Through some searching on the internet, I've found some funny things that Franklin and Eleanor did during their careers as public figures. The videos are quite amusing and you should really take a look!
In a public speech, FDR addresses the Republican criticisms of him and his dog.
"Yes."
Eleanor goes on the game show, "What's my Line?" She starts talking at 4:46.
Franklin knits while Eleanor drinks. This role reversal picture was captured as a joke.
These recorded instances give us a little insight on why the Roosevelt's were so popular among the people. The picture demonstrates that they could have fun and at times, not take themselves too seriously. Roosevelt made a joke of a Republican attack that people found hilarious, and Eleanor's quiet "Yes" responses were charming to the audience. People saw them as relatable, and therefore felt more connected to the administration. This connection evolves into support. While the humor both the Roosevelt's have are only a portion of what contributed to their widespread popularity, the above documentation allows us to see a little bit into their personalities.
"They now include my little dog, Fala."
In a public speech, FDR addresses the Republican criticisms of him and his dog.
"Yes."
Eleanor goes on the game show, "What's my Line?" She starts talking at 4:46.
Franklin knits while Eleanor drinks. This role reversal picture was captured as a joke.
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These recorded instances give us a little insight on why the Roosevelt's were so popular among the people. The picture demonstrates that they could have fun and at times, not take themselves too seriously. Roosevelt made a joke of a Republican attack that people found hilarious, and Eleanor's quiet "Yes" responses were charming to the audience. People saw them as relatable, and therefore felt more connected to the administration. This connection evolves into support. While the humor both the Roosevelt's have are only a portion of what contributed to their widespread popularity, the above documentation allows us to see a little bit into their personalities.
Thanks for this funny post Olivia! I like how you looked at Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt from a more personal angle rather than the textbook type things we are used to hearing about.
ReplyDeleteI know that Michelle Obama is a fairly popular first lady herself, so I did a little research about what things make her popular, similar to what you did with the Roosevelts. Michelle Obama has maintained a favorable image with two-thirds of the public during the course of Barack Obama's presidency. This is particularly impressive because even though President Obama's ratings have fallen over the past few years, the First Lady's have basically remained constant. Many say that this and her popularity to start with are due to the fact that she has her own image separate from her husbands. Much of the American public also views Michelle as intelligent, a good mother and role model, and relatable and understanding. The source I found also compares Michelle's popularity rating to those of Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, which ended up being significantly lower than what they initially were at the start of their husbands' terms. I would be interested to hear about any other famously popular presidents or first ladies that you guys can find!
Great post Olivia! I made me think about presidents being funny, and I think in general there's a high demand for a president to be relatable and funny because Americans like to feel connected with their government. I think this is especially evident in the White House Correspondents Dinner, which is an annual dinner that recently has consisted of the president making a lot of jokes and mocking himself and his administration. This translates into amusement for the press and the public, gaining more support for the president. For example, a couple years ago President Obama declared during the dinner that he would finally be putting to rest rumors about his citizenship and birth certificate by showing his birth video, and then proceeded to play a clip from The Lion King. It's typically an opportunity for the president to crack a lot of jokes and invited famous comedians to do so too, which in turn can translate directly into more support.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jenny that it's great to look at historical figures in a more personal light. We tend to forget that these are real people who actually existed and were human with a sense of humor and personality, too.
ReplyDeleteA first lady besides the ones Jenny mentioned that we have all heard of is Dolley Madison, wife of the United States' fourth president, James Madison. She is probably most remembered for saving the iconic portrait of George Washington as well as other national treasures when the British burned down the capital during the War of 1812. However, that is not all that she accomplished as First Lady, a term not coined until much later. She was known to have possessed great social skills, and helped enhance President Madison's popularity. Because of her talent for social functions, she helped define the role of the President's spouse. Her actions during the War of 1812 made her a national heroine, so she was very popular with the American people as well. Thanks to her significant influence, Dolley made the path easier for future Presidents' spouses to play a larger role than just an accessory to the President.
I like this post a lot! I think it's really cool to see how presidents and first ladies are so much like us, given that they have so much more power and money than us. From your post, I decided to research more about popular presidents, and I found some interesting facts about JFK.
ReplyDelete1. Obsessed with his weight, JFK traveled with a bathroom scale.
2. A James Bond fanatic ("From Russia With Love" was one of his 10 favorite books), Kennedy tried his hand at his own spy-chiller -- about a coup d'etat masterminded by Vice President Lyndon Johnson.
3. JFK was the first president to dance with black women at an inaugural ball.
4. Kennedy tried desperately to learn French (the first lady was fluent), even appealing to daughter Caroline's teacher for help.
5. One of JFK's legs was shorter than the other, which contributed to his chronic back problems.
6. Kennedy bought up 1,200 high-grade Cuban cigars the day before he was to order a ban on Cuban imports.
7. JFK received last rites four times in his life: in 1947 after becoming gravely ill in England; in 1951 while stricken with a high fever in Japan; in 1954 following back surgery; on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas.
8. With a phone call to Hollywood, JFK got a movie made, and not just any movie, but one that highlighted the tensions between the peace and military factions within his own administration. "Seven Days in May," starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster, was based on the 1962 novel of the same name about a Joint Chiefs of Staff plot to overthrow the president for supporting a nuclear disarmament treaty. "He wanted to raise the national consciousness about the problems involved if generals get out of control," historian Arthur Schlesinger said. Eager to get the movie made, Kennedy decamped to Hyannis Port and turned over the White House grounds to the filmmakers for a weekend, even allowing them to stage riots.
9. Kennedy used 16 pens to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty Sept. 24, 1963.
10. Kennedy had been the target of at least four assassination attempts before Dallas, one barely a month after he was elected president, when a retired postal worker, his car loaded with dynamite, followed the president-elect from Hyannis Port to Georgetown to Palm Beach. "Brother, they could have gotten me in Palm Beach. There is no way to keep anyone from killing me," Kennedy told a Secret Service agent shortly after the suspect was apprehended, recounted Thurston Clarke in "JFK's Last Hundred Days." Two more assassination plots -- one in Chicago, one in Tampa, Fla. -- were uncovered in the weeks before Nov. 22, 1963.
11. Kennedy gave all his $100,000-a-year White House salary to charity.
12. He used the coconut husk on which he'd scratched his PT-109 rescue message while stranded in the South Pacific during World War II as a paperweight on his Oval Office desk.
13. Fifty-three percent of Americans, or 90 million people, said they'd shed tears in the four days between Kennedy's death and funeral, according to a National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago poll conducted within a week of the assassination.
14. Kennedy was the only U.S. president whose grandmother lived longer than he did.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/14-things-jfk/story?id=20633994
ReplyDeletehere's the link to the website I found my information^
Nice post. I enjoyed a some laughs. I definitely agree with most of the posts here in that Roosevelt made himself out to be fun and connect with the people in a sort of friend way.
ReplyDeleteEven with all this, however, I would like to point out that it was not just his friendliness, manliness (also a quality we learned in class), and joking attitude that gained him so much popularity in America, but also his ability to keep the country running well economically, socially, and militarily. According to this article, it was his economic reforms that failed, which cost him his popularity among the people of America. Without doing a "good" job in his presidency anymore, Roosevelt lost his spark for the people (the majority of course).
http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/miller-joseph-dana_franklin-delano-roosevelts-declining-popularity-among-americans-1938.html
Great post Olivia. It's always really cool to get to know the real people aside from what they did historically.After reading Lauren's post about how both of the Roosevelt's allegedly had affairs, I think this post really shows how they were able to hide their differences (their infidelities) and put on happy faces for the public.
ReplyDelete