Remembering FDR's accomplishments, influence [video 50min]

This Presidents Day, take a look back at the role played by the legendary President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in shaping American politics — and ultimately history — during the Great Depression era. Pulitzer prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy examines Roosevelt's presidency in the context of the 20th century in "Rendezvous with Destiny: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Shape of the 20th Century." A history professor at Stanford University, Kennedy compares and contrasts Roosevelt with Adolf Hitler as both men came to power in 1933. He focuses on Roosevelt's groundbreaking legislation, including the New Deal’s social and economic reforms. Kennedy addresses the impact Roosevelt had on the relationship between the United States and Europe during uncertain times. He also scrutinizes the way in which Roosevelt set out to control the media in unprecedented ways, with his series of 30 Fireside Chats.