eleanor roosevelt. imagine world war ii without eleanor roosevelt. because without eleanor, there would not have been fdr in the white house. >> we are running so short on time. you talk about the white house years, but especially her public role. and i'm gonna have to lead a talk about the post presidential years. but david, get us a word or two about what she meant to the country during those years in the white house and how she communicated. >> i'm going to quote a lead that because the leader said something quite wonderful about women in the white house which is that the white house eats women. and eleanor after the white house, after eleanor the white house was never the same. women were a part of a. eleanor was a proxy. she was a proxy for people where people came to the president, eleanor came to you. i think one of the most important thing she did right away was she made the first lady a mobile, suffrage, part of the institution. if you are in the middle of his country in june of 1933 and life s

it eleanor roosevelt. and she had her own career, was such a successful journalist, not just my day, but monthly syndicated columns, book contracts, her first book is march 1933. it is up to the women. by the end of her time in the white house, who are publications are paying her more money than fdr makes as president. >> let me bring up the slide of fdr in his last days. david, maybe can briefly tell a story of her role. >> fdr died in april 12th 1945, with a cerebral hemorrhage. he was posing as a portrait painted by women -- with him was his cousin and lucy mercer, from athens, south carolina. she had been here in his later white house years as he grew sick and as his life was coming to a close as the war itself was dragging on. fdr found some solace or some enjoyment and pleasure in -- eleanor and franklin's daughter. i don't see an enormous, i don't see enormous significance in the fact that lucy was there and eleanor wasn't. eleanor was doing her own work. she was part of an entire, she's probably th

imagine the great depression without eleanor roosevelt imagine world war two without eleanor roosevelt because without alan are there would not have been fdr in the white house. um, we're running so short on time. let's have david one of you talk about the white house years, but her especially her public role. and then i'm gonna have a leader talk about the post presidential years that david give us a order to about you know, what she meant to the country during those years in the white house and how she communicated with the country. i'm in a quote alita because elita said something quite wonderful about women in the white house, which is that the white house eats women and and eleanor after the white house after eleanor. the white house was never the same for women women were a part of a a eleanor was a proxy. she was a proxy for people where people came to the president eleanor came to you. i think one of the most important things she did right away was that she made the first lady a mobile? separate part of the institution her if you were in the middle of this country in june of 19

eleanor roosevelt was passionate about and cnw. in the spirit of ncnw, the other ghost that is here now, the other spirit that we must embrace and celebrate and must never be forgotten is the incomparable dorothy height. she helped me understand their relationship a lot. they were on my board when i ran the eleanor papers which is documentary history of eleanor roosevelt human rights work defined. lastly, i am with dr. height one day and we have gone out of the national cathedral and she's giving me a hard time for not going to church. [laughter] we're getting in a car to go have lunch. she said i forgot to tell you she said i didn't think it was appropriate but the more i think about it i think you really need to document. just imagine dorothy height and all of her splendor and her real posture -- regal posture in the wheelchair with this extraordinary hat turning around to tell me the story. she said it's 19 47. dr. bethune told me this as her favorite eleanor memory. she said they are in nashville and i 1947, dr. bethune's asthm

roosevelt in the plane on her flight across the north atlantic now the expedition with eleanor roosevelt was an exciting process prospect by itself, but in the in 1942 transatlantic air travel was still a novelty with some element of danger. and keep in mind oviedo had been hit nearly died in a dangerous airplane crash before this not long before this the first lady's party which included her close friend and secretary malvina thompson. traveled on a long range seaplane across the north atlantic at a time of the year when weather conditions could be very difficult. plus they would fly over an active war zone. the group departed from new york in october of 1942 on a non-stop flight to the republic of ireland. where they would board another airplane and this was all very quietly done, by the way. i'll explain in a second. they would board another airplane to england. for security as well as personal comfort the war department sent roosevelt and her party on a commercial aircraft that had been pioneered by pan am airlines a military airplane was much much more likely to attract enemy fighte

and certainly, eleanor roosevelt would fall into that category. she was -- let's put it this way -- she was very influential on our topic today for no other reason than the longevity of her time in the white house because of her husband's 12 years there. i became interested in this particular topic at the site, at the hyde park site. i had not been there until 2010. and of course, i went through the main house where fdr was born. and i didn't realize i had a personal relationship with him as i felt with president kennedy because of my mother taking me to see him. i had all these stories that had collected from my parents and my aunts and uncles about coming along in the depression and what fdr and eleanor roosevelt meant to them. and so, the ranger, the park ranger, was taking us through the mansion. we turned a corner and he said, this is the room where franklin roosevelt was born. and i burst into tears. very embarrassing to my friend who was accompanying me, because i was sobbing on his shoulder. we went to val-kill to see mrs. roosevelt's home

and certainly, eleanor roosevelt would fall into that category. she was -- let's put it this way -- she was very influential on our topic today for no other reason than the longevity of her time in the white house because of her husband's 12 years there. i became interested in this particular topic at the site, at the hyde park site. i had not been there until 2010. and of course, i went through the main house where fdr was born. and i didn't realize i had a personal relationship with him, as i felt with president kennedy because of my mother taking me to see him. i had all these stories that had collected from my parents and my aunts and uncles about coming along in the depression and what fdr and eleanor roosevelt meant to them. and so, the ranger, the park ranger, was taking us through the mansion. we turned a corner and he said, this is the room where franklin roosevelt was born. and i burst into tears. very embarrassing to my friend who was accompanying me, because i was sobbing on his shoulder. we went to val-kill to see mrs. roosevelt's hom

bammy, as i said, her name was anna eleanor roosevelt. she always seemed more mature than everybody else in the family in theodore's childhood journals. he explained that when he referred to the big people. he meant himself his parent. well, he met his parents and bammy and then we three were himself and elliot and corrine. it was bammy to whom elliot's distraught wife turned for advice. it was she who accompanied elliot and anna to europe in an attempt to keep elliot on the straight and narrow. a family friend wrote of her capacity for quote cheerful independent thinking based on brains goodness and kindness. that's a nice combination, isn't it? she was the dearest buy and darling byze of theodore's frantic correspondence on over the best way to deal with elliot. in 1893 bammy accepted an invitation to live in england as assistant to a man named james roosevelt roosevelt. he was known as rosie. he was the much older half-brother of franklin d roosevelt. and if anyone remembers thurston howell the third. you might have some sense of what

it's my understanding that eleanor roosevelt. really didn't enjoy the public eye at first and somewhat struggled with. with having that that public persona and getting involved, but then she she really made a breakthrough and became one of our most remembered first ladies. my question is are there other first ladies who had a similar struggle like that and then made that breakthrough and were able to make some really important. changes in their experience well, there were several who? had at least many years before the presidency to take care of some of that both bushes. i think laura bush did not expect to be married to a politician and barbara bush was terrified of public speaking and the way she developed on the communication person. so i really study a lot about what they do with their public speaking, but she she would do slide shows when she would go back to texas. she would take her children around all the monuments when he was in congress, and she developed her public speaking skills from doing slideshows back in texas so

francis perkins was a college graduate, and eleanor roosevelt was not. that was a big gulf in those days. but their relationship grew closer over the years as the time went on. and they also -- eleanor, francis, and fdr formed a very effective trio together. fdr would propose an idea, francis perkins would consider how to make it possible, and eleanor through her enormously popular newspaper columns would explain simple words why that was a useful program and why it was needed. so she would be the public relations side of the story. the three of them were enormously effective together. but francis was still a little nervous around eleanor. eleanor could be tough. she cut people out when she decided she didn't like them anymore. francis was a little nervous around eleanor. but at the end of their lives, they came together in a very intimate way, and there's a really beautiful picture and a 50th anniversary commemoration of the trial of short waist fire. and eleanor roosevelt and francis perkins are sitting together up at the podium. they are each giving t

had done in her life, but it was also amazing what eleanor roosevelt had done for herself? yes. what about francis husband home. did she marry a little bit very interesting? i'm francis perkins married and what i think was a love match a very handsome young man named paul wilson a wealthy man from chicago who lived in a very rich neighborhood of chicago and who came to new york as part of a pioneering effort to sort of clean up new york city sort of an anti-tamony group. and so while francis perkins was very important doing things on the workplace front her husband. paul wilson was very important as a key official with a very exciting young. kennedy-esque new york. mayoral administration. but when he was very young and only his mid-30s he started to develop. very dramatic signs of bipolar disorder. he invested his money in a gold mine that failed and left himself penniless and francis perkins became the sole support of the family. she stayed married with him. in fact, they're buried together outside the family homestead. in damariscotta, maine she loved him very much, but h

francis perkins was a college graduate and eleanor roosevelt was not. that was a big gulf in those days. their relationship to closer of the years as the time went on. they also, they actually -- eleanor francis and fdr formed a very effective trio together. fdr would propose an idea, francis perkins would consider how to make it possible, and eleanor, through her enormously popular newspaper columns would explain in simple words why that was a useful program and why it was needed. she would be the public relations side of the story. the three of them were enormously effective together. but francis was still a little nervous around eleanor. ellen could be tough. she cut people out when she decided she didn't like them anymore. francis was a little nervous around eleanor. but at the end of their lives, they came together in a very intimate way and there is really beautiful picture from the 50th anniversary commemoration of the fire. eleanor roosevelt and francis perkins are sitting together on the podium, there is giving talks about what they remember ab

here is mary lincoln and eleanor roosevelt. and a picture of the couples. the one of lincoln and mary, and this case, is a composite. they never posed together. i dare say, mary would not have reached quite that tall if it was a real photograph. and here is fdr and eleanor, i think, and hyde park. you can see the outline of the braces on his withered legs here. both women very complicated relationship, right? both women aspired the deep influence and their husbands administrations. arguably, mary had less than she would've liked. eleanor had quite a bit of influence. >> when we first started talking about the preparation for the office, and i mention that franklin roosevelt was a little bit of a camel oh, fabulous young man, he was rich, everything came his way, two things happened to him to tournament to them and he became as president. one of those was polio, clearly. it gave him empathy for those who struggled in life because he struggled in life. i think that had a profound effect on his attitude, the new jail, taking care of people he couldn't take car

a lot of you will find it surprising. >> yes, like eleanor roosevelt opposing the e. r. a.. >> that is fascinating to learn. >> so she is pretty much what i call a liberal protectionist. so the anti e. r. a. side, i describes protectionism more protectionist. and i should just point out, for people who haven't read my book, the way that i am using the term protectionism in my study, i am not referring exclusively to advocates of special labor legislation. so for those that don't know, special labor legislation or special labor laws arose in the late 19th and early 20th century is as a way to regulate women's working conditions and shield women from economic exploitation. so these versus the civic labor laws that determined the jobs, and tasks that women were allowed to perform. a regulator their work hours, prohibited them from working nights in certain instances. sometimes gave them a minimum wage law. but these regulations were really based on the idea that all women were mothers, or potential matters, and women's roles in the home necessitated the extra special oversi

yeah, a lot of people find it surprising that you have individuals like eleanor roosevelt opposing the era and she was that i was fascinating to learn so she's very much what i call liberal protectionist. so the anti-era side i describe as protectionism or protectionist. and i should just point out for people who haven't read my book the way that i'm using the term protectionism in my study. i'm not referring exclusively to advocates a special labor legislation. so for those that don't know special labor legislation or special labor laws arose and the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to regulate women's working conditions and shield women from economic exploitation. so these were sex-specific labor laws that determined the jobs and tasks that women were allowed to perform right at regulated their work hours for prohibited them from working at night in certain instances. sometimes gave them minimum minimum wage laws, but these these regulations were really based on the idea that all women were mothers or potential mothers and women's roles in the home necessity the extra spec

a lot of you will find it surprising. >> yes, like eleanor roosevelt opposing the e.r.a.. >> that is fascinating to learn. >> so she is pretty much what i call a liberal protectionist. so the anti e.r.a. side, i describes protectionism more protectionist. and i should just point out, for people who haven't read my book, the way that i am using the term protectionism in my study, i am not referring exclusively to advocates of special labor legislation. so for those that don't know, special labor legislation or special labor laws arose in the late 19th and early 20th century is as a way to regulate women's working conditions and shield women from economic exploitation. so these versus the civic labor laws that determined the jobs, and tasks that women were allowed to perform. a regulator their work hours, prohibited them from working nights in certain instances. sometimes gave them a minimum wage law. but these regulations were really based on the idea that all women were mothers, or potential matters, and women's roles in the home necessitated the extra special oversight of the govern

she made first lady eleanor roosevelt know that black lives matter. she made five presidents believe that black lives matter. she made america begin to learn that black lives matter. thank you dr. bethune, thank you for your vision that has lasted through the ages. thank you for your generosity, your salon to be -- philanthropy that has saved millions of black children like me, thank you for your last will and testament, thank you for your spirit that still roams the campus, that still inspires the students and millions of alumni all over the world. thank you mary mcleod bethune but one woman. as a bethune cookman university honorary doctor, i cannot be prouder -- could not be prouder to be a wildcat today what. -- today. what a woman. >> members of the bethune- cookman concert crowd. -- concert corral . >> ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen the honorable james d clyburn majority whip of the u.s. house of representatives. >> madame speaker, mr. leader, colleagues. ladies and gentlemen. here are the words of mary mcleod bethune's last will and testament. "som

dolly madison abigail adams eleanor roosevelt and lady bird johnson nancy reagan was an inspiring individual. she was an important part of one of the most pivotal presidencies of the 20th century as a wife. champion and trusted advisor to our 40th president of the united states ronald reagan in addition her legacy of public service and her willingness to confront difficult and often highly personal topics throughout her eventful life. made her one of the most influential and admired first ladies and modern times. to recognize her many contributions to our nation. we will officially issue the nancy reagan commemorative forever posted stamp on july 6th. the dedication ceremony will be held at the ronald reagan library in simi valley, california. postal service takes great pride in our mission to bind the nation together. through the issuance of the nancy reagan stamp. we hope to provide the means for the public to come together. in remembrance and commemoration of this great and impactful american i along with 650,000 women and men of the united states postal service and proud to honor first l

dolley madison, abigail adams, eleanor roosevelt, and lady bird johnson. nancy reagan was an inspiring individual. she was an important part of one of the most pivotable presidencies of the 21st century as a wife, champion, and trust adviser to our 40th president of the united states, ronald reagan. we mission, her legacy of public service, and her willingness to confront difficult and often highly personal topics throughout her eventful life made her one of the most influential and admired first ladies of modern times. to recognize their many contributions to our nation we will officially issue the nancy reagan commemorative forever postage stamp on july 6th. the dedication ceremony will be held at the ronald reagan library in simi valley california. the postal service takes great pride in our mission to bind a nation together. through the issuance of the nancy reagan stamp, we have to provide the means for the public to come together in remembrance and commemoration of this great and impactful america. i, along with 650,000 women and men of the united st

dolley madison, abigail adams, eleanor roosevelt, and lady bird johnson. nancy reagan was an inspiring individual. she was an important part of one of the most pivotable presidencies of the 20th century as a wife, champion, and trust adviser to our 40th president of the united states, ronald reagan. her legacy of public service, and her willingness to confront difficult and often highly personal topics throughout her eventful life made her one of the most influential and admired first ladies of modern times. to recognize her many contributions to our nation we will officially issue the nancy reagan commemorative forever postage stamp on july 6th. the dedication ceremony will be held at the ronald reagan library in simi valley, california. the postal service takes great pride in our mission to bind the nation together. through the issuance of the nancy reagan stamp, we hope to provide the means for the public to come together in remembrance and commemoration of this great and impactful america. i, along with 650,000 women and men of the united states postal

now one of the supporters of the temperance cause was eleanor roosevelt, which is not surprising for several reasons one is she was very involved involved in the suffragist movement. the other was her family history of severe alcoholism her father had been severely alcoholic and died when she was a small child. she had alcoholic uncles eventually an alcoholic brother one of her children had some pretty bad problems with it. so she was not a fan of drinking. fdr on the other hand mina was a social drinker so he kind of called himself a damp. until it became politic to become a wet. so is the the century is moving on after you are becomes assistant secretary of the navy to josephus daniels who was a newspaper publisher from raleigh, north carolina a great advocate of temperance and really josephus daniels is assistant secretary of the navy under woodrow wilson his big cause was wiping out sin, which if you've ever met a sailor, you know, what a tall ordered that is and he banned any beverage stronger than coffee on ships bases and even in the officers' mess which is why we still call a

the us ambassador the united kingdom and the book also includes the supporting cast with eleanor roosevelt secretary of state cordell hall. under secretary sumner wells and harry hopkins. now one person who read the book is called the story of a diplomatic team of rivals. another is referred to it as describing the fog of peace. and yet another called it the sometimes and somewhat wise men. all i suppose are somewhere true as i wrote in my introduction the ambassadors were problematic problematic team of men who had little in common. except that they witnessed and interpreted. many of the most tumultuous events leading up to world war two for president roosevelt. indeed as germany under hitler became a nightmare a nation that devolved into a brutal and murderous dictatorship. that ultimately threatened all of europe. watching darkness fall is very much the story of franklin roosevelt and foreign policy. it's the story of the of ambassadors of the advice. that is ambassadors gave him. and it's it's the story ultimately of the faithful decision to take the country to war. and within all of t

of course is mary lincoln and eleanor roosevelt? and a picture of the couples the one of lincoln and mary in this case is a composite they never posed for a photograph together. i dare say mary would not have reached. quite that tall if it was a real it was a real photograph and here is fdr and eleanor i think in hyde park roosevelt. you can see the outline of the braces on his on his withered legs here very complicated relationship, right? both women aspired to deep influence in their husbands administrations arguably. mary had less than she would have liked and eleanor had quite a bit of influence. yeah, i think you know when we first started talking about their preparation for the office, and i mentioned that franklin roosevelt was a little bit of a callo feckless young man. he was handsome. he was rich everything came his way two things happened to him to turn him into the man that he became his president. one of those is polio clearly it gave him empathy for those who struggled in life because he struggled in life and i really

dolley madison, abigail adams, eleanor roosevelt, and lady bird johnson. nancy reagan was an inspiring individual. she was an important part of one of the most pivotable presidencies of the 21st century as a wife, champion, and trusted adviser to our 40th president of the united states, ronald reagan. in addition, her legacy of public service, and her willingness to confront difficult and often highly personal topics throughout her eventful life made her one of the most influential and admired first ladies of modern times. to recognize their many contributions to our nation we will officially issue the nancy reagan commemorative forever postage stamp on july 6th. the dedication ceremony will be held at the ronald reagan library in simi valley california. the postal service takes great pride in our mission to bind a nation together. through the issuance of the nancy reagan stamp, we have to provide the means for the public to come together in remembrance and commemoration of this great and impactful america. i, along with 650,000 women and men of the united

and here of course is mary lincoln and eleanor roosevelt. and a picture of the couples. the one of lincoln and mary in this case is a composite. they never post for a photograph together. i dare say merry would not have reached quite that tall if it was a real photograph. and here is fdr and eleanor i think in hyde park. roosevelt you can see the outline of the races on his withering legs here. very complicated relationship, right? >> both women aspiring to deep influence in their husbands administrations. arguably mary hadn't less than she would have liked and eleanor had quite a bit of influence. >> yeah, when we first are talking about reparation for the office and i mention that franklin roosevelt was a little bit of a kowloon, backless young man. he was handsome, he was rich, everything came his way. two things happened to him to turn him into the man that he was as president. one was polio, clearly i gave him empathy for those who struggled in life because he's struggled in life. and i really do think that that had a profound impact on his whole attitude about the

he's got a wife who, wasn't henpecking him but, i have great admiration for eleanor roosevelt. i think she obviously modernized the office of the first lady, but she was obviously a very good person, i think. but she had her agenda. so he had to deal with that. he's dealing with his family, he's dealing with his staff, congress, our kelsey traded congress. they didn't low -- go into lockstep. they often opposed him. it's understandable in a way, with diet and everything else, and stress, why he passed away at age 63. but it was unbelievable. it was one of those things, and i'll shut up, but it was one of those things that people know where they were when they heard it. i know where i was. november 22nd 1963. i know where i was on september 11th. i wasn't alive on december 7th, but my parents were, and they know where they were when they heard on december 7th. and fdr's passing, everyone knew what they were doing when he died. >> so you just messenger and your respect for eleanor roosevelt. what was her impact on the war and the american home front as a whole? >> well, she was t

he's got a wife who, wasn't henpecking him, but i have great admiration for eleanor roosevelt. i think she obviously modernized the office of the first lady, but she was obviously a very good person, i think. but she had her agenda. so he had to deal with that. he's dealing with his family, he's dealing with his staff, congress, our -- congress. they didn't low -- go into lockstep. they often opposed him. it's understandable, in a way, with the diet and everything else, and stress, why he passed away at age 63. but it was unbelievable. it was one of those things, and i'll shut up, but it was one of those things that people know where they were when they heard it. i know where i was. november 22nd 1963. i know where i was on september 11th. i wasn't alive on december 7th, but my parents were, and they know where they were when they heard on december 7th. and fdr's passing, everyone knew what they were doing when he died. >> so you just mentioned your respect for eleanor roosevelt. what was her impact on the war and the american home front as a whole? >> well, she was the head of

i always loved the line this was later when she was in the white house eleanor roosevelt. franklin would joke. dear lord, please make eleanor a little tired. because as doris kearns goodwin said eleanor knew what should be done and franklin knew what could be done. he always listened to her. he always respected her opinion. she always nagged him and pushed him and pushed him. and quite often he would think a few days later. she was right. she was right about the japanese internment camp. she did so many things and you know, as i said having that picture with my father, it's in my book a special thing. and i was just overwhelmed. i think there are many people who have met her. friends of mine who told me stories that i put one person i put in the book. to think that a woman lived from the time of grover cleveland to martin luther king. and martin luther king would say the impact of her personality and it's unwavering dedication to high principle and purpose cannot be contained in a single day or era. her life was one of the bright interludes in the troubled history of manki