Roosevelt Study Center
Encyclopedia
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
, the Netherlands. It is named after three famous Americans, whose ancestors emigrated from Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, the Netherlands, to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the seventeenth century: President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
(1858–1919), President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(1882–1945), and Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
(1884–1962).
History and activities
The late Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., noted American historian, and William J. vanden Heuvel, then president of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt InstituteFranklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
The Roosevelt Institute is a progressive non-profit organization devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of restoring America's health and security...
in Hyde Park, New York, were the Founding Fathers of the Roosevelt Study Center (RSC). They thought that Middelburg, capital city of Zeeland, was an excellent place for the establishment of a European research facility specialized in twentieth-century American history. Their initiative, discussed with the Provincial Government of Zeeland in the years 1982-1984 resulted in the opening of the Roosevelt Study Center in 1986. The RSC is subsidized by the Provincial Government of Zeeland and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
. Private corporations and institutions sponsor particular programs of the RSC.
The RSC cooperates with Dutch universities in research projects, as well as with the Theodore Roosevelt Association
Theodore Roosevelt Association
The Theodore Roosevelt Association is a historical and cultural organization dedicated to honoring the life and work of Theodore Roosevelt , the 26th president of the United States....
and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in various ways. The center, for instance, annually awards the best Master Thesis on American History with the Theodore Roosevelt American History Award (TRAHA), which grants the winner a trip to the key sites of interest of the Roosevelts http://www.roosevelt.nl/en/activities/awards/.
Furthermore, the RSC is also regularly organizer and host of conferences and lectures on U.S. history and culture as well as on European-U.S. relations http://www.roosevelt.nl/en/activities/conferences/.
The RSC is a founding member of the American Studies Network, a cooperation of the twenty outstanding American Studies Centers
in Europe http://www.eaas.eu/asn.htm. It has an annual newsletter, The Roosevelt Review, and an inhouse publications series. Monographs written by RSC staff and collections of essays based on RSC conferences edited by RSC staff have been publisged over the years by publishing houses in Europe and the United States.
Collections and research
While the extensive book collection, with more than 6500 entries, can be searched by use of an online catalogue http://opac.zebi.nl/webopac/Vubis.csp?SearchT1=&Index1=Index201&Database=2&OpacLanguage=eng&Profile=Profile_42, the Roosevelt Study Center also owns more than a hundred microfilm collections and digital resources, which are listed on the Center's homepage under the "Collections" section http://www.roosevelt.nl/en/collections/.Researchers in American History, Culture, or Dutch-American relations, are strongly advised to contact the RSC to make an appointment for visiting the library. The Roosevelt Study Center offers two kinds of grants for stimulating research in Middelburg http://www.roosevelt.nl/en/research_grants/: The Fulbright-Dow Distinguished Research Chair is meant for American scholars, while the RSC research grants enable European scholars and students to research various topics related to U.S. history at the Roosevelt Study Center without crossing the Atlantic. European graduate students can also apply for a travel grant at the European Association for American Studies, the EAAS travel grant http://www.eaas.eu/travel_grants.htm.
Four Freedoms Awards
Since 1982, the year that commemorated the centennial of President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's birth and the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medals are awarded in even-numbered years in Middelburg's Abbey and in odd-numbered years in Hyde Park, New York. These prestigious medals are awarded to men and women who have demonstrated an enduring commitment to the four principle freedoms as expressed by President Franklin Roosevelt in his State of the Union Message of January 6, 1941: Freedom of Speech and Expression
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
,
Freedom of Worship
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
,
Freedom from want, and
Freedom from Fear
Freedom from Fear
Freedom from Fear is both an essay by Aung San Suu Kyi, and a book of the same name comprising a collection of her essays.In honor of Aung San Suu Kyi and the human rights abuses in Burma, The Freedom Campaign will release a feature documentary film also entitled Freedom from Fear in early 2008...
.
The laureates of the Four Freedoms Awardshttp://www.roosevelt.nl/en/four_freedoms/ in Middelburg include:
- H.R.H. Princess Juliana of the Netherlands
- His Holiness The Dalai Lama
- Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
- The Most Reverend Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
- Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
- Kofi AnnanKofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
- Mohammed ElBaradei
For more information, visit the Roosevelt Stichting's website http://www.fourfreedoms.nl.