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The Roosevelts
The Ken Burns documentary (six parts) on The Roosevelts provides excellent material on
how Theodore Jr., Franklin, and Eleanor became powerful public servants. Each of the six
parts could be discussed in class after students have viewed them. A term paper could be
assigned that addresses an overarching question from the series. Or the class could be divided
into six groups with each group giving a class presentation on one part of the series. The
presentation should invite the class to think more deeply about the issues raised in the
documentary. Some discussion questions to start, based on Part 1:
• What role does one’s family of origin play in a person’s ability to lead a group?
• Where does ambition come from?
• An historian remarks that all the Roosevelts “were wounded people.” How do
leaders use their woundedness as a resource to lead from?
• What role does fear play in leadership? Compare Theodore and Franklin’s
backgrounds.
• Using the Mumford Skills Model, what environmental factors helped shape
Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor as leaders? How did those factors affect their
traits, competencies, and outcomes?
• How much energy does a leader need to have? How did it work for and against
Theodore?
• Where and how do leaders restore their strength?
• Explain Theodore’s fear of “the mob.” Who are you afraid of leading? Can a
leader act his/her way out of fear?
• What is the relationship between leadership and social class?
• Where did Theodore and Franklin get the idea that they could be president some
day?
• How did Theodore draw attention to himself? Does this strategy still work today?
• How can a leader become more aware of “the forces that bubble through him” or
her?
• What does it mean to be “a man of destiny?”
