I am not talking about giving up a career to stay home and raise children, or nursing an aging parent, or other instances of worthy self-sacrifice. Marguerite LeHand (U.S. National Park Service) Fact or Fiction: FDR's private secretary Missy LeHand suffered a sudden collapse at a White House dinner. Her collapse actually occurred on June 4, 1941not on Christmas Eve and not with Martha present. FACT: Though not as depicted in Atlantic Crossing. Rutherfurd continued to meet more frequently with Roosevelt in the months that followed. During the same time period, Roosevelt was said to be involved with Dorothy Schiff, a former publisher of the New York Post. I naturally fell for him. The letters of Lorena Hickok, the AP reporter who became a government worker when her closeness to the White House compromised her professional objectivity, reveal a burning, and for a while reciprocated, passion for ER. Later, his two doctors - called in soon after the event - said he had suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. [39][44] When the news of the memoir's contents broke, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (19141988), said that he had no knowledge of an affair between Rutherfurd and his father,[45] while Rutherfurd's daughter Barbara flatly denied that any such romance had occurred. "[16] Eleanor later wrote, "I have the memory of an elephant. WebMissy LeHand expresses her feelings to Martha. It included Eleanor Roosevelt, Joe Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, and 1,200 others. In this quiet domestic scene as the two had just been smiling at each other, Roosevelt suddenly placed his hand up on his forehead and temple, saying "I have a terrific headache," then slumped over losing consciousness. As a young Assistant Secretary of the Navy, FDR returned home each evening to a high-minded wife who was continually reminding him that he hadnt mailed the $50 hed blithely pledged to a hospital for immigrant children or that the story he told about his conversion to woman suffrage was more vivid than accurate. Lucy Mercer had a talent, though it is not one held in high regard today. Missy LeHand, Roosevelts longtime aide. Roosevelt's longest supposed affair was with his secretary, Missy LeHand, which some historians believe he became romantically involved with beginning in 1921, when he was serving as governor of New York. Eleanor Roosevelt might have been a saint, but she was a saint with a faddish bent and a powerful peasant breath. My love affair with her husband, which came later, was more personal and had to do as much with my adolescent yearnings as the great mans achievements. The Gatekeeper by Kathryn Smith | Goodreads It is generally accepted that their relationship contained a romantic element, though scholars remain divided on whether the pair had a sexual relationship. He was physically fearless, but he could be emotionally craven. The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency by Kathryn Smith finally gives Missy LeHand her due. After the election, Eleanor asked Missy to come to her home in Hyde Park and help finish up the correspondence. James Cox was the democratic candidate for President, and it was widely assumed he would lose to the Republican candidate Senator Warren Harding. Fierce opposition came from Franklin's political advisor, Louis Howe, and from his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt. He left the table to answer the letter. Franklin allowed Eleanor to build a personal cottage, Val-Kill, on the family's Hyde Park estate, where she could host whomever she liked or be left alone. Winthrop Rutherfurd died in March 1944 after a long illness. portalId: 20973928, I was more intrigued than ever. This week marks the 72nd anniversary of the death and subsequent funeral of President Franklin Roosevelt. [35], In early April 1945, Anna arranged for Rutherfurd to come over from her South Carolina estate in Aiken to meet her father at his "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia, the small plain rustic cottage built at the polio therapy center by the heated mineral water springs resort that Roosevelt helped develop beginning in the 1920s. Missy later told an interviewer that Albany was the hardest work I ever did (The Gatekeeper). First Lady Eleanor Roosevelts evolving relationship with African Americans challenged her beliefs about herselfand the world she had been raised in. The relationships were intense, the disappointments profound, the fallings-out fierce. The Real History of Atlantic Crossing: Episodes Guide - PBS Just in the late 1920s, Hazel Rowley (via NPR) documents 116 weeks that Franklin was gone. A nationwide gene-purity movement promoted methods that eventually were adopted by the Third Reich. When his half-nephew Taddy ran off with a woman from New Yorks Tenderloin district called Dutch Sadie, he wrote to his mother from Harvard that one can never again consider him a true Roosevelt. The years tempered his priggishness. While there has been speculation that FDR and Missy had an affair during this time, there is no evidence to support it, and her long and warm relationship with Eleanor and the children casts serious doubts on it. Her relationship with her mother-in-law was not one of constant hostility, but her patience with Sara was often tried. To her surprise, Anna found that she liked Rutherfurd immediately, and the pair became friends. But many of those papers belonged to Missy. A military tribunal later found all eight men guilty. Franklin spearheaded the New Deal and set an optimistic tone for the country through his speeches and "fireside chat" radio messages, while Eleanor advocated for her husband's policies and reached out to Americans through her newspaper columns and travels. target: "#hbspt-form-1682997151000-4739201604", That there was genuine affection between Franklin and Mercer is evident, however, as is the devastation the affair brought to Eleanor. She spent time in Warm Springs getting FDRs new cottage ready for him. Eleanor also had to contend with her mother-in-law Sara Delano Roosevelt. Anna Roosevelt, Franklin and Eleanor's only daughter, played hostess at these dinners, and other members of the Roosevelt and Delano families were aware of the clandestine rendezvous. "The Gatekeeper," Marguerite Missy LeHand and FDR at the White House, 1940. On June 4th, at a party in the White House, Missy collapsed, probably from a combination of a stroke and a heart attack. But whitewashing the weaknesses of the great is a disservice to them as well as history. As a result, practically everyone left the presidential presence convinced his own argument had won the day. He was so engrossed in his work and campaigns that he hadn't the time to spare, and he believed not unusually for his time that it was the job of the mother to raise the children, or at least to hire a nanny to handle them. After Missy LeHand suffered a stroke in 1941, Grace became FDR's primary personal secretary. After Ambassador William Bullitt attempted to sabotage the career of Assistant Secretary of State Sumner Welles by spreading rumors of a homosexual scandal, FDR predicted that on the Day of Judgment, Welles would receive a rap on the knuckles for giving in to his human predilections but that Bullitt would burn in hell for ruining another mans life. Missy LeHand Sara Roosevelt's attentions helped give her son a happy childhood, but she remained protective of him well into adulthood, a tendency that would later mar his marriage to Eleanor. Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd - Wikipedia FDR relished rich foods and fine wines. Because of her efforts, women as well as men had Civilian Conservation Corps camps, and children no longer drank tainted milk, and blacks got a share, if not a fair one, of the defense miracle that was wresting the nation out of the Depression and into World War II. The more I admired the three of them, the less I wanted to gloss over their faults. Yet when I came across it, I heard the subversive rasp of a key turning in a lock. Lucy Mercer could not have destroyed words written to her by one of the greatest men that ever livedto methe greatest, as she wrote his daughter after his death. Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage. Eleanor nonetheless soon later learned the truth from the cousins and felt doubly betrayed to learn of her daughter's role in the long-time deception. A complete collection of their correspondence can be found here:The Grace Tully Collection Finding Aid. She was also romantically involved with the dashing and daring William Bullitt who served as FDRs secret spy and later as Ambassador to Russia and France. In an era when it was very difficult for women to rise to the highest levels of government, she was truly FDRs Right Hand Woman. Hopefully The Gatekeeper will finally put to rest the sexist gossip that Missy gained her power because she was FDRs mistress. When I thought about their personal flaws, I marveled at the public good to which they put them. Also by FDR's side when he died was Daisy Suckley, the president's sixth cousin and close confidant who is depicted in 'Hyde Park on the Hudson'. Together they saw the White House through the Great Depression and World War II, and their separate and joint efforts to combat both issues reshaped the office of the presidency and the role of the first lady. . Franklin Roosevelt marries Eleanor Roosevelt The remained with her until her death, and in 2010 they finally arrived at the FDR Library as the Grace Tully Collection. Shoumatoff's presence became known, and she gave a press conference to address questions, but managed to hide Rutherfurd's role, which was even not mentioned in early post-war biographies and administration histories for almost two decades. WebThe Roosevelts were the ultimate power couple during the first half of the 20th century. She had a long face and a prominent jaw and nose, but a sweetness of expression that spoke of her good nature. The experience transformed him. She expected her husband to do well. Mercer left Washington after the affair and became the governess for the children of Winthrop Rutherfurd (18621944), a wealthy New York socialite. FDR expressed a longing for white asparagus. Harvey Shapiro, himself one of our most distinguished poets, examines a powerful and undervalued legacy. In a review for the Washington Post, Stacy Schiff details the first lady's long-term relationship with reporter Lorena Hickok. It takes place during the June 1939 weekend that the British king and queen visited Roosevelt at his upstate New York cottage in Hyde Park, where FDR was said to take a number of mistresses. Three days a week he also came home to her social secretary, who laughed at his jokes and responded to his teasing and saw no reason to question his version of the way things had happened. Even during the terrible years when he was battling to walk again, he delighted in company. She once bought out an entire farm stand so the woman running it could close for the day. FDR was on a military tour of the Pacific, and issued this statement: The great esteem in which Missy was held is reflected in the list of people who attended her funeral on August 2, 1944. That glimpse of a vigorous ambulatory self was not the only reason he returned to her at the end, but surely it was a happy side effect. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had six children together, five of whom lived to adulthood. Missy came into the Roosevelt world in August 1920 when she was offered a job as a secretary to support Franklin Roosevelts Vice Presidential campaign. Surely the monumental demands ER made on her husband were proof of her belief in his ability to rise to them. Her film collection documents social activities from a Roosevelt inner circle perspective, and bring new But it wasn't only joyous choruses of "Wearing of the Green" that drew attention away from the bride and groom. The story of Chicago in the nineteenth century is the story of the making of America, Donald L. Miller says. In the first decade of their marriage, Eleanor was pregnant five times, four within the first four years. She functioned as FranklinRoosvelt's de facto chief-of-staff, yet Missy LeHand's role has beenmisrepresented and overlooked by historians. In her autobiographies she admitted to a tendency, when hurt or angry, to withdraw into a punishing silenceher Griselda mood, she called it. For 21 years, Marguerite LeHand was Franklin Delano Roosevelts secretary, nurse, cheerleader, adviser and possibly lover. The extent of Suckley's close relationship with Roosevelt wasn't known until her death in 1991, when a stash of letters from Roosevelt was found under her bed. According toHistory Today, Eleanor came to the marriage with little to no education in sex. In the years before widespread birth control for women, sex was coupled with potential pregnancy, and the one surefire prevention abstinence was rarely appreciated by young husbands with healthy sexual appetites, as Franklin was. Her name was Marguerite Alice LeHand, but everyone knew her as Missy. He died on April 12, 1945 at the Little White House in Warms Spring, Georgia; the funeral took place on April 15 in Washington D.C. WebBesides children and grandchildren, several other longtime aides and friends also lived in the White House during the Roosevelt years. The home was a gift from Sara (per Biography), and both residences were run by her. When I looked at their early prejudices, I saw signposts indicating how far they had traveled. While the letters are suggestive, some historians say argue they do not provide hard evidence of a physical love affair. LeHand loved the president dearly, and Franklin was very fond of her. Besides such material concerns, Rowley believes that Franklin still genuinely loved Eleanor. These were without doubt the most difficult years of his life, and those who were with him during that period became his most trusted confidants and advisers. Her presence and control were so all-encompassing that Eleanor later recalled weeping before Franklin, telling him through her tears that "I did not like to live in a house which was not in any way mine, one that I had done nothing about and which did not represent the way I wanted to live" (via Rowley's book). The Virginia Quarterly Reviewdescribes her as feeling rejected by her mother Anna Hall Roosevelt, who once told her that she must be good, as she was too plain to be anything else. Now in his fifties, Rutherfurd was considered one of society's most eligible widowers. (Mostly) FICTION: A similar telegram existed, but American intelligence never caught it nor implemented security measures based on it, say Atlantic Crossing co-writers; their research revealed the telegram became known only after the war. From initial encounters during the 1932 presidential campaign, Hickok would eventually take up residence in the White House near Eleanor's rooms. At nearly the same hour, forty-three-year-old Marguerite A. When his daughter Anna was grown and newly divorced, she took up residence in the White House and became her father's confidante. But nothing changed upon Franklin's return to the United States, and he gently but persistently made clear to his mother that he was leaving the nest. After discovering the relationship, she offered her husband a divorce. WebMore About a Remarkable Donation. Her parents squandered a fortune with stunning panache, and one morning she and her sister awakened to find they were stranded penniless at their convent school in Austria. Born in 1882, he was the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano. * [Contains spoilers. . I knew her father had died of alcoholism, and her uncles had drunkenly fired hunting rifles at her from the windows of her grandmothers house. LeHand Film Collection - FDR Presidential Library 'I have longed to have you with me,' he wrote in one letter from a cruise to Panama. If Lucy Mercers art was living, the medium in which she worked was personal and the scale miniature. In her book The Gatekeeper,Kathryn Smith describes Missys role this way: Missy was the Swiss Army Knife of the White House. Her descendants speak of the insouciance with which she met early hardship. I mean a contagious genius for living joyously. The Sad Truth About Franklin And Eleanor Roosevelt's Marriage, Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage. Marguerite (Missy) LeHand was FDRs longtime personal secretary and confidante. Then it would revert back to Eleanor. There were supposedly several dinners in the White House's second-floor private quarters during Roosevelt's last year which were attended by Rutherfurd in a group with Anna's presence and obvious acceptance. Moreover, when it comes to historical cover-ups, many FDR and ER partisans would like to bury Lucy Mercer along with the inconvenient prejudices of their youth. She was, according to Jean Edward Smith's "FDR," the president's constant companion for 21 years, his attendant on excursions where Eleanor was not present, and the only one to refer to him with the pet name "F.D." He replied that it had. WebBeing obsessed with all things Roosevelt, I was thrilled to see a biography about Marguerite Missy LeHand, President Franklin D. Roosevelts personal secretary. At a time when interest in their war just keeps on rising, why arent Americas World War II poets better remembered? related_content_links_0_open_in_new_window: related_content_links_1_open_in_new_window: related_content_links_2_open_in_new_window: related_content_links_3_open_in_new_window: related_content_links_4_open_in_new_window. This eventually became the March of Dimes Foundation which funded the research that led to a polio vaccine in 1954. But in 1960, when ER refused to come to the telephone because she suspected the caller wanted something from her, her surprised secretary asked if she didnt believe people could like her for herself. [45] Well-known historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (19172007) stated of the affair that if Rutherfurd "in any way helped Franklin Roosevelt sustain the frightful burdens of leadership in the second world war, the nation has good reason to be grateful to her."[46]. Per the Washington Post, Eleanor burned the love letters she uncovered from Mercer to Franklin. 'Everyone in the close-knit inner circle of father's friends accepted it as a matter of course,' he wrote. Once againEleanor did not care for the informal lifestyle and poverty stricken countryside, so Missy became thehostess for FDRs Warm Springs home. This was in part a matter of logistics; some of these trips were to do with Franklin's rehabilitation from polio, while Eleanor had the family to look after. On the rare occasions when she was less than that, ER owned up to her failings scrupulously. Readmore about the magazine >>, The magazine was forced to suspend print publication in 2013, but a group of volunteers saved the archives and relaunched it in digital form in 2017. After two decades of cruising the Florida waters and sharing a Warm Springs cottage with FDR, sitting by his side as he sorted his stamps when she knew he needed silence, and arranging impromptu dinners and late-night poker games when she sensed hed like company, Missy, who was only 43, had suffered a stroke the night beforebrought on, some said, by her effort to keep up with FDR.
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