He hated to be alone. Many cabinet secretaries, congressmen, senators and ambassadors courted favor with Missy in an attempt to gain access to the president. While fond of his niece, Theodoremade the wedding into a St. Patrick's Day "pit stop," according to Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer's book "Hissing Cousins." Franklin Delano Roosevelt Everybody wants something, ER replied. It was a wifes revenge on her husband, for betraying her love, for falling short of her standards. Just as I was discovering a darker side of ERs character, so a more melancholy aspect of FDRs life began to emerge. It included Eleanor Roosevelt, Joe Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, and 1,200 others. But there is no question that the time they spent on board the Larooco laid the foundation for a deep bond between them that lasted until Missys death. Franklin's response was to tell his wife gently, she would say that she was upset now but would feel differently later and so excused himself from the conversation. But didnt she understand that her husband desperately needed a brief escape from the burden of reopening the banks and dreaming up Lend-Lease and responding to the worst naval defeat in Americas history? The White House staff grew quickly as the work load of the First 100 Days and the ever growing volume of correspondence demanded attention. But their public accomplishments took a personal toll. Mercer's friendship with Franklin Roosevelt was portrayed in the well-regarded TV mini-series Eleanor and Franklin, with Mercer portrayed by actress Linda Kelsey in the 1976 telecast, based on the best-selling biography of the same name by Eleanor's personal friend Joseph P. Lash, published in 1971. formId: "5b72fde8-e7e4-4048-9244-483412ab8fe3", Yet he often dined on Mrs. Nesbitts inedible food off a solitary tray in his study. After 65 years, the archives of FDRs personal secretary are now open to the public, The world-shaping relationship between these two giants got off to a rocky start. Missy FDR relished rich foods and fine wines. When FDR and Lucy, who was by then Mrs. Winthrop Rutherfurd, began to meet again in 1941, while ER was importuning FDR not to sacrifice social progress to military imperatives, Lucy was referring to him as the Source I Do Not Question. Even more moving than the words she wrote about FDR to others is a letter she sent to him that was until now locked away among the classified documents in the FDR Library. Though Ragni stgaard mentions summer visits from the President in her letters to Nikolai, FDR was at Hyde Park when the U-boat surfaced, says Kalllestein. WebMissy once said he was really incapable of a personal friendship with anyone. Some found him almost sadistic. Meet the Cast of Atlantic Crossing | Masterpiece - PBS That there was genuine affection between Franklin and Mercer is evident, however, as is the devastation the affair brought to Eleanor. And what was the future First Lady who would champion female equality doing opposing woman suffrage? Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd (ne Lucy Page Mercer; April 26, 1891 July 31, 1948) was an American woman who was best known for her affair with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt. [43], The MercerRoosevelt affair became wider public knowledge in 1966 when revealed in The Time Between the Wars, a memoir by Jonathan W. Daniels (19021981), a Roosevelt aide from 1943 to 1945. But these long separations also occurred after Eleanor discovered Franklin's affair in 1918, an event that significantly loosened her marital ties to her husband. As I came to know Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, I began to shed my predilections and prejudices and admire the strength of her convictions, the delicacy of her principles, and the size of her heart. [20] Winthrop Rutherfurd had proposed to socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt (18771964) in 1896, only to see her social-climbing mother instead force her into marriage with Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (18711934) (cousin to later British prime minister Winston Churchill). In 1940 he wrote his former headmaster, Endicott Peabody, More than forty years ago you said, in a sermon in the Old Chapel, something about not losing boyhood ideals in later life. Four years ago, when reports of presidential misbehavior convulsed the country, I found myself wanting to tell the story of three people who comported themselves with dignity and grace in the face of imminent heartbreak and of an era that allowed them to. Missy lived with her sister and two nieces for several years, and finally passed away on July 31, 1944. FDR would visit her for short periods of time while he fought a global war, and the old Childrens Hour gang kept her company. Her relationship with FDR transcended her role as his secretary. They speak of her need to make surroundings beautiful, and days bright, and loved ones glad to be alive. Grace Tully described Missy as the Queen of the White House staff, and her authority was rarely challenged. Grace Tully Forward with Roosevelt AsTIMEreports,Eleanor was quick to ask for calm and understanding after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For her part, Eleanor Roosevelt also enjoyed the company of a woman. She had to, and J began to resent her for it. Everywhere I looked for Lucy, there stood ER, larger than life, better than good, generous, high-minded, selfless. Over the years FDR would invest a good portion of his fortune into Warm Springs, and created the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation which raised millions of dollars for polio research. Per Hazel Rowley's "Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage," the four-time first lady went so far as to tell her grown daughter, Anna Roosevelt Halsted, that sex was "an ordeal to be borne.". She functioned as FranklinRoosvelt's de facto chief-of-staff, yet Missy LeHand's role has beenmisrepresented and overlooked by historians. One such instance was over the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Missy, as FDRs children nicknamed her, And while she clearly had her favorites, she was widely respected for her fairness and devotion to the presidents needs. [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]. When Germany unleashed its blitzkreig in 1939, the U.S.Army was only the 17th largest in the world. In conjunction with Glenn Horowitz Booksellers, we are offering the archive, intact, directly from Ms. LeHands heirs. [25][26], Despite Roosevelt's promise to Eleanor, he kept in contact with Lucy Rutherfurd after her marriage, corresponding with her by letter throughout the 1920s. The demands Eleanor Roosevelt made on herself could take a fearful toll on others, especially her husband. Rutherfurd continued to meet more frequently with Roosevelt in the months that followed. Missys role as Gatekeeper gave her enormous influence in who the president spent time with. A complete collection of their correspondence can be found here:The Grace Tully Collection Finding Aid. Soon after his death, Suckley wrote in her diary: 'He told me once that there was no one else with whom he could be so completely honest.'. Marguerite Missy LeHand: FDRs Right Hand Woman Copyright 1949-2023 American Heritage Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. }). Contrary to his promises never to see Rutherfurd again after their 1918 affair, Franklin maintained a friendship with his former mistress, going so far as to invite her to White House dinners. During her childhood the family moved to Massachusetts, settling LeHand Film Collection - FDR Presidential Library But in 1941 Missys health problems finally caught up with her, as they would with FDR four years later. His removal from friends and peers was made up for by the love and support of his family, particularly his mother. During their engagement she wrote to her future husband, Sometimes I think that a womans moods are sent her just as a mans temptations are.. Teddy's daughter, Alice Roosevelt, would later put it that, "My father lived up to his reputation of being the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. After his reelection and the Yalta Conference the following February, Franklin retreated to a favorite residence in Warm Springs, Georgia, for rest. [4] In 1914, Mercer was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt to become her social secretary. For comparison, Franklin's secretary, Missy LeHand, was with him for 110 weeks. FDR was physically fearless, but he could be emotionally craven. LeHand, Marguerite, 1896-1944 - Library of Congress She was an exquisitely sensitive and engaging companion and later a constant and competent nurse to a husband who doted on her. She advocated unsuccessfully against the internment policy; when it went through, she kept up a pragmatic front in public speeches and mitigated and challenged interment where she could in private. In 1941 she re-entered the paralyzed Presidents life bearing an additional gift.
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