and she also had to deal with her mother-in law Sara who tried to keep Eleanor’s children to herself. Sara even told the children to call her mama. I definitely would not be happy with someone who cheated on me plus having to deal to his mother. Even though Eleanor went through these hardships, she became a very influential woman. She participated in the woman civil rights and was the firsthand knowledge of the president. She gathered information about the country’s plight and passed it to the president who then took actions. She explored the impoverished areas and informed Roosevelt what she saw. Thanks to her, many poor people around the country were helped by the programs that Roosevelt started during the great depression. Visiting Vall-kills, which was where Eleanor stayed while Franklin traveled, was a great experience. I was in the same place of one of the women who fought for the rights that I have today. Thanks to Eleanor many women’s lives were changed.