Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College

The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College (Roosevelt House) is a think tank affiliated with Hunter College. It is located at 47-49 East 65th Street in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City. It is dedicated to analyzing public policy and fostering civic engagement by educating students in public policy and human rights, supporting faculty research, and supporting scholarly and public lectures, seminars, and conferences.

The institute is housed in the historic Sara Delano Roosevelt Memorial House and honors the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Sara Delano Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt’s mother, promised to buy a new home for him and his wife, Eleanor. In December 1908, the family moved into the building which still stands: Franklin, Eleanor, and their children, James and Anna, into No. 49; Sara Delano Roosevelt, into No. 47. This is where Franklin Roosevelt “began his storied political career, rising from New York State Senator and U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy to Governor of New York and President of the United States”. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president “elected to four consecutive terms of office”. He is often “ranked with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest U.S. presidents”. His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, also made her way into politics from Roosevelt House: she led movements for human rights and was a key figure in some feminist movements, fighting for women’s rights. Over the course of 24 years, many events which made both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt popular amongst the American people took place in Roosevelt House.

Much happened at the Roosevelt House, both professionally as well as personally. As the Senator of New York, Roosevelt believed that the government “had to play a role in creating and maintaining a fair and equitable society, and in protecting individuals from concentrations of economic or political power”. He was re-elected Senator of New York, when Wilson asked for him to be a part of his administration. So, he became the assistant secretary of the Navy. President Roosevelt was very active in his role of assistant secretary in the Navy.

As governor of New York, he knew he was one step closer to running for president. As the Great Depression approached upon the United States, Franklin Roosevelt was able to get the New York state legislature to “pass a public works program for the unemployed and to grant relief to the needy”. President Hoover, the president of the time, was not able to accomplish much. This led to the election of the next president: President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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