Day 93: The Roosevelts

Prior to our visit today to FDR's family estate overlooking the Hudson, Springwood, and Val-Kill, the nearby cottage retreat built by Eleanor and which became her home following his death, we'd forgotten (or perhaps never learned in full) of how complicated their marriage was, and also how important their work for the country. They had five children (a sixth died in infancy) but their immediate family didn't end there...Franklin mother, Sara, was matron in the estate home until she died in 1941, only four years before her son's death. Sara was a domineering force, spoiling and often manipulating Franklin in his younger years (she even tried to derail his engagement to Eleanor). To Eleanor, an orphan raised by her rigid grandmother, the newlywed years shared with her mother-in-law must have been especially difficult.

As FDR's political career took off, carrying him to positions in New York state government and the Navy administration, Eleanor stood faithfully by, raising their family. When he contracted polio in 1921 at the age of 39, Eleanor took the reins of the family, caring for her husband and even becoming a voice on the political stage in an effort to preserve her husband's career. Her newfound independence gave way to four decades of humanitarian-oriented world travel, civil rights activism, and peacemaking efforts on behalf of many nations. She traveled to places inaccessible to her husband due to his paralysis, reporting to him on conditions, programs, plights...and became known as his "conscience." During one of his year's in the Presidency, she logged more than 40,000 miles and made headlines on the few nights of the year she actually spent in Washington. Other headlines included her trip into a working coal mine and her flights with Amelia Earhart (Eleanor was the first First Lady to fly).

The Roosevelts' personal lives, both as individuals and as a couple, were far from serene. And yet it's not too difficult to intentionally overlook the failures and shadowy rumors and focus instead on the tremendous legacy left by them. He helped pull the country out of the dark years of the Depression and Dust Bowl and then provided guidance and stability during World War II. And while he created ways of helping the people, Eleanor made it her job to know the people...to remind her husband of just who needed the help, and later, to help determine the effectiveness of the programs. Following his death, she served as the first U.S. representative to the United Nations and chaired the committee charged with drafting a Declaration of Human Rights. She also worked tirelessly for Civil Rights, maintaining her public speaking schedule in the face of a $25,000 bounty placed on her head by the Ku Klux Klan. In her last years, when approached by Senator John F. Kennedy for her endorsement of his Presidential campaign, she agreed only on the condition that he take a much stronger stand for Civil Rights.

Bottom Line: We found the homes of Franklin and Eleanor very interesting, full of pieces that shed light on their personalities and accomplishments. They entertained countless dignitaries, including Britain's George VI and his wife, Elizabeth. The newspapers of the day both shocked and delighted readers in their reporting that the Roosevelts had served hotdogs to the royal couple, and that the king ate two of them! FDR and Eleanor were real people, with real failings coupled with tremendous abilities. We're glad to have glimpsed a better view of their contributions and can better appreciate just how deeply they shaped the country.

Springwood. FDR had an office in the room that's on the ground level, right side of the photo. He and Churchill had some key conversations there.

The long drive leading from the house; every day, FDR would strap himself into leg braces, grab a walker and haul himself down the drive and back (it's at least a quarter-mile long) in a valiant yet futile effort to regain mobility in his legs.

Eleanor's Stone Cottage near the Val-Kill stream, which over-ran the bridge (below) in last week's flooding