Research question: Who were the women in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s life? Were they strong, weak, smart, pretty, or ugly? What was the greatest quality about each of the women? How might having these women in his life affect his decisions on important issues?

I chose the topic of women in Franklin’s life because it was still a time where women didn’t really speak out all that often, and he had some amazing women in his life, like his wife Eleanor. Women weren’t as outspoken, and I feel that those who were should be given thanks by the women of today. What if we didn’t have women like Eleanor Roosevelt to have led the way for great American women? Would we be as far as we are today? I’m also in a group of all boys, so I figured I would focus on the feminine aspect of Franklin’s presidency. He was a great president but the saying goes “Behind every strong man is a strong woman.”

I know that he had a mistress named Lucy. Apparently, Eleanor knew about Lucy as well. His mother was also a major influence in his life. Although his mother and Eleanor didn’t really get along, Franklin respected his mother’s wishes and ideas sometimes even over Eleanor’s. Franklin was in a wheel chair from polio but even though he had polio he could still get an erection. I also know that Eleanor had more independence than most women of the time, and this is basically what I know about the women in his life.

I hope to discover foul play because who doesn’t love a little scandal in the White House. I want to know what Eleanor thought of his mistress Lucy. I want to know what each woman was like what morals they held dear and how Franklin treated them. I want to learn how this great president in a wheel chair got around to see his mistress. Did she simply come to the white house? Did he go see her? And if so where? I would love to know what happened when Eleanor found out about Lucy. Being a lady, I doubt it was a cat fight like nowadays.

I did some research on these women in his life. I’ve found a few like one named Daisy mentioned, but then I could not find anything else mentioned about her. I found a few newspaper articles and a few books, but I’m going to have to look a little harder to find information on some of the women in his life because they are hardly mentioned. I’m sure if I search the internet, I am sure I could find something that is interesting about each women and how they were involved with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I think this is going to be an interesting assignment. I’ve never blogged before now. My group is all guys which is why we ended up doing a World War Two. I wanted to do the trail of tears because I have a little Indian in me. I didn’t really know very much about World War Two leaders. I think this will be a good learning experience as well as entertaining. I can’t wait to see what other people say about my blogs, and I can’t wait to read other people’s blogs.

Working bibliography

Baird, Julia. “The Women the President Loved.” Newsweek 5 May. 2008. Web. 19 Jan. 2010

Barry, Dan. “From New Deal to New Hard Times, Eleanor Endures.” New York Times 25 Dec. 2009: 1. Academic Search Complete. Ebsco. Web. 19 Jan. 2010.

Feldman, Ellen. “FDR and His Women.” American Heritage Magazine 54.1 (2003). Web. 19 Jan. 2010

MacLeish, Archibald. The Eleanor Roosevelt Story. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. Print.

“Franklin D. Roosevelt (President of United States).” Encyclopedia Britannica 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 19 Jan. 2010