1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: Hey, Happy Saturday, everybody. In our recent episode on Francis 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: Benjamin Johnston, we mentioned that she was previous podcast subject 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Alice Roosevelt's wedding photographer in nineteen o six, and that 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: prior episode came out in May oft so we thought 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: that there might be some folks in the audience who 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: have not heard it yet. And Alice is a fascinating 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: creature and you'll get a kick out of her. Yep, 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: So we are sharing that episode again today. Enjoy Welcome 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome to 11 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Holly Frod and I'm Tracy B. Wilson, 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,959 Speaker 1: and today's show is going to feature a topic that's 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: been requested by quite a few listeners. Most recently it 14 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: was requested by listener Rachel, and not too far back, 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: it was requested by listener Lindsay And to kind of 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: set it up, so, being the child of a president 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: means that you are kind of constantly in the spotlight, 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: even if you don't want to be. You're scrutinized by 19 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: the press and judged by the public, and some kids 20 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: kind of struggle to keep their noses clean. But the 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: focus of today's episode did not bother with that. She's 22 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: kind of a wild child from the moment she stepped 23 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: into the White House in nineteen o one. Alice Roosevelt, 24 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: who's who we're going to be talking about, could have 25 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: given any modern famous kid, whether they're a presidential kid 26 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: or just a child star, a run for their money 27 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: in the wild behavior department, and she was completely unapologetic 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: about it for her entire life. Uh For example, she 29 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: kept an embroidered pillow in her home with one of 30 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: Tracy's favorite sayings embroidered on it, which is attributed to 31 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: her having said it, which is, if you can't say 32 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: something good about someone, sit right here next to me. 33 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: I actually did not know that that could be attributed 34 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: to her. I have always attributed it to Steele Magnolia's 35 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: It has often been, at least in the two biographies. 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: I looked at it in several other pieces. It is. 37 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: And one of the things with Alice is that a 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: lot of what you're getting is stories that were retold 39 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: by family members and friends. So it's possible that she 40 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: didn't say it initially, but she certainly everyone credits her 41 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 1: with that one. She was nicknamed the Second Washington Monument 42 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: because she managed to amass quite a bit of social 43 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: power in the US capital, and she parlayed that into 44 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: some political influence. And how much so is still a 45 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: bit of debate how much influence she really had politically, 46 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: but she certainly was very close to power for her 47 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: entire life. Uh, And so we will talk about that 48 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: life and how she maybe used that power. Alice was 49 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: born to Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt on 50 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: February twelfth, four and most people know sort of about 51 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: the tragedy that happened in this family. Uh. Just two 52 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: days later, on February, Alice's father, Theodore Roosevelt, ran home 53 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: from his work as an assemblyman in the New York 54 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: State Legislature UH to their house at fifty seven Street 55 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: because grave news had come. His mother, Martha Bullock Roosevelt, 56 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: who was known as Middy, had died of typhoid fever. 57 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: On top of that tragedy, only a few hours later, 58 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: Roosevelt's wife, Alice, also died of Bright's disease. This is 59 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: a kidney condition that's characterized by high concentrations of protein 60 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: in the urine. She'd been living with Bright's disease for 61 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: quite some time, but her pregnancy had complicated the condition 62 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:39,119 Speaker 1: and weakened her overall level of health. Uh. And as 63 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: you can imagine that double loss, to lose a parent 64 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: and your spouse within about four hours really devastated Roosevelt, 65 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: who was only twenty five at the time, and he 66 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: wanted quite plainly to escape all reminders of this loss. 67 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: He even went so far as to forbid the mention 68 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: of his wife, Alice's name, and his grief continued to 69 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: burden him um and by the end of eighteen eighty four, 70 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,119 Speaker 1: he had decided to kind of pare down his involvement 71 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: in politics politics and to go west for a while. 72 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: So he moved out to the Dakota territories, and he 73 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: had spent time there before. Uh. We can talk about 74 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: that if we do a Teddy Roosevelt episode. And he 75 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: established Elkhorn Ranch there for a life that he wanted 76 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: to kind of live in isolation of ranching. He also 77 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: worked as a sheriff, and he did not take the 78 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: infant Alice with him, who was usually called baby Lee, 79 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: presumably because the name Alice, which was her given name, 80 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: caused Roosevelt so much pain, so he left Baby Lee 81 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: in New York. She stayed with Roosevelt's sister Anna, who 82 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: was called Baby and eventually Alice called her Anti By. 83 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,840 Speaker 1: He wasn't totally absent as a father, though, there were 84 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: several times during the next two years where his work 85 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,279 Speaker 1: brought him back East and he would spend time with 86 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: the baby during these trips, but Baby was her primary 87 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: parent during this period of Baby Lee's life. Uh In 88 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: June of eighteen eighty six, Alice's father was ready to 89 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: resume life in New York. The home that he had 90 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: contracted to be built just after his wife's death was completed, 91 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,799 Speaker 1: and he resumed his role as Alice's father full time 92 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,559 Speaker 1: as they moved into their Oyster Bay, Long Island house. 93 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: In December of eighteen eighty six, Theodore Roosevelt remarried, and 94 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: his new bride was Edith Carroll, who had been his 95 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: childhood's sweetheart. Edith and Teddy would have five children together. 96 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: Roosevelt ran for vice president on the ticket with William 97 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: McKinley in e The pair was reelected for a second term, 98 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: but then on September six of nineteen o one, McKinley 99 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: was shot by anarchist Leon Leon chol Gosh at the 100 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, and eight days 101 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: later the president died from his wounds, and Roosevelt, having 102 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: been vice president, became president. When the Roosevelt's moved into 103 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: the White House in Alice was seventeen, and she pretty 104 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: much immediately became a celebrity. She was known for her 105 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: wild antics and rebellious behavior. She was a party girl 106 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: to arrival any celebrity today, and she had started to 107 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: appear in gossip magazines back when she was sixteen. She 108 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: basically stayed there for her father's entire time in office. Yeah, 109 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: one biographer made a comment that all Edith and Teddy 110 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: needed to do to know what Alice had been up 111 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: to the night before was to open the morning paper, 112 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: because her antics were such a great drawers of readers 113 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: that papers would put them on the front page, even 114 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: sometimes pushing out much bigger and more important news. Alice smoked, 115 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: which you know, for a young lady, not not so delightful, 116 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: And when her father forbid her to do so under 117 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: his roof, she just moved that habit outside and so 118 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: she would start sitting on the White House roof to 119 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: enjoy cigarettes. She also played poker, and she bent on 120 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: her says. She was sort of famously photographed placing a 121 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: bed At one point. She would ride in cars with 122 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: men without chaperones. H she wore pants on occasion, which 123 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: of course was very Unladylake at that time, and she 124 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: would raise her own car through the streets of Washington. 125 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: She would also barge in on meetings at the White House, 126 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: seemingly with causing trouble. As the only reason for having 127 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: done that. She claimed to be a pagan to fly 128 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: in the face of her very religious stepmother. She called 129 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: Christianity voodoo to kind of rile her up. She had 130 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: a pet snake named Emily Spinach that she carried around 131 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,679 Speaker 1: the house with her and even some parties. There are 132 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: some accounts that say it was a Boa constrictor, but 133 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: others say it was a garter snake. I can hardly 134 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: imagine two less similar snakes. Yeah, the snake story is 135 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: one that um it gets told again because there are 136 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: often biographers used firsthand accounts from friends and relatives. Anybody 137 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: knows that, like even in your social group, there are 138 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: stories that have grown out of you know, their original proportions, 139 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: and so we really don't have a sense of the 140 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: snake situation and what the realities were of it. Some 141 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: will say she showed up at one party with a 142 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: huge boa constrictor on her neck. Others say she carried 143 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: this snake in her pocket all the time. And when 144 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: I was relaying this to some friends last night, while 145 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: we were talking about it, they thought, like the way 146 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: a child will pick up a weird animal and put 147 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: it in their pocket, and like, no, no, she was 148 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: like eighteen and nineteen at this point. She was just 149 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: carting around a snake for entertainment. Um. The press dubbed 150 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: her Princess Alice. So her favorite color, for example, was 151 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: a grayish blue, and that became very very trendy. It 152 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: was called Alice blue. She basically, you know, was a 153 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: celebrity icon at this point, and her father, the President, 154 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: is often quoted as saying, I can either run the 155 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot 156 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: possibly do both. A friend of the family once said 157 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: that she was quote like a young wild animal that 158 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: had been put into good clothes. Uh and in n five, 159 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: so several years into their time at the White House. 160 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: She served as a good will ambassador, traveling to Asia 161 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: with a group of congressmen. And this was the first 162 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: time a first daughter had taken on such a duty. 163 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: And this trip, which was dubbed the Imperial Cruise. Uh, 164 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: it's entirely likely that President Roosevelt really looked at this 165 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: mission as a way to keep his troublesome eldest daughter 166 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: out of his hair for a little while. I feel 167 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: like that's a sitcom waiting to happen. Uh. And we're 168 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: going to get into the deal details of that trip 169 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: because some wacky things happened there. But before we do, 170 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: do you want to pause for a word from a sponsor. 171 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: Let's do that. So on this goodwill tour, Alice traveled 172 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: with a large group. There was Secretary of War William 173 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: Howard Taft, twenty three congressmen, and seven senators. Alice made 174 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: headlines everywhere she went, in part because of her wild behavior, 175 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: which continued on the road. She set off firecrackers on 176 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: the train on the first leg of the trip from 177 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: Washington to San Francisco. She fired her pistol from the 178 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: train as well, aiming as telegraph poles as they passed them. Yeah. 179 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: I read one account that suggested that she kind of 180 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: wrote it off, as well as the fourth of July, 181 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: this is how I'm celebrating when the light firecrackers inside 182 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: a train. I just it seems foolish, Alice, don't do it, uh, 183 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: And as well as the welcoming gaze of the press, 184 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: because they really did just follow her everywhere. She also 185 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: caught the eye of Representative Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati. Taft 186 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: was apparently beside himself trying to serve as a chaperone 187 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: and keep Alice in this representative apart, because this man 188 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: was fifteen years her senior, But eventually Taft just gave 189 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: up and was like, I can't control this situation. The 190 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: following year, Alice actually married Longworth, who was a notoriously 191 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: womanizing drinker, and their ceremony was very lavish. It was 192 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 1: at the White House, and it was front page news. 193 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: This wedding took place on February seventeenth, nineteen o six, 194 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: and for Alice it represented a break for freedom. She 195 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: no longer had to live with her stepmother, and according 196 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: to the account of biographer Stacy Cordry, when Edith said 197 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: farewell to Alice, after the wedding, her parting words were, 198 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: I want you to know I'm glad to see you leave. 199 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: You have never been anything but trouble. So after a 200 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: honeymoon in Cuba, Alice and Nicholas settled into married life together. 201 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: And while it was not exactly the conventional romantic dream marriage, 202 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: it sort of worked for the two of them. Um, 203 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: they weren't really in love so much as they were 204 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: comfortable with one another. Presumably they were drawn together because 205 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:55,679 Speaker 1: they were both sort of these big, extreme partying personalities. Uh, 206 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: and they both remained the people that they were before 207 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: they said their vows. So there was some headbutting, there 208 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: were some wild times, and there was some infidelity on 209 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: both sides of that equation. When her father's time in 210 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 1: the White House ended in nineteen o nine, Alice allegedly 211 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: buried a voodoo doll of the new First Lady, Nellie 212 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: Taft in a lawn before the new president moved in. 213 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: For that, and also for her very public criticism of 214 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: the Tafts, Alice was banned from the White House where 215 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: their tenure there. Yes, yeah, there were several times she's 216 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: not welcome in the White House. Um. A few years later, 217 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: the long Worth marriage would really be tested when Teddy 218 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: Roosevelt went toe to toe with Taft in a political battle. 219 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:44,120 Speaker 1: The bigger issue for Alice than Nicholas's extramarital dalliances was 220 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: that her husband supported William Taft in the nineteen twelve 221 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 1: campaign against her father's newly formed progressive Bull Moose Party. 222 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: She had actually advised her father against this move, but 223 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,439 Speaker 1: she remained stalwartly loyal to him even when he disregarded 224 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,679 Speaker 1: her advice, and she also opted to appear in her 225 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: husband's home district of Cincinnati with Hiram Johnson, her father's 226 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: vice presidential running mate, instead of with her husband on 227 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: his campaign, and Longworth lost that election, which Alice sometimes 228 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: took credit for uh, even though he did end up 229 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: getting reelected a couple years later. But Alison Nicholas did 230 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: manage to survive the upheaval their marriage did through. Through 231 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: that sort of disastrous and very rocky nineteen twelve election cycle, 232 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: their marriage remained intact, although politically it was pretty distant 233 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: at that point. They weren't sort of of the same 234 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: mind in any way. To add insult to injury, the 235 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve presidential election went to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, due 236 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: in part to this split in the loyalties of the 237 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: Republican Party between Taft and Roosevelt. So just as Alice 238 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 1: had been vocally critical of Taft, she also vocally criticized Wilson, 239 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: and in some ways even more so. She was once 240 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: again banned from the White House after publicly making core 241 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: comments about the President. Not so long after this, uh, 242 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: Teddy Roosevelt died in his sleep. It was in January, 243 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: on January six of nineteen nineteen, and he was sixty 244 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: at this point, and he had a coronary embolism. And 245 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: at that point, Wilson had already proposed the League of 246 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: Nations in his nineteen eighteen speech before Congress as part 247 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: of his fourteen Points plan. Roosevelt had hated that, and 248 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: in turn, so did Alice because she pretty much always 249 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: followed her father's political leanings, and she rallied very hard 250 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: against the US becoming a member of the League of 251 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: Nations after her father died, and that the League did 252 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: formally form in Geneva, Switzerland in ninety So Teddy's eldest 253 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: daughter basically used every single scrap of influence she had 254 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: to sway politicians in Washington, d c. Against the idea 255 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: of joining the League, and whether it was her efforts 256 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 1: or not, the US never became a member. During the 257 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, Alice started an affair with the chair of 258 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that was Senator William Bora 259 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: of Idaho. The two of them bonded over their shared 260 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: admiration of her late father and their love of literature. 261 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: She and the Senator with some letters to one another, 262 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: and they were deeply in love. As their affair became 263 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: less and less of a secret, Alice was dubbed Aurora 264 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: Bora Alice by the press and gossip circles, and in 265 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: Alice's husband, Nicholas Longworth, became Speaker of the House, and 266 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: that same year they also welcomed their one and only child, Paulina, 267 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: into the world, and Longworth was completely excited about this 268 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: baby and doated on her, even though the odds are 269 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: that the infant was in fact fathered by Alice's paramour Bora, 270 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: and that Nicholas actually knew that um. In a bittersweet 271 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: sort of coincidence, Paulina was born on February, which of 272 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: course is Valentine's day, but was also the same day 273 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: that Alice's mother and grandmother had died many years Also 274 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: in nine, Alice and Nicholas moved into their home at 275 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: two thousand nine Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, which is just west 276 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: of DuPont Circle. Alice would live there for the rest 277 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: of her life, and the house, which was built in 278 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: eighty one, would serve as a home base for the 279 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: First Daughter's many famed social events that she would host 280 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: for the next six decades. Uh In one Alice's husband, 281 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: Nicholas Longworth, died, and unfortunately, he didn't really leave much 282 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: behind in terms of finances for his widow. His family 283 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: money was almost entirely gone, and while her lover, William Bara, 284 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: lived another nine years, it doesn't appear that he really 285 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: helped his mistress out financially. Two years after her husband's death, 286 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: Alice published her memoirs Crowded Hours in an effort to 287 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: make some money. And this was also the year that 288 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office. So just in case you 289 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: don't know the scoop, some people think that he was 290 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 1: much closer, much more closely relate did to Teddy Roosevelt 291 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: than he actually was Theodore Roosevelt and FDR only distant related. 292 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: They were fourth cousins once removed. I've also seen them 293 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: listed as fifth cousin, so h your command of genealogy 294 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: and how that works may affect your perception of that UM. 295 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: FDR's wife, Eleanor, however, was actually much more closely related 296 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: to the former president because Theodore Roosevelt had been her uncle. 297 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: Alice was really pretty cutting when it came to Franklin 298 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: and Eleanor. She once described Franklin Delanor Roosevelt as one 299 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: third SAP and two thirds Eleanor. Alice apparently would do 300 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,639 Speaker 1: unflattering imitations of Eleanor at tea parties. I think we 301 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: recently got a request for us to do in a 302 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 1: whole episode about the Eleanor Alice spewed. We did, and 303 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: it's uh. I debated over it as we were prepping this, 304 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: and really at the end of the day that just 305 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: boils down to um a lot of descriptions of kind 306 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: of petty arguments. So that isn't the best for a 307 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,439 Speaker 1: whole episode, but there were a lot of arguments and 308 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: a lot of nitpicking. It was one of those things 309 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: where like they would gossip to friends about one another 310 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: and kind of circulate really insulting things. Uh. You know, 311 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: it was a pretty catty situation. Uh. In Alice and 312 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: her half brother collaborated as editors on a book of poetry, 313 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: and that same year she put the house on Massachusetts 314 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: Avenue on the market, although it never sold. Her social 315 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: engagements became the invite in Washington, and Alice was pretty 316 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: open about her opinions, both political and social, and she 317 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: kind of used all of her social events as as 318 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: opportunities to broadcast these opinions to really the elite of Washington. 319 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 1: She also licensed her image for use in advertisements for 320 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,640 Speaker 1: products like cigarettes and cold cream, and she did all 321 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: of this to try to support herself and Paulina. As 322 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: we are sort of nearing the end of Alice's life, 323 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 1: let's first pause for a word from one of our sponsors. 324 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: So Alice did continue to make political friends throughout her 325 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,679 Speaker 1: entire life. That really was sort of her circle. So 326 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,399 Speaker 1: she always knew, uh, kind of many people in power, 327 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 1: and she eventually became close friends with Richard Nixon when 328 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: he was serving as vice president and then when Nixon 329 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: became president, he would often invite Alice who usually went 330 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: by Mrs L to the White House. He even hosted 331 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: her eighty seventh birthday party there. So even though she 332 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,879 Speaker 1: had been banned for a couple of different presidencies, she 333 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: was allowed back in eventually, but her close friendship with 334 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: Nixon did not survive. The Watergate scandal, Alice sort of 335 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 1: distanced herself from Nixon, and when asked about it, she 336 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: would claim that the whole thing, meaning that whole scandal, 337 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,879 Speaker 1: had become quote boring. She also became close with the 338 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 1: Kennedy family despite their demo cratic affiliation, and in spite 339 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: of her lifeline position as a Republican, Alice supported the 340 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 1: Democratic Party in nineteen sixty four. In nineteen sixty eight. 341 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: I wonder how much of that had to do with 342 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: like the shifting ideologies of the parties at that point. Uh, 343 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: not an insignificant amount. Uh. You know, she was not 344 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 1: a woman who sort of just blindly went down party line. 345 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: She really was pretty thoughtful about her positions. She would 346 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: get sort of so adamant and passionate about them that 347 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,159 Speaker 1: you might think that she had lost sight of the 348 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: forest for the trees in some cases, But I think 349 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: she really did, you know, welcome the ideas of other people. 350 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: She liked to have political discourse, so I'm sure when 351 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: someone made a case for a situation that she thought 352 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:52,680 Speaker 1: was certainly sensible and made sense to her, she didn't 353 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: necessarily see it as changing sides so much as no, 354 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: I'm still going on with my convictions. They just happened 355 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: to align with these people at the moment. Uh. Another 356 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: tragedy struck in ninety seven when Alice's daughter Paulina died 357 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: from a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol UH sometimes 358 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: referred to as a purposeful overdose, sometimes couched in slightly 359 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: more nebulous terms, but Pullina did leave behind a daughter, 360 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: Joanna Storm, and Alice actually raised her granddaughter after Pullina's death. 361 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: As the years were on, that house outside of the 362 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: DuPont's circle grew shabby and cluttered, but it really didn't 363 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: seem to concern the aging first daughter so much. She 364 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,479 Speaker 1: let the yard grow over and the house filled up 365 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: with papers. She started spending the majority of her time 366 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: on the third floor with her books and a well 367 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: stocked refrigerator for snacks during reading breaks. And it does 368 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: sound a little like gray gardens, but she did not 369 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 1: go completely broke. Yeah, and she still had servants. She 370 00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: had made a rule that the servants weren't allowed to 371 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: stay at the house because she didn't like being awakened early. 372 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: One story goes that the servants would arrive at eleven 373 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,199 Speaker 1: and she would usually tell them to go away, and 374 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:08,879 Speaker 1: she would go back to sleep until one o'clock in 375 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: the afternoon. Um but yeah, she wasn't like isolated without people. 376 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: Um but Mrs l did start to lose her mental 377 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: edge eventually, but her granddaughter Joanna visited frequently. They stayed close, 378 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: and Joanna also sort of started this effort to make 379 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: sure that Alice's friends were stopping by and that Alice 380 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: wasn't like a lonely old lady in a crumbling house. 381 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: She really wanted her to stay social. Alice died in 382 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:37,959 Speaker 1: a week after her birthday at the age of nineties six, 383 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: in accordance with her wishes. She had a very quiet burial, 384 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: and she had outlived all of her half siblings from 385 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: her father's second marriage. Yeah, it's kind of one of 386 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: those interesting things. You usually expect the wild party child 387 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 1: to burn out much earlier than the rest of the family, 388 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: but she just kept on going. And she was a 389 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: spitfire the whole time. Um. In her memoirs, Alice, who 390 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: very obviously to everyone loved and admired her father, was 391 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: pretty open though that she struggled with some resentment with him, 392 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: particularly about his move west after her mother died. She 393 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: really felt that he had kind of abandoned her as 394 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: an infant, and she also admitted that she had been 395 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: really jealous and angry at having to vie for his 396 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: attention to compete with his second wife once he did 397 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: come back to New York and then their five children, Like, 398 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: she just felt like she never got to have her 399 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: father to herself. She wrote in her diary while she 400 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: lived at the White House, quote, father doesn't care for me, 401 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,479 Speaker 1: that is to say, one eighth as much as he 402 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,120 Speaker 1: does for the other children. I pray for a fortune. 403 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: I care for nothing except to amuse myself in a 404 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: charmingly expensive way. Yeah. It sort of reads like such 405 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: a classic psychological study of like a child that acts 406 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: out for attention. Um and sort of, you know, her 407 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: feelings of being ignored and unwanted kind of lead to 408 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 1: that behavior that really informed her entire life. Uh. But 409 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: one of the things that I really love about Alice 410 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 1: is that she is as quotable as can be. What 411 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: really made her standouts throughout all of her years were 412 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,399 Speaker 1: her amazing quips, some of which were very catty and 413 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: some of which were just sort of wonderfully witty. So 414 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: I thought to close out we would cover a few favorites. Uh, 415 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: do you want to tell the first one? Yeah, So 416 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: Joe McCarthy tried to call her by her first name, 417 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: and she said, no, Senator McCarthy, you are not going 418 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: to call me Alice. The truckman, the trashman, and the 419 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,399 Speaker 1: policeman on the black may call me Alice, but you 420 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 1: may not. I sort of love that. Uh. The one 421 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: that I really love her quote is that she once said, 422 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: my specialty is detached malevolence her life so much. Her 423 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 1: life philosophy was bill what's empty, empty, what's full? And 424 00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: scratch where it itches. It seems like very sensible at Yeah, 425 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: we um. She reminds me a bit of of Edna 426 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,760 Speaker 1: st Vincent Malaya. And and we actually got a letter 427 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,639 Speaker 1: after our episode on Edna say Vincent Malay from somebody 428 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: who was kind of chagrined that we had talked about 429 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: her shenanigans. In a gleeful way, whereas if if she 430 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 1: had been a man, we would not have talked about 431 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 1: it in a gleeful way. And like there was a 432 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: whole aspect of it had to do with her being 433 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: expelled from school and allowed back in because she was 434 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: a celebrity, which is not totally germane to this episode. 435 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: But I think part of that is that, uh, when 436 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: when Alice was behaving this way, she was challenging the 437 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: status quo, and men doing similar things were maintaining the 438 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: status quo. So that is why when women quote misbehave 439 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: sometimes we sound quite gleeful about it. But I love 440 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: anybody that's a spitfire. Um, But I can totally see 441 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: as well how she was just a pain in the neck, 442 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: like I can't. Can you imagine if a modern president, 443 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: like if we heard a story of like President Bush's 444 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: twins when he was in office or President Obama's girls 445 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: just jamming themselves into meetings, like we would never hear 446 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: the end of it in the press, and how horrifying 447 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: it was. But Alice did this stuff and somehow people 448 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: just loved her so much that they thought it was hilarious. 449 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,959 Speaker 1: It's like, oh, she interrupted, another important meeting in the 450 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,199 Speaker 1: White House, like who would do that? Well? Making her 451 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: a good Will ambassador is one of those things where 452 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: I'm like, what where are you thinking? That really sounds 453 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: like she's just gonna pants the ambassador from China and 454 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: then runaway giggling, and that would just be horrible for introductions. Yeah, 455 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 1: so in that regard it might be good. Am I 456 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 1: do this with a question mark. I'm not actually saying 457 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 1: this is a good thing, but her having taken up 458 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,399 Speaker 1: with long Worth, with this man who was much older, 459 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 1: and kind of having that little adventure on that trip 460 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: may have saved some embarrassment. Yeah she was occupied and 461 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: could not pant somebody, But yeah she I could see 462 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: where she would be a lot to deal with. And 463 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: it is interesting. One of the articles that I read 464 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: for this was actually written by a biographer of hers, 465 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: but it was contextualizing it, uh in sort of looking 466 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 1: at modern president's children and how there is to some 467 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: degree this this unspoken rule of like you leave the 468 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: kids out of it and you don't really focus on them. Uh. 469 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 1: But that like remember when President Obama's children, I don't 470 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: remember which of the girls it was like rolled her 471 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: eyes at some event and people were all in a 472 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: twitter about it, and she's like, are you kidding me? 473 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 1: Do you know what Alice Roosevelt did? Just like if 474 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: a thirteen year old girl rolls her eyes like you 475 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: consider yourself lucky on that one because it could be 476 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: like it was in the early nineteen hundreds, which is 477 00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:05,240 Speaker 1: just sort of a funny way to couch it. Thank 478 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,640 Speaker 1: you so much for joining us on this Saturday. If 479 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,520 Speaker 1: you have heard an email address or of Facebook you 480 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: are l or something similar over the course of today's episode, 481 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: since it is from the archive that might be out 482 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: of date now, you can email us at history podcast 483 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: at how stuff Works dot com, and you can find 484 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 1: us all over social media at missed in History and 485 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, 486 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen 487 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:37,359 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff You Missed in History Class is a 488 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. 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