Online Historical Documents
This page describes the historical document-based collections now available for online viewing. Historical Photographs and the Library's Finding Aids (collection guides) must be searched separately. There are also many documents highlighted in special features throughout the Library’s website. See Special Topics to explore the archives by theme.New: The FDRL Significant Documents Collection
This is a selection of historical documents drawn from across the FDR Library's archival
collections. Documents date from 1882 through 1962 and represent major themes and
events in the lives of both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Digital materials include
speeches, memorabilia, official and personal correspondence, including letters to
or from Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Albert Einstein, Frances
Perkins, Mahatmas Gandhi, King George VI, John F. Kennedy and more.
Browse the Significant Documents Finding Aid (collection guide)
Search the Significant Documents Collection
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| President Roosevelt in his study in with three secretaries, including and Grace Tully, far right. November 4, 1938. FDR Library Photo Collection. |
New: The Grace Tully Collection
This is a significant collection of FDR-related papers and memorabilia that had been in the posession of the President's personal secretary, Grace Tully. The entire collection, consisting of approximately 8,000 pages of archival documents, is now available online:
Browse the Tully Finding Aid (collection guide)
Search the Grace Tully Collection
Read more about the Tully Archive and how it came to reside at the Roosevelt Library.
President's Secretary's File (PSF)
The President's Secretary's File, or PSF, is one of five major portions of FDR's Papers as President. The PSF contains incoming and outgoing correspondence, memoranda, printed material, and newspaper clippings, deemed special or confidential, which were in the custody of the President's personal secretary.
Approximately 13,000 documents from the PSF can be viewed in both original (scanned
image) and text (transcribed) format.
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Search the President's Secretary's File
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Browse the President's Secretary's File:
- The Safe Files - 6,500 pages kept locked in FDR's White House safe
- The Confidential Files (not digitized)
- The Diplomatic Files, including the following digitized files:
- Vatican Files - approximately 1,000 documents concerning U.S.-Vatican relations during World War II
- German Diplomatic Files - over 2,500 documents concerning U.S.-German relations in the 1930s and 40s
- British Diplomatic Files - over 3,000 documents concerning Anglo-American relations in the 1930s and 40s
- The Departmental Files (not digitized)
- The Subject Files (not digitized)
Hackett Papers
These digitized materials consist of selected documents relating to Henry T. and John Hackett, Poughkeepsie lawyers who handled the legal affairs of Franklin D. Roosevelt, members of his family, and some of his neighbors. Materials come from the Hackett Papers, the President's Secretary's Files (PSF), and the Governorship Papers.
Browse the Hackett Papers or Search the Hackett Papers by keyword (note: this search will include hits from the PSF materials).
Efforts to make the Library's documents and holdings available online are ongoing and we plan to offer more digitized content in the near future.
Please see Citation and Copyright for instructions on citing historical materials found online.
