As the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was a man who was loved and admired by many. Known for his charm and his persuasiveness, Roosevelt came off as sensitive and genuinely interested in other people’s problems. Due to his work on the “New Deal” during the nation’s worst economic depression, he became one of the most notable presidents of the United States, along with former president like Abraham Lincoln. However, unlike Lincoln, FDR was involved in a scandal that made me question his morality.
In 1903, Roosevelt proposed to his future wife Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1905, they married in New York City. While Eleanor was attracted to his spirited personality, he fell in love with her for her intellect. However, this love was soon to prove untrue. Throughout his marriage and even during his term as president, FDR had numerous extra-marital affairs. His first known affair was with Eleanor’s social secretary Lucy Mercer, which began soon after she was hired in 1914. Eleanor, who was friends with Mercer, found out about her husband’s affair in love letters in his luggage in 1918. Deeply wounded by her husband’s infidelity, she offered him a divorce, but his mother Sara Roosevelt forbade it. FDR promised to cut off communication with Mercer, so they two stayed married. However, this was a huge turning point in their lives, especially for Eleanor, because after this event, she began to find her own political voice. From then on, their relationship changed from a romantic partnership to more of a political partnership. Despite his promise to never cheat on Eleanor again, their son Elliot claimed that his father (FDR) had an affair with his secretary Marguerite “Missy” LeHand. His other son James also claimed that his father also had a romantic relationship with Crown Princess Martha of Norway.
Although FDR’s affairs make us look at him in a new light, United States presidents cheating on their wives is certainly not a new concept. Early presidents like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have been accused of fathering children with slaves, and president John F. Kennedy has had a number of alleged high-profile affairs, including one with Marilyn Monroe. Even today, our current president Donald Trump has had allegations of an affair with Stormy Daniels, an adult
film star.
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It's very interesting that the people with that much power in office choose to use it in a different light that what many would think to use it, but it's not uncommon like you said for it to happen. Scandals like these definitely show a different angle and humanity. For example, Grover Cleveland’s secret son, when after winning the Democratic presidential nomination, was exposed to have sexually assaulted a woman, causing to become pregnant. When the baby was born however, Cleveland abused his power and used his political influence in the city to have the baby sent to an orphanage. This calls into question, how we should react to the scandals and what we should do if they happen so often.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/news/shocking-political-scandals-united-states
This post is really well done and helps show the massive gaps between the public impression of a powerful figure in comparison to the reality. FDR is considered to be one of the most popular presidents but his private life wasn't very dignified. Eleanor actually lived in a different house from Franklin and wasn't with him when he died. She also publicly disagreed with policies made by her husband. She seems to have stayed married for him for opportunity rather than love but managed to make large amounts of money and have a large sphere of influence.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt
I thought this was a very intresting and mostly untouched topic to discuss. I feel that when discussing historical presidents we often avoid thier personal lives and the personal apsects of thier presidncey. We in a way take away the hyumanity from thier career. I think that the fact that uyou dicussed FDR and his peronal life is very important and is very vital to udnerstanding the enirety of his carrer. This is epesically relavent since his personal life effected his presidency and other aspects of his carreer.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you did this post. I liked how you started it off with explaining Eleanor and FDR's relationship and how they were attracted to each other. FDR was certainly loved by the American people, he was elected 4 times, however he still had extramarital affairs, something pretty immoral to most people. I was not aware of the affairs before I read this post and I liked how detailed it was.
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