Skip to main content
Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Back to Show
The Roosevelts

The Fire of Life (1910-1919)

Season 1 Episode 3

Theodore Roosevelt leads a Progressive crusade that splits his own party, campaigns for American entry into World War I — and pays a terrible personal price. Franklin masters wartime Washington as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, while Eleanor finds personal salvation in war work. Her discovery of Franklin’s romance with another woman transforms their marriage into a largely political partnership.

Available Until
1/1/2026
Support Provided By
The Roosevelts Season 1
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:51:33
Examine Eleanor’s role as civil rights and U.N champion after FDR’s death.
The Common Cause (1939-1944)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:55:05
Survey FDR’s leadership during WWII, while Eleanor tends to wounded servicemen.
The Rising Road (1933-1939)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:56:40
Examine FDR’s New Deal and Eleanor’s growing political activism.
The Storm (1920-1933)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:56:40
FDR battles with polio and responds to the Great Depression.
Theodore Roosevelt at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:56:20
Theodore’s presidency and FDR and Eleanor’s courtship and marriage.
President Theodore Roosevelt with his family, 1903
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:54:57
Examine the early lives of Theodore Roosevelt and his younger cousin, Franklin.
Active loading indicator