Chapter 02
Roosevelt’s Little Understanding of the People’s Sufferings

Rumors about Roosevelt having syphilis remain ambiguous, but his detachment from the struggles of ordinary people was all too real.

I. The Male and Female Roosevelts

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), commonly known as FDR and referred to by Chinese speakers as “Little Roosevelt,” was the 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945). He was the first and only U.S. president to be elected to four terms, though he passed away during his fourth. Born on January 30, 1882, he was an outstanding student from a young age. At 18, he enrolled at Harvard University; at 22, he entered Columbia University; and at 23, he married Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), the niece of Theodore Roosevelt. By the age of 25, he had become a practicing lawyer.

Although the two presidents from the Roosevelt family were not closely related by blood, they had a very special relationship.

Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, lost both her parents at the age of ten and was raised under the care of her grandmother and her uncle, Theodore Roosevelt. When Franklin and Eleanor married, Theodore — who was then President — attended the wedding as the bride’s primary family guardian. Thus, Franklin D. Roosevelt was not only Theodore Roosevelt’s fifth cousin but also his nephew-in-law.

The two Roosevelt presidents are consistently ranked among the greatest American presidents in nearly every public opinion poll. In Siena College’s 2010 ranking of the “Best Presidents,” Franklin D. Roosevelt topped the list, followed closely by Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson ranked third through fifth, respectively.

The Roosevelt family was not only distinguished in politics but also renowned in the world of business. In addition to managing their own family wealth, they oversaw assets entrusted to them by others and held extensive investments around the world.

The male Roosevelt and female Roosevelt ended up marrying each other — but the bride’s childhood was far from happy. Her father, an alcoholic, died young, and her vain mother, who considered herself beautiful, despised her daughter’s plain looks. She ignored her emotionally and even mocked her with the nickname “Granny.” After her mother passed away, she lived with a strict and rigid grandmother, under whose care she endured a deeply repressive upbringing.

Fortunately, Eleanor’s time at a girls’ school in London broadened her horizons and helped her gradually emerge from the shadows of a difficult childhood, shaping her into a strong and independent individual. However, that period did not last long. At her grandmother’s insistence, she was forced to abandon her studies and return to the United States, where she was expected to make her social debut and attend numerous high-society events — an environment in which she felt deeply out of place.

It was during this period that she grew close to Franklin Roosevelt. Surprised by their shared ideals and mutual understanding, they quickly fell in love and got married. Eleanor longed to find in marriage the loyalty, emotional connection, companionship, and sense of security that had been missing from her childhood. However, Franklin expected her to care for him with the same unwavering support and unconditional devotion that he had received from his mother.

After their marriage, Eleanor became increasingly involved in Democratic Party politics, and as her abilities grew, so did the strength of her convictions. This led to more frequent ideological clashes between the couple. The formal breakdown of their relationship came when Eleanor discovered that Franklin had been having an affair with his secretary — a relationship that had continued for many years.

The affair shattered Eleanor’s romantic illusions. However, due to a complex web of factors — including family ties, political considerations, and their children — she chose to remain in the marriage. Instead, she turned her energy more fully toward the human rights causes she deeply cared about. As for the many women surrounding Franklin, Eleanor — herself a member of the Roosevelt family — largely tolerated, and at times even appeared to support, these relationships, possibly as a means to serve her own goals.

In the years that followed, the Roosevelts continued to support each other politically, much like the Clintons would later do. Eleanor presented herself as an advocate for workers, women, child laborers, and people of color during the New Deal, promoting legislation aimed at protecting their rights and livelihoods. Yet in reality, she had sacrificed even her own basic rights as a woman.

She has often been hailed as ‘the most beloved First Lady in American history,” but in the eyes of some critics, her political role was far more controversial. They argue that, much like the political partnership between Jiang Qing and Mao Zedong in China, Eleanor Roosevelt’s alliance with her husband brought about deep and lasting political consequences — fundamentally transforming the role of the First Lady from a ceremonial figure into an active force in public affairs.

During his unprecedented fourth term, the “usurper president” Franklin D. Roosevelt saw his wife increasingly retreat into her own political pursuits. Eleanor traveled to the front lines to visit wounded soldiers and conducted on-site inspections of the internment camps where Japanese Americans were being held. At times, she would go months without seeing her husband, whose health and authority were both visibly declining.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt approached death, he pleaded with his eldest daughter, Anna, to arrange a meeting with his former secretary — his longtime lover. After the woman’s second husband had passed away, she and Roosevelt had quietly resumed their relationship, meeting several times a year. All of this was kept secret from Eleanor. Torn between her father’s request and the guilt of deceiving her mother, Anna ultimately chose to comply.

When Eleanor received the news that her husband had fallen into a coma, she was in Chicago preparing for a speech. At the urging of her companions, she chose to go through with the engagement. By the time she returned to Washington the following day, Franklin had already passed away. She was left alone to face the aftermath — her husband’s betrayal, the sudden loss of a close friend, the death of a national leader, her daughter’s concealment, a Congress in disarray, and a bewildered Vice President Truman struggling to take the reins.