Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the child Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. Two days after she was born, her mother died of Bright's disease. Roosevelt was distraught, so much he decided to move to North Dakota for two years. He left Alice in New York City to be taken care of by his sister, Anna Cowles. Roosevelt remarried to Edith Kermit Karow, but Alice always felt that her father loved her “one-sixth as much as his other children.” Alice was always a bit of a rebel, one thing which the public loved her for later on. The Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt states “Alice smoked cigarettes in public, rode unchaperoned in cars with men, (and) partied late into the night.” According to this source she also participated in some voodoo, and liked making bets with bookies. A bookie was usually someone who took (illegal) bets for horse races, fights, and games. Apparently when the family moved out of the white house, Alice even hid a voodoo doll of the new first lady, Nellie Taft. This of course managed to get her banned from those quarters. She is quite famous for being sent on the “imperial cruise” to Japan. She went with Taft, her future husband, 22 congressmen, 7 senators, and diplomats. She was photographed the entire time, and plastered on practically every newspaper back in the United states. This won her the nickname of “Princess Alice” She did end up marrying Nicholas Longworth, but the marriage was not great and Alice had a well known affair with Senator William Borah. She had a daughter, Paulina Longworth with William. After leaving the white house, Alice continued to show up on news, and stated opinions, as well as favored presidential candidates such as John F. Kennedy.
Ever since the beginning of our nation's history, with first President George Washington, the president's family has played a relatively small role in our nation's history. We often hear about the first lady, but it is rare that the rest of the family receive much attention. Alice Roosevelt was the first real example of this throughout history, due to her controversial decision to behave in a manner that many at the time considered to be improper. We tend not to pay much attention to the first family, but for those willing to look into the history, much of what can be found is fairly interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting; I never knew that about her. It is fascinating to think that she came into the public eye because of her relatively rebellious and strange behavior. Even though she might not have acted in a way expected of a President's daughter, she is one of the only First Family members' names I've heard of from before this decade. This relationship is thought-provoking. How do celebrities and politicians today use this to their advantage?
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