The Roosevelt I Knew [B1084]

1947 HC 4th printing of the original edition, worn cover, missing dust jacket, nice clean text pages. A vivid and intimate portrait of the New Deal president by the first woman ever appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. When Frances Perkins (sometimes referred to as 'the woman behind the New Deal') first met Franklin D. Roosevelt at a dance in 1910, she was a young social worker and he was an attractive young man making a modest debut in state politics. Over the next thirty-five years, she watched his career unfold, becoming both a close family friend and a trusted political associate. Her tenure as secretary of labor spanned Roosevelt's entire 12-year administration. FDR and his presidential policies continue to be widely discussed in the classroom and in the media, and The Roosevelt I Knew offers a unique window onto the man whose courage and pioneering reforms still resonate in the lives of Americans today.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This is a must-read for understanding FDR's New Deal society because most was the inspiration of Frances Perkins. I found Frances Perkins' autobiography humanized FDR and that she certainly had great respect for the man. She also had phenomenal organization skills -- was a master at implementing FDR's vision. The two of them -- FDR and Perkins -- complemented each other in their work ethic and also their personal concern for establishing all the programs they could in order to lift a nation out of the throes of the Depression. Both had deep empathy for the suffering of the common man and did their best to alleviate that suffering. I lived during these times, I saw the people who had no work, no food. I thank Frances Perkins for being there to ease my family's life, too, and for instituting those programs that got us through those awful years."; "The book offers a unique perspective of the private and public life and times of our 32nd President of the United States, as seen by a friend, political ally and a member of his cabinet. It has given me a greater understanding of the President before he became our President and continuing through out his 12 years in office. The book was a revelation to me. It showed a man who could be petty and vindictive one moment and rise to greatness the next. His description of those who were opposing him and his policy's was spot on and is still true today. In his own words: "We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace-business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me-and I welcome their hatred."