The Roosevelts: An Intimate History!--A Review (Part 3)

3-The Fire of Life (1910-1919)

He (Teddy Roosevelt) could never live happily on the periphery of anything.  He had to be in the arena.  He left power too soon.--The Roosevelts

Teddy Roosevelt:
-Teddy visited the White House 1 1/2 years after he left and he remembered every servant and gardener by name and asked them about their lives.
-He was still young, and felt personally and politically betrayed by Taft.  He didn't think Taft was making the right decisions.  To be fair, he probably wouldn't have been happy with anyone, because he still had the energy and the desire to be president.
-Taft was devastated to lose Teddy's friendship when Teddy decided to run for president the next term.  Even though he was still popular, the Republican machine wanted to stick with Taft.  So, Teddy ran as a 3rd party candidate, the party was called The Progressives but became more well known as The Bull Moose Party.

True to Roosevelt's progressive beliefs, the platform of the party called for major reforms including women's suffrage, social welfare assistance for women and children, farm relief, revisions in banking, health insurance in industries, and worker's compensation. The party also wanted an easier method to amend the constitution.--The Bull Moose Party Platform

-Many of Teddy's closest friends urged him not to run.
-He was shot by John Schrank while on the campaign trail in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This didn't stop him from finishing his speech.
-Just like Ross Perot ensured that Bill Clinton won the presidency, Teddy Roosevelt ensured that Woodrow Wilson won.  When you split the Republican vote, the Democrat wins.
-Teddy took it very hard, and was shocked that he lost, and that he lost by so much.
-He went on an expedition into the Amazon with his son Kermit and almost died from Malaria and other illnesses.
-He thought we should get into World War I right away and wasn't quiet about it.  He said, "For to be neutral between right and wrong, is to serve wrong."
-When the U.S. finally did enter World War I, he visited the White House to ask Wilson if he could help raise up a division of volunteers and lead them into battle.  He was not in good health, and for other reasons too Wilson had to turn him down.  He was devastated that he couldn't play a part.  He then gets very old, very quickly.  David McCullough says, "Its as if he was a high intensity light bulb that burned out quickly."
-Yet, all 4 of his sons did get to fight.  And his youngest, Quentin, died in the war.
-He died on January 6, 1919 at the age of 60.

Franklin Roosevelt:
-The election of 1912 divided the Roosevelt family because Franklin was supporting Woodrow Wilson.  However, Eleanor supported her Uncle Teddy.
-He won re-election to the State Senate that same year, and then was appointed to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he now held the same job that his cousin Teddy once had.
-All of the Roosevelts sided with our allies during World War I and thought we should be joining them right from the start.  Franklin didn't say anything in public because he worked for the Wilson administration.

Eleanor Roosevelt:
-People who didn't like Franklin, often liked Eleanor, so she helped her husband succeed politically.
-She found that she knew how to excel in the political arena.  She had finally found something that she could do better than her Mother-in-law.
-She had her 6th and last child by the time she turned 31.
-The war liberated all of her executive ability.

"The war was my emancipation and education."--Eleanor Roosevelt

-Instead of having to make social calls, she could now invest her time in helping those affected by the war.
-During this time, Eleanor came across a bundle of letters.  They were love letters from Lucy Mercer to her husband, who had once been her social secretary.  Eleanor was devastated.  Franklin always wanted someone to adore him like his mother had, and Lucy did that.
-Eleanor said he could have a divorce if he wanted one.  But Franklin's mother said she would cut him off and never give him another penny if he did, and a political advisor told him that it would end his political career, so he stayed.

Previously: 
Episode 1-Get Action (1858-1901)
Episode 2-In the Arena (1901-1910)

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History!--A Review (Part 2)

Teddy Roosevelt was a brand new type of president, a hyperactive adult, and a steam engine in trousers.--The Roosevelts

Episode 2-In the Arena (1901-1910)

Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to:

-Leave the country during the course of his time in office
-Have been born in the city
-Be known by his initials, T.R.
-Go down in a submarine
-Send a transatlantic cable for purposes of diplomacy
-Own an automobile
-Win the Nobel Peace Prize
-Invite an African-American (Booker T. Washington) to dine with him in the White House

Descriptions of T.R.:

-Youngest president in history at age 42
-Brilliant, possibly a genius
-Bird Watcher
-Big Game Hunter
-Author and Naturalist
-Historian and Expansionist
-Moral Crusader and Shrewd Politician
-Proud Husband and Father

Teddy's Accomplishments While President:

-The break-up of Northern Securities
-The Coal Strike Settlement
-The Panama Canal
-The Pure Food & Drug Act
-The Hepburn Act
-An end to the Russo-Japanese War
-Millions of Wild Acres preserved for future generations to enjoy

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.--Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt:
-He saw himself as a defender of right, a moralist.
-His presidency was the first one where the American people were excited about the White House.
-He had an unbelievable amount of energy.  He raced through the day drinking lots of coffee.  He read a book a day, sometimes 3 if he had time.  He personally answered 150,000 letters that were sent to the White House.
-During the coal strike, he became the first president to mediate a labor dispute
-He bought the rights from the French to build the Panama Canal.  The Canal is one of the greatest human achievements.
-During his run for re-election in 1904, he and Edith entertained writers, artists and musicians.  The public loved reading about the Roosevelt White House.  Huge crowds appeared wherever he went.
-"He was the first American president who had the look and the sound and the education of a Harvard man and there had never been anything like that in American politics."--David McCullough
-Through all of his presidency, he was resolutely himself.  (Which is probably one of the main reasons I have always loved him.)
-He came up with the Square Deal.  The essence being that rich men and poor men should be treated equally.

-He won re-election in 1904 by a landslide.  He then made the huge mistake of promising that under no circumstances would he run again in 1908.  He later said, "I would cut my hand off if I could take back that statement."
-It was difficult to be one of Teddy's children, since living up to their father's standards was almost impossible.  Alice especially had a hard time, since she never felt like she had a real home after living with her Aunt Bamie, her grandparents and now her Dad and Step-Mom.  As a young woman coming of age in the White House, she did almost everything that a girl her age back then wasn't supposed to do.
-Teddy pushed through bills that began to rewrite the role of the government in American's lives.
-While in office, he created 18 national monuments, the National Parks went from 5 to 10 and he created the National Forest Service.
-Yet, after all his accomplishments, he didn't think he was a great president because he had faced no great crisis while in office.
-He handpicked his successor, Taft and helped him win election.
-He then went to Africa and abroad for over a year so he wouldn't be tempted to comment on decisions that Taft would make.  He hunted big game in Africa.
-He was just as popular as when he was president, when he returned home, millions of New Yorkers came out to greet him.

Franklin Roosevelt:
-He asks Eleanor to marry him when he is 21 and she is 19.  His mother had always been overprotective of him, and with his father having passed away she was concerned about being alone.
-He was fascinated with Eleanor, she was Teddy's favorite niece, but more than that he was fascinated with her substance.
-He was one of the first people to realize how intelligent she was and very substantive, there was a lot there.  He truly did love her.  When he asked her to marry him, he said he could make something of himself with her by his side.
-He and Eleanor attended Teddy's Inauguration.  13 days later on November 17th, Teddy led a parade and then made time to give Eleanor away at her and Franklin's wedding.  They took a 3 month honeymoon
-Franklin decided to run for the legislature as a Democrat, without bothering to consult Eleanor about it.

Eleanor Roosevelt:
-Eleanor had a rough childhood.  Her mother was very beautiful and was disappointed that Eleanor wasn't.  Her mother's nickname for her was Granny.
-Her father, (Teddy's brother) was an alcoholic and was absent for most of her life.  Yet, she romanticized him and her relationship with him, even after she became an adult.
-By the age of 10, both of her parents were dead.
-She went to live with her pious grandmother.  Also in the house with them was an abusive nurse, an unstable aunt and two drunken uncles.
-Eleanor was lonely and struggled with a lot of fears.  Her Aunt Bamie came to her rescue.  She recommended that Eleanor be sent away to a school called Allenswood.  She was there for 3 years and she described them as the happiest of her life, where all her fears disappeared.
-Her instructor at Allenswood insisted her students be independent minded, intellectually alive and socially conscious.  Her education made a huge impact on her and brought out her great intellect.  She was the most admired girl at her school.
-To her dismay, her grandmother made her come back from school at the age of 17.
-Her and Franklin got engaged on November 22, 1903, but weren't allowed to announce their engagement until a year later, on December 1, 1904 because of Franklin's mother.
-She volunteered to work with immigrant children in a settlement house, and took it very seriously.
-Because of this, she helped Franklin see beyond his "privileged" world.
-Her marriage to Franklin was "a bargain she would often regret."
-They each wanted something from a relationship that the other in the end couldn't give.
-Eleanor wanted an intimate, someone she could confide in.  A husband who would always be supportive and there for her.  He could not provide that.
-Franklin wanted someone who had all the devotion to him that his mother had had, but not the admonitory part.  But sadly, Eleanor could not be worshipful and had to be admonitory.
-Eleanor had hoped that Franklin's mother Sara would become the mother she never had, but it was not to be.  Sara had a 6 story town home built for Franklin and Eleanor, and Eleanor was not consulted about anything.  Sara hired all of the staff herself and Franklin and Sara oversaw the construction and furnishing of the house.  So, Eleanor had no say in anything at all, not even in hiring the nannies that would watch her children.  She resented this immensely (who wouldn't?) and Franklin didn't understand why this was such a problem for her.

Previously:
Episode 1-Get Action (1858-1901)
 

The Roosevelts--An Intimate History!--A Review (Part 1)

No other American family has touched so many lives.--The Roosevelts

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History by Ken Burns has 7 parts, that aired on 7 nights on PBS.

1-Get Action (1858-1901)
2-In the Arena (1901-1910)
3-The Fire of Life (1910-1919)
4-The Storm (1920-1933)
5-The Rising Road (1933-1939)
6-The Common Cause (1939-1944)
7-A Strong and Active Faith (1944-1962)

--I am going to be doing a review on each episode.  I love Ken Burn's documentaries.  My favorite, before this one, was The Civil War.

--The narrator is Peter Coyote.  He narrates a lot of history documentaries.  I love his voice.

Historians:

-Clay Jenkinson
-George F. Will
-David McCullough
-Jon Meacham
-Geoffrey C. Ward
-Doris Kearns Goodwin
-Jonathan Alter
-Edna Gurewitsch
-William Leuchtenburg
-H.W. Brands
-Patricia O'Toole

--I am a huge fan of David McCullough and have read his book on Teddy Roosevelt, so it was great to see that he was a part of this documentary.

--I was excited when I found out that Burns was going to do a documentary on the Roosevelts.  The reason being that I love Teddy Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.  While I'm not a huge fan of Franklin Roosevelt, he was a major historical figure.

Episode 1-Get Action (1858-1901)

Between Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, they would occupy the White House for 19 of the first 45 years of the 20th century.--The Roosevelts

My Notes:
--Teddy's father was such a philanthropist that he was nicknamed, Great Heart.

--Geoffrey C. Ward described Teddy (as an adult), like a six year old child on steroids and like the Tasmanian Devil.

--Teddy was devastated when he lost his Mother and his wife, Alice on the same day, February 14, 1884.  On that day he wrote in his journal, "The light has gone out of my life."

--Franklin Roosevelt was the only child of his Mother and was adored by all.  FDR was doted on to the point where he saw his rightful position as being the center of the world.

--As I watched this first episode, I was not disappointed.  This is another stellar production by Ken Burns.  I look forward to watching the next episode.