The Other Washington Monument: Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s Contentious Career

advance(a) stories of little girls of the American Presidents and their clutched lives perk up been exemplified by teenybopper movies such as Chasing Liberty and The outset Daughter. These films typically tell of the heroines quest for individuality, freedom and love and normally end with their realization that their government agency as the Presidents lady friend holds as much responsibility as the President himself. The life fabrication of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, first daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, would have catapulted into a bigger hit, if it gets to capture the drama, enchant and the controversies that highlight her long life of ninety six age.Amidst Turmoil and misfortune A Picture of Determination and Character In February 12, 1884, Alice Lee Roosevelt was innate(p) in Manhattan to eighteen year old Alice Hathaway Lee and twenty four-year old, republican member of the late York state stagecoachislature, Theodore. Her tragic birth seemed a foreshorten of the tu rbulent life this American friendlyite would lead later on. A few days after Alices birth, both Theodores wife and come passed away. The former died of a kidney disease and the latter of typhoid fever.Perhaps as a result of this, or of Theodores governmental ambitions to become mayor of New York City, Alice has never seen much of her stick while she was growing up, so she was raise by Theodores sister Anna, whom she called Aunty Bye. Anna was unmarried but friendly and would fill in stories of her real mother to Alice, as a requital for her apathetic puzzle. Alice would besides later comment that Aunty Bye was a significant and optimistic influence in her life (Beres, 1995).After three years under Aunty Byes care, Alice moved in (because of her stepmothers bidding) with Theodore and her new wife, Edith Kermit Carow in Sagamore Hill, Long Island. She later became the eldest in a brood of six, but was believed to have a distant birth with her family. Even though Alice grew u p without the care of a mother, she obtained the elegance and steady which was widely adored by the public (Bingham, 1969). This occurred despite her contraction of infantile paralysis in 1887, an infection which almost crippled her.In fact, she would later be praised for a flawless posture, which resulted from her stepmothers recourse to stretch her legs every night as a cure for her viral disease (Beres, 1995) or, according to Cordery (1995), from wearing leg braces until she was aged thirteen. Teen Life at the White field of operations Despite losing in the mayoralty race in New York in 1886, Theodore Roosevelts political career became one of the most unparalleled in the annals of the United States. He battled corruption as he held positions in the US Civil Service Commission and the New York City Board of practice of law Commissioners.He became one of the youngest Presidents at forty two after having been sworn into side because of the assassination of then President Willi am Mc Kinley in September 1901. Alice was cardinal years old then and seemed to struggle with her popularity to the media, as she thwarted when presumptuousness the nickname Princess Alice by the journalists. She was also lucky (or unlucky, as she would later comment, that her exultation was a dowdy arrangement of her stepmother) to be the first Presidential daughter to have debuted under the Executive Manor, which incidentally, was renamed the White House by Theodore Roosevelt.During these eons, Alices attitude was characteristic of todays rich, famous and reckless adolescent celebrities. Alice also had her share of the Paparazzi moments, rebellious attitude and controversies. She was a regular at the weekly publication Town Topics at Washington, DC, the predecessor of E-buzz in the 1900s. Her ducky shade of blue, so called Alice blue, became a fashion fad and she inspired and popularized songs like Where art thou Alice and Alice Blue Gown.She was widely imitated and her frame represented the wrong kind of cool, as she was, as Beres (1995) states, blunt, opinionated, scandalous, and highly maverick the smoking, drinking, racing around in cars and betting on horses. This behavior brought proscribe publicity to her family. Perhaps to derail this trend, Alice was sent as an emissary of her father to Cuba and Puerto Rico, and to Japan, China, Korea and the Philippines during the 1905 Russo-Japanese war settlement (Cordery, 1995).But it was her marriage to Nicholas Longworth in February 17, 1906 that spoiled her rampage, much to her fathers contentment. They traveled after their famed honeymoon in Cuba and were accompanied by the royalty of Ger many a(prenominal), France and England in their visit to Europe. Her Political Ascent and destruction Her fame as a politician, or somewhat, as a handmaid of the politicians, became grand after her marriage, as she supported her Fathers and Nicholas campaigns and became the center and promulgator of social events .However, during the 1912 elections, Theodore, who was then running for his third term at the Presidency, lost along with Nicholas who was also failed to win as Senator. With her help and support, his husband regained position in 1914, while she invested her time with issues concerning World War I, the League of Nations and the Ohio Republican Committee. With the freeing of her father in January 6, 1919, she proceed to strengthen her territory in the political arena. She championed the controversial issue on women suffrage in 1920, as Beres (1995) thought, not because she found it important, but because it was contentious.Two days after her 41st birthday, she gave birth to her nevertheless daughter, Paulina, who was rumored to be her child to Senator William E. Borah. Nonetheless, Nicholas, who died in 1931 while he was Speaker of the House, was a devoted father to their only child. She declined when offered to run for her husbands position but constantly graced the political fie ld with presence. During the time of Hitlers crimson reign, contrary to her fathers legendary involvement on many international political concerns which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, she pioneered isolationism for the US.Her witty but andiron and intrepid, mostly mean (Bingham, 1969) comments, aptly referred to as swordplay by Skow (1988), have earned her the reputation of being a major influential political and historical character in her time. In fact, according to Keegan (2006), she would have do an atrocious American Idol judge. She authored Crowded Hours in 1933 when she was 49 and continued to goad both politicians and the public in her ephemeral column My Day. She was also a constant critic of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge and many other US presidents.Paulina, on the other hand, who had a constant appeal for her mothers love, perpetrate what was thought to be suicide at her young age of cardinal two. Alice took care of her granddaughter Joanna who h ad unrelenting loyalty for her until Alices death (Cordery, 1995). On the contrary, Skow (1998) mentioned that Alice lived whole for the remainder of her life. She was buried beside Paulina, when she died on February 20, 1980. References Beres, C. B. (1995). Alice Roosevelt Longworth. DISCovering U. S. History. Gale Research Electronic copy. Retrieved September 6. 2007. In Alice Roosevelt Longworth. cracking Lives from History, Frank N. Magill. (Ed. ) American Women Series, v. 3. Salem Press. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI Gale Group. http//galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/HistRC/ Bingham, J. (1969). Before the colors fade Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Electronic copy. Retrieved September 6, 2007. American Heritage Magazine, 202. http//www. americanheritage. com/articles/magazine/ah/1969/2/1969_2_42. shypertext markup language. Cordery, S. A. (1995). Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth. Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 10 1976-1980. Charles Scribner s Sons. Keegan, R. W. (2006).An American princess. Time Magazine. Electronic copy. Retrieved September 6, 2007. www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1207827,00. html Longworth, Alice Roosevelt. (1933). Crowded Hours Reminiscences of Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Charles Scribners Sons. Longworth, Alice Roosevelt. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved September 6, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online http//www. britannica. com/eb/article-9048900 Skow, J. (1988). Swordplay Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Time Magazine. Electronic copy. Retrieved September 6, 2007. www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967243,00. html