However Franklin found a home at the school newspaper the Harvard Crimson As a first-year reporter he gained a big scoop when his cousin Theodore visited campus Theodore Roosevelt was running for vice president under William McKinley Franklin used his cousin’s visit as an opportunity to ask Harvard’s president Charles Eliot which presidential candidate he supported Though Eliot had previously kept his opinion a secret Franklin managed to get an answer from him The next day the Crimson ran Franklin’s headline President Eliot declares for McKinley On September 4 1901 President McKinley was shot He died eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt became president During Teddy’s term Franklin attended a ball at the White House From start to finish it was glorious he told his mother Franklin front center poses with classmates from the Harvard Crimson in 1904 Franklin reported on campus news and events during his time at college 12
The Roosevelt Family The Roosevelts were wealthy and powerful Their roots in the United States date back to the 1640s when Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt emigrated from the Netherlands to Manhattan then called New Amsterdam Claes’s son changed his last name to Roosevelt This Roosevelt became an alderman an elected city official beginning the family tradition of political service One of Claes’s grandsons settled in Oyster Bay New York Another settled in Hyde Park New York US president Theodore Roosevelt and his niece Eleanor were members of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelts Franklin was descended from the Hyde Park Roosevelts Both Theodore Roosevelt left and his niece Eleanor right were members of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelt family These photos capture Theodore at the time he became president in 1901 and Eleanor as a young woman in 1898 13
Romance and Marriage Born in 1884 Eleanor Roosevelt was two years younger than Franklin her fifth cousin once removed and had known him when they were children They became closer after she made her debut or official presentation into society in 1902 The round of formal parties and gatherings was a painful social ordeal for the shy young woman but Franklin’s attentions eased her way Franklin was captivated by the tall lean young woman with intelligent blue eyes A romance developed between them After graduating from Harvard Franklin entered law school at Columbia University in New York City Franklin and Eleanor were married on March 17 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt walked Franklin speaks with Eleanor on the porch of his family’s summer home on Campobello Island in August 1904 14
his niece down the aisle and made quips about keeping the name in the family The couple moved into a house in New York City that Franklin’s mother had bought and furnished for them By then Eleanor was pregnant with the couple’s first child Anna who was born in 1906 A second child James followed in 1907 Sara set up the growing family in a larger house next to hers with a connecting door between them The couple eventually had six children though one baby died of the flu when he was six months old Political Beginnings Meanwhile Roosevelt had left Columbia without earning his degree and had passed the bar exam qualifying him to practice law He found a clerk’s position with a prestigious New York City law firm but the work did not suit him He told fellow law clerks that he intended to run for political office at the first opportunity His goal was to become president of the United States and he mapped out a plan to reach that goal In many respects he would follow his cousin Teddy’s path with one main difference Teddy was a Republican Franklin like his father was a Democrat In 1910 Roosevelt ran for the New York State Senate At a time when candidates still made their rounds by train or in a horse and buggy Roosevelt hired a big red open-topped car and sped from town to town campaigning He was only twenty-eight and inexperienced but voters responded to his sincerity and charm And as a Roosevelt he had name recognition Franklin was elected by a large margin Seasoned senators didn’t think much of him at first They called him an arrogant snob Roosevelt made speeches about honest government though he didn’t do much to address social issues such as child labor and substandard housing 15
