Eleanor Roosevelt grew up painfully shy with insecurities partially based upon her feeling that she was unattractive. She was nearly 6 feet, with large buck teeth and an unfortunate chin. In 1898, at a Christmas party, Eleanor’s dream came true. Tall and handsome Cousin Franklin had chosen the shy girl to dance with over the many beauties in the room. Franklin, when questioned by his domineering mother Sara as to why he had selected Eleanor, said that he admired her “very good mind.” With their subsequent marriage, Eleanor defined herself solely in terms of Franklins ‘wants and needs. Sara oversaw everything the young couple did, while controlling Franklin’s purse strings. In 1913, Eleanor, now a housewife with five children, in need of part-time assistance with her busy schedule, hired Lucy Mercer, an efficient, exceptionally attractive, twenty-one-year old social secretary. Franklin thought she was an excellent choice. Eleanor’s life took a shattering turn in September 1918, while her husband was Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I. Eleanor, while unpacking Franklin’s suitcase upon his return from European Front, discovered a packet of love letters from Lucy to Franklin. The letters indicated that their affair began shortly after Eleanor hired Lucy. Eleanor admitted, “The bottom dropped out of my own particular world and I faced my surroundings, my world honestly for the first time.” Eleanor told Franklin that she would give him a divorce so that he could marry Lucy. Sara stepped into the middle of the situation, advising that she could not stop Franklin; however, she would disinherit if he left his marriage for another woman, insisting it would bring scandal upon the Roosevelt name. She further advised that she would not give him another penny and he could no longer expect to inherit the family estate at Hyde Park. He was also warned that divorce would end his political career.
The marriage resumed, however, it was to be defined on Eleanor’s terms. She was no longer to be subjugated to Franklin. Franklin agreed to stay in the marriage, with two additional conditions set by Eleanor; he had to break off with Lucy Mercer immediately and never see her again, and he could never again share Eleanor’s bed. Eleanor gradually began to gain confidence; she was now free to seek her own avenues of fulfillment. Franklin, while President, used Eleanor as his personal representative in national and international matters. A Gallop poll in March 1945, as to their respective activities, rated Eleanor higher than Franklin. On April 12, 1945, First Lady Eleanor received a phone call to rush as quickly as possible to Warm Spring, Georgia, where Franklin was dying from a cerebral hemorrhage, and was accompanied by several close friends. The Secret Service made certain to escort Lucy from the premises before Eleanor arrived.
Sources: The New York Times, “No End of the Affaire – Franklin –Lucy Mercer,” by Charles McGrath – April 20, 2008: Wikipedia, “Lucy Mercer (Later Rutherfurd)”: Amazon.com: “Franklin and Lucy,”: History – Giorgialsfo, “FDR and Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd,”: US. News, “FDR’s Secret Love,” April 18, 2008.
