Modern Democrats

By Bobby Everett Smith

Modern Democrats from FDR in 1933 to Donald S. Trump in the present includes summaries of the seven democratic presidents since 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, William J. Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Are you aware that just 100 years ago, women in the United States were not even allowed to vote? 150 years ago, many African Americans in the United States were slaves and were traded like property and treated like sub-human.

Until 1965, African Americans in the Southern United States lived under the Jim Crowe laws which required them to attend separate schools, churches, and country clubs, ride in the back of the bus and drink out of separate water fountains.

The Soviets started at the end of World War II in 1945 trying to take over the world with Communism in what has become known as the Cold War. Soviets tried to blockade Berlin from receiving food and supplies from Western Allies and Soviets attempted to build missile sites in Cuba only 90 miles from the United States as late as 1962.

These are all examples of why we need to study history. But history, like golf, can be time-consuming. I am presenting history in Summary—Modern Democrats, A Study Guide. I propose that this is the fastest and probably the cheapest way to learn about the modern democrats since Franklin D. Roosevelt became our president in 1933.

Modern Democrats presents modern political history from the Democratic viewpoint in the last 85 years. This e-book presents the highlights of the lives and politics of the seven democratic presidents since Roosevelt. You can read an executive summary on each of the seven Democrats in just a few minutes. You can study the main characters associated with each president and you can read a summary of the biography of each of the seven presidents. And finally, a summary of major events in the lives of each president is presented.

Modern Democrats is filled with interesting and fun content. Did you know that FDR had a happy hour almost every afternoon and he personally mixed the drinks for the guests whom he invited to the party. Are you aware of the details of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas in 1963? Did you know that the Cold War is the last war that we won? That Bill Clinton was the last president who managed the government with a budget surplus or that he was impeached and acquitted for having sex in the Oval Office?

By reading Modern Democrats, you can learn a ton of interesting items and events that have occurred in Democratic Administrations over the last 85 years. I encourage you to go to hstps://smashwords.com and search for Modern Democrats.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bobby Everett Smith
• Release date: Jul 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005040390

Bobby Everett Smith

Bobby Everett Smith www.bobsmithsblog.comBobby Everett Smith is an American author of fiction and non-fiction essays, short stories and novels, and the publisher of the blog bobsmithsblog.com.Born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, Smith earned a degree in Economics from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Washington. Primarily during the Cold War, he served as an aviator in the U.S. Navy. His tours in East and Southeast Asia are inspiration for many of his works, taking the reader vicariously along for his adventurous rides, launched from aircraft carriers in the 7th Fleet.Fueled by his own leadership experiences in the U.S. Navy and the private sector, Smith has become passionate and knowledgeable about our nation’s leaders. In nearly a dozen summaries of great presidential biographies, he examines the lives, achievements and legacies of these important political figures.Smith’s most recent novel, Lida Murry Smith, was inspired by his own family history. Set in the backdrop of the women’s suffrage movement, it traces the arduous and courageous 1905 fictional journey of the Smith family from their farm in Missouri, through the Indian Territories and Oklahoma to a new farm in Texas.For access to these and other works of Bobby Everett Smith, visit:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/744702

Book preview

Modern Democrats

A Study Guide

By Bobby Everett Smith

Non-Fiction

Copyright © 2020 Bobby Everett Smith

All rights reserved.

Distributed by Smashwords

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person. please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it. or it was not purchased for your use only. then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

FDR Nominated for President

The New Deal

World War II

Events 1933 to 1945

Harry S. Truman

Events 1945 to 1950

John F. Kennedy

Events 1962-1963

Lyndon B. Johnson

Events 1963 to 1968

James E. Carter

Events 1977 to 1981

William J. Clinton

Events 1993 to 2001

Barack Obama

Events 2009 to 2017

About the Author

Franklin D. Roosevelt

by Jean E. Smith–

FDR Nominated for President

Characters

Franklin D. Roosevelt. Governor of New York. President of the United States–1933 through April 1945

Eleanor Roosevelt. wife of Franklin. First Lady of the United States–1933 through April 1945

Lucy Mercer Rutherford. social secretary of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1914. Lucy and Franklin are believed to have begun an affair in mid-1916. when she was 25 and he was 34. and prior to his paralytic illness. The relationship was discovered by Eleanor in September 1918

Missy LeHand. White House Private Secretary to FDR. companion. and hostess for him over a 20-year period. Caretaker and possible lover to FDR

Sara Delano Roosevelt. FDR’s mother. subsequently the mother-in-law of Eleanor Roosevelt. A devoted mother to him. including home schooling and living close by in adulthood. Had a complex relationship with her daughter-in-law. Eleanor; portrayals of her as a domineering and fearsome mother-in-law. though these are at odds with other views. Died in 1941.

Josephus Daniels. Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson while FDR was Assistant SecNav for 8 years. Daniels originally newspaper publisher in NC; progressive Democrat.

Woodrow Wilson. President of the United States during World War I and after the war. negotiating the League of Nations with the U.S. Congress

Louis Howe. companion. and Chief of Staff to FDR. Campaign manager died in 1936. Key advisor to FDR through his first term as president.

Al Smith. four term Governor of New York before FDR. Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928.

Earl Miller. New York State Police. friend of Eleanor. possible lover

Nancy Cook. an American suffragist. educator. political organizer. and friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. co-owner of Val-Kill Industries. the Women’s Democratic News. and the Todhunter School.

Marion Dickerman. American suffragist. educator. vice-principal of the Todhunter School and an intimate of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Anna. James. John. Elliott. and Frank. Jr. children of FDR and Eleanor

John Nance Garner. Democratic politician from Texas. Vice President of the United States. serving from 1933 to 1941.Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee. Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. and Postmaster General under the first two administrations of FDR.

Val Kill. located approximately two miles east of Springwood. adjacent to Hyde Park. Eleanor created and shared Val-Kill with Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. they established Val-Kill Industries to employ local farming families in handcraft traditions. In 1945. Val-Kill became Eleanor Roosevelt’s primary residence.

Executive Summary

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

"No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.

Born to an affluent. aristocratic family in New York state. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was provided with everything he needed without working as he grew up and entered adult life. He went to Groton School. preparatory for Harvard and one of the best prep schools in the world. He graduated from Harvard and served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Woodrow Wilson term as president of the United States.

As misfortune happens. FDR developed polio or something similar when he was just beginning to hit his stride in politics. He became paralyzed from the waist down and never walked again without assistance. Nevertheless. he persevered in politics. became Governor of the State of New York. and was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States in 1932. in the heart of the Great Depression.

FDR was elected four times as President of the United States. In his first term. starting in 1933. he led the country out of the worst economic downturn it had ever experienced. He convinced the country that the federal government had an important role in people’s lives. and he enacted legislation that developed infrastructure. roads. dams. bridges. transportation links. and schools. Unfortunately. he faced a second economic downturn in 1937 and it took the beginning of World War II to get the country out of that recession.

Roosevelt was president when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Hawaii on December 7. 1941. a day that will live in infamy. he told a Joint Session of Congress and the American people. America declared war on Japan and within two days. Germany and the Axis forces in Europe. We were at war with two enemies simultaneously with an American military that was far from ready to go to even one war. FDR led the country through the war. invaded Europe in 1944 and developed the atomic bomb which motivated Japan to declare Unconditional Surrender in August 1945.

FDR had four important women in his life. Sara. his mother. was devoted to him throughout his life. domineering and sometimes pushy. she provided all the money he needed in life and supported his political ambitions.

Eleanor. his wife and First Lady of the United States. bore six children in a short period of time. one of whom died in infancy. Eleanor was an independent woman. who became recognized as one of the leaders of women’s rights.

Lucy Mercer Rutherford started as Eleanor’s social secretary in the 1920’s and that’s where she met Franklin. She and he developed a romantic relationship which contributed to the estrangement of FDR and Eleanor. When Eleanor discovered evidence of the extramarital affair. she confronted Franklin. They agreed to stay married to support his political ambitions and Franklin broke off his affair with Lucy. Nevertheless. she appeared back in his life in the 1940’s and was with him in Warm Springs. GA when he died of a brain aneurysm in 1945.

The last woman in Roosevelt’s life was Missy LeHand who started as his private secretary and stayed with him until her death in 1941. Missy acted as Roosevelt’s private secretary. hostess. caregiver. and political adviser throughout the 20+ years when she worked for Roosevelt. Missy made the cover of Time Magazine as one of the top women in the United States; she acted as de facto Chief of Staff during the 1940’s and she was named as one of the best dressed women in Washington. D.C. No firm evidence exists that Missy and Franklin had a romantic relationship.

FDR is rated as one of the top three presidents in the history of the United States. I rate him as number two behind Lincoln. Many conservatives resent his policies that started the growth and in their opinions the intrusion of the federal government into our lives.

The Story

Early Years before nomination as President of the United States

Who is the greatest U. S. President of all time? George Washington? Abraham Lincoln? Franklin Delano Roosevelt aka FDR? Those are the three presidents most frequently named as the top three. Lincoln is frequently number one followed by Washington then Roosevelt.

In my book. Roosevelt is number two and Lincoln number one. Lincoln kept the United States together as a nation and emancipated the slaves. two achievements which no one else can match. Roosevelt helped to relieve us from the Great Depression and led us to victory in World War II. the largest war ever fought in the history of the world.

Roosevelt was rich. He never had to work at a real job at any time in his life. He was an aristocrat and despite that he is known for his compassion and care of the common man more so than any other president.

As governor of New York in the early 1930’s. Roosevelt was the only governor in America who was actively pursuing relief efforts for his citizens.

Roosevelt attended Groton School. an Episcopal boarding school in Groton. Massachusetts. which catered to wealthy and powerful families throughout the United States. FDR was influenced by headmaster. Rev. Endicott Peabody. who taught his students to help the less fortunate and enter public service.

Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in 1903 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He entered Columbia Law School in 1904 but was not particularly interested in the law so he dropped out in 1907 after passing the New York bar exam.

Roosevelt’s fifth cousin was Theodore Roosevelt. President of the United States.

Women in FDR’s Life

Four women played critical roles in FDR’s life—his mother. Sara. his wife. Elanor. Missy LeHand his private secretary and finally. Lucy Mercer. Elanor’s private secretary with whom Roosevelt is alleged to have had a romantic relationship.

Sara Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30. 1882 to James and Sara Delano Roosevelt. Sara was a devoted mother and determined to raise Franklin as a Delano. her maiden family. FDR was initially schooled at home by Sara and other tutors who were closely monitored by Sara—do it my way or leave was the rule.

One of Franklin’s tutors attempted to instill in him a sense of social responsibility. a concern for those less fortunate. Franklin was also very well educated in science. history. and languages. He became fluent in French and German.

Sara doted on her son and when James. her husband died. she and Franklin became even closer.

FDR’s first love was Frances Dana. whom he first dated while he was at Harvard. Sara made sure that his romance with Frances would not progress because she was Catholic. FDR did not try to counter his mother on her advice to find a nice protestant girl.

Sara was active in Franklin’s life until her death and she was accused of controlling him in his personal and his political life. Franklin was also accused of being too dependent on his mother throughout his life. sometimes needing to consult her about making major decisions like running for governor of the State of New York.

After FDR came down with polio. Sara wanted him to move back to their family home at Hyde Park to rest and recuperate. Eleanor and others including FDR himself wanted him to persevere with his political ambitions despite the illness. Sara lost that battle but only after many acrimonious family debates.

Eleanor Roosevelt. his wife

Next came Eleanor. whom he met at a family dinner held in New York in 1902. They dated frequently over the coming months and Franklin fell in love. Sara did not mind Eleanor; she was a remote cousin but that was ok for Sara whose only objection was that Franklin was too young for marriage.

Franklin and Eleanor shared a common lineage. Both were Roosevelts. Eleanor traced her ancestors to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. and she brought wealth. education. and manners to the relationship. She was a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Eleanor was educated at Allenwood. the female equivalent to Groton. but located in London. She was smart and sophisticated. full of self-confidence. but she had no experience with men and was totally naïve.

Eleanor and Franklin were married in 1905 and Anna was born in 1906. the first of six children born in the next 9 years to Franklin and Eleanor.

Eleanor discovered her husband’s affair with Lucy Mercer in 1918. she resolved to seek fulfillment in a public life of her own.

Eleanor