Mr. Roosevelt Returns to Harvard

Stepping into Adams House's FDR Suite brings an immediate blast of warm air and the soft glow of a wood-burning fireplace. Augmenting the light of the fireplace, genuine Edison bulbs emit amber light from a turn-of-the-century chandelier. Despite the constant gray of Cambridge in February, the light streaming through the large French windows in Adams B-17 is crystal clear.

The FDR suite provides visitors with an intimate glimpse into the undergraduate life of our nation's 32nd president. Tomorrow, Adams House will feature a glimpse into his familial life as Curtis Roosevelt, FDR's eldest grandson, delivers the third annual FDR Memorial Lecture.

The lecture, titled "Past as Prologue – FDR, Obama, & the Perils of First Year Politics," seeks to draw comparisons between President Roosevelt's first years in office and the beginning of President Obama's first term. As Curtis Roosevelt explains, "President Roosevelt [Class of 1904] was elected at a time of economic uncertainty. In 1933 and 1934, he had to deal with a variety of issues that were both controversial and damaging to his public approval. If you had told anyone in 1933 that the Democratic Party would win big in the 1934 midterm elections, they would have thought that you were crazy. Obama faces similar challenges, but what remains to be seen is how he deals with them."

The lecture will take place Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Adams House dining hall. Tickets are still available at the Harvard Box Office. After the lecture, there will be a gala dinner to benefit the FDR Suite Project, "an all-volunteer effort to restore Roosevelt’s student rooms in Wesmorly to their 1904 appearance as the only memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Harvard."