The Roosevelt Relationship(s)

              Considered some of the most important political figures of American history, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt always had a lot of pressure on themselves and specifically their marriage.  As popular as Franklin's policies and Eleanor's activism may have been, their relationship was tenuous from the very beginning, which I believe is significant for us to understand in order to truly grasp the influences on and of some American leaders.
              Just getting married was difficult for the two icons— Franklin's mother was opposed to the union from the beginning.  But the marriage was one of love, and one for which Franklin stood up to his mother, so they married, but not without the tension that his mother had fueled into the relationship: Eleanor shifted between complacency and frustration, which she made clear to Franklin in multiple letters somewhat berating his mother's actions.  The foundation was rocky, but what would keep the two together through everything would be Eleanor's independent activism in the poor neighborhoods, far from Franklin much of the time.
              The separation was maintained and trouble stirred, however, even before Franklin assumed the presidency: according to NPR, in the late 1920s, Eleanor was with Franklin for four of the 116 weeks he was away from home, while his secretary Missy LeHand was with him for the remaining 110.  It was in 1918, in the beginning of their marriage, that Eleanor's heart first broke, when she found love letters from Franklin's first known extramarital lover Lucy Mercer.  After that, the affairs between him and a Norwegian princess or his very own daughter-in-law were just a few small frustrations.
              Given that she knew about it all, Eleanor was ready for her own extramarital relationships, which Franklin would actually accept as long as they did not become public information that might threaten his legitimacy.  Eleanor found herself loved by many, beginning with her lesbian lover Lorena Hickok, with whom she would exchange about 3500 letters from 1932 until her death in 1962.  With "Hick", Eleanor would go on trips and even live in the White House together.  At some point she even had a relationship with her bodyguard Earl Miller.  Luckily, the press rarely learned of or perhaps chose to share this information about Eleanor.  I suspect, given just how easily this information could have been attained, this might follow the press' pattern to not weaken the administration which they loved with such gossip; for example, they chose not to advertise Franklin's polio issues in order to save, well, his face.
              The beauty of their marriage is still misunderstood today by many, considering how untraditional it was, but it worked.  The two worked towards the improvement of the lives of the American people, and it seems that is one thing people have always understood about the Roosevelts.  As can be seen by them, even that which is not traditional can still work and succeed.  Their separation allowed the two to pursue their own causes, and their type of open relationship has arguably become somewhat normalized.  In essence, the Roosevelts were groundbreaking leaders in politics and society as a whole.  If you want to know more about their political efforts, I believe someone else wrote an article about that a couple days ago, or you could just pay attention to Mr. Stewart's lectures.