Franklin D Roosevelt marries Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
On March 17, 1905, Roosevelt married Eleanor despite the fierce resistance of his mother.
Eleanor's uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, stood in at the wedding for Eleanor's deceased father Elliott. The young couple moved into Springwood, his family's estate, where FDR's mother became a frequent house guest, much to Eleanor's chagrin. As for their personal lives, Franklin was a charismatic, handsome, and socially active man. In contrast, Eleanor was shy and disliked social life, and at first stayed at home to raise their children. Although Eleanor disliked sex, and considered it "an ordeal to be endured," [11] they had six children in rapid succession:
Anna Eleanor (1906–1975; age 69)
James (1907–1991; age 83)
Franklin Delano, Jr. (March 18, 1909–November 7, 1909)
Elliott (1910–1990; age 80)
a second Franklin Delano, Jr. (1914–1988; age 74)
John Aspinwall (1916–1981; age 65).
Franklin and Eleanor at Campobello Island, Canada, in 1905.
Roosevelt had affairs outside his marriage, including one with Eleanor's social secretary Lucy Mercer which began soon after she was hired in early 1914. In September 1918, Eleanor found letters revealing the affair in Roosevelt's luggage, when he returned from World War I. According to the Roosevelt family, Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce so that he could be with the woman he loved, but Lucy, being Catholic, could not bring herself to marry a divorced man with five children. According to FDR's biographer Jean Edward Smith it is generally accepted that Eleanor indeed offered "to give Franklin his freedom."[12] However, they reconciled after a fashion with the informal mediation of Roosevelt's adviser Louis McHenry Howe, and FDR promised never to see Lucy again. Sara also intervened, and told Franklin that if he divorced his wife, he would bring scandal upon the family, and she "would not give him another dollar."[12] However, Franklin broke his promise. He and Lucy maintained a formal correspondence, and began seeing each other again in 1941—and perhaps earlier.[13][14] Lucy was even given the code name "Mrs. Johnson" by the Secret Service.[15] Indeed, Lucy was with FDR on April 12, 1945—the day he died. Despite this, FDR's affair was not widely known of until the 1960s.[16]
The effect of this affair upon Eleanor Roosevelt is difficult to underestimate. "I have the memory of an elephant. I can forgive, but I cannot forget," she wrote a close friend.[17] Though Eleanor never liked sex, after the affair, any remaining intimacy left their relationship. Eleanor soon thereafter established a separate house in Hyde Park at Valkill, and increasingly devoted herself to various social and political causes. For the rest of their lives, the Roosevelts' marriage was more of a political partnership than an intimate relationship.[18] The emotional break in their marriage was so severe, that when FDR asked Eleanor in 1942—in light of his failing health—to come back home and live with him again, she refused.[16]
Franklin's son Elliott claimed that Franklin had a 20-year affair with his private secretary Marguerite "Missy" LeHand.[19][20]
In 1919 the Roosevelts lived next door to Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, and were present when a Galleanist anarchist was killed in the botched bombing that was an attempt to assassinate Palmer. Also in 1919, Franklin Roosevelt helped Éamon de Valera and his fledgling Irish Republican Army get around export laws for shipping arms used against British troops in the Irish War of Independence.
The five surviving Roosevelt children all led tumultuous lives overshadowed by their famous parents. They had among them nineteen marriages, fifteen divorces, and twenty-nine children. All four sons were officers in World War II and were decorated, on merit, for bravery. Two of them were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives—FDR, Jr. served three terms representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and James served six terms representing the 26th district in California—but none were elected to higher office despite several attempts.[21][22][23][24]
Roosevelt's dog, Fala, also became well-known as a companion of Roosevelt's during his time in the White House, and was called the "most photographed dog in the world."[25]
On 17 March 1905, Franklin and Eleanor married. Eleanor's favorite uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, gave away the bride. In the few years between Eleanor's return to New York and her marriage to Franklin, she had enjoyed a period of relative fulfillment through teaching and performing social work. But after the marriage her life was completely overtaken by Franklin and motherhood. She gave birth to her first child, Anna, on 3 May 1906. Within an eleven year period she bore Franklin six children, one girl and five boys, with one son dying in infancy. As she put it, "For 10 years, I was always just getting over having a baby or about to have another one, so my occupations were considerably restricted." Meanwhile, with Franklin active in politics she increasingly played the role of society hostess, especially after his appointment, in 1910, to the U.S. Senate. As if this weren't enough, she felt dominated by Franklin's possessive mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who had financed the couple's home and who directed Eleanor's efforts with the children.
On March 17, 1905, she married her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and between 1906 and 1916, they became the parents of six children: Anna Eleanor (1906-75), James (1907-91), Franklin Delano, Jr. (1909), Elliott (1910-90), Franklin, Jr. (1914-88) and John (1916-81). During this period, her public activities gave way to family concerns and her husband's political career. However, with American entry in World War I, she became active in the American Red Cross and in volunteer work in Navy hospitals. In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio causing Mrs. Roosevelt to become increasingly active in politics in part to help him maintain his interests but also to assert her own personality and goals. She participated in the League of Women Voters, joined the Women's Trade Union League, and worked for the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Committee. She helped to establish Val-Kill Industries, a non-profit furniture factory in Hyde Park, New York, and taught at the Todhunter School, a private girls' school in New York City.
