Lucy Mercer
Franklin, Lucy, and Eleanor
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/04/18/fdrs-secret-love?page=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/weekinreview/20mcgrath.html?pagewanted=all
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Lucy Mercer and the Roosevelts
While many people see the Roosevelts as a couple who both were politically and socially strong, Franklin actually was not as loyal to Eleanor as you may think. FDR was rumored to have had affairs with 5 women, but the most indisputable one was that between FDR and Lucy Mercer.
Lucy Mercer was hired by Eleanor to be her social secretary. The affair began in 1916 while FDR was still serving as the assistant secretary to the Navy. In 1918, once Franklin had come back from an overseas trip, Eleanor discovered love letters to and from Lucy in his suitcase. Before she had them destroyed, Eleanor confronted Franklin with the letters in hand. Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce. Franklin was faced with the choice of being free to love whoever at a high price or to be "stuck" with Eleanor, but be able to live lavishly with income from Eleanor's trust. His mother even threatened to cut off Franklin. However, it was Franklin's dream of being in the White House that ultimately decided things. After consulting Louis Howe, it was evident that if Franklin divorced Eleanor, his political career would be over and he would never have a chance of being the president. So in order to save his political career, he opted to not get a divorce. It was said, "Adultery can be concealed, but divorce is a calamity". Since Franklin and Eleanor were one of the greatest power couples of the time period, divorce would have shocked the nation.
Eleanor had confided to her cousin that she didn't think she could hold on to Franklin because he was "too attractive". Much like many women today, Eleanor struggled with her body image and always saw herself as less attractive than she was. Poor Eleanor had just become more confident during the war, and was immediately set back to her previous thoughts.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/04/18/fdrs-secret-love?page=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/weekinreview/20mcgrath.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/04/18/fdrs-secret-love?page=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/weekinreview/20mcgrath.html?pagewanted=all
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's interesting that you posted this, because the chapter we're doing (ch. 7) talks a lot about Lorena Hickok, a journalist. When I looked her up, I found that there are a lot of rumors about an affair between her and Eleanor Roosevelt. Apparently they exchanged over 3000 letters, and Hickok became Eleanor's "press agent" more than a reporter. It's funny that FDR and Eleanor were considered such a great "power couple" because it looks like they may not have been that faithful to each other...
ReplyDeleteHere's a buzzfeed article with a little more information: http://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/eleanor-roosevelts-passionate-love-letters-to-lor
I looked into their marriage a little more, and it's actually quite an interesting story. When they first decided to get engaged, Franklin's mother tried to convince them against it, and took FDR on a cruise to try to end the romance. And as Analisa said, later in their marriage, there were rumors about affairs from both people, including reports of homosexual relations between Eleanor and Hickok. A dramatic relationship all around.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt
Amazing post Lauren! I researched some of his other affairs and found that there was one other that is believed to be true. The relationship was with Daisy Suckley and it was unknown until personal letters to the president were found after her death. She was very close to FDR and would go on drives with him near his upstate mansion. During one drive they visited Dutchess hill and from then on referred to it as "Our Hill". They had plans to build a cottage there. Years later, Top Cottage was built on top of that hill.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I was curious about which other presidents have had affairs, and found this list.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigfrog104.com/presidential-extramarital-affairs/
It bothers me that such affairs and other secrets are often never revealed to the public so we never really know who we are voting for or against.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that in comparison to France, the US completely blows gossip out of proportion. If news got out that FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt's marriage was in shambles, the media would have exploded. I remember, though, back in Egan, my French teacher was talking about the French presidential elections (2011?), and one of the candidates, now the current president, was running with a female helper. This woman and he had a very intimate relationship, yet he ended up marrying another woman. Yet the French people really did not focus so much on this relationship. If this had happened in the US, the candidate would probably have been kicked out of his political career forever.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post Lauren. It's unfortunate that so many presidents have had a wide array of secret affairs. Doing some more research on Roosevelt's personal life, I found that (according to his son) he also had a 20-year affair with his private secretary Margruerite LeHand and possibly even Princess Martha of Sweden. These claims, the one's involving the princess and the president, even showed up in newspapers who romantically linked the two of them together.
ReplyDelete