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Review
| Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt Through Depression and War, by Cathy D. Knepper, ed. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2004. 378 pp. $26.00, cloth.
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| During her years in the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt received thousands of letters from ordinary Americans, some of which addressed her as: "Mother of the Nation," "Lady Roosefelt" (sic), "Worthy Mrs. Roosevelt," "Your Highness," and "Mrs. President Roosevelt." These titles convey the extent of Eleanor Roosevelt's stature and influence while she served as first lady from 1933 to 1945. This book contains a selection of extraordinary letters of hope, despair, gratitude, disillusionment and anger which reflect the emotional and intellectual response of Americans struggling first with an economic depression and then a global war. Like a number of other recently edited volumes of letters from this era, such as Robert Cohen's book of letters to Eleanor Roosevelt from children, Knepper's book illuminates the nexus of social and political history. As suggested by the titles given her, the letters also could lead to a fruitful discussion of images of Eleanor Roosevelt. Over and over, she is imagined as a mother of the country, although she is also conceived of as royalty, an aristocrat, and even a female president. Another striking recurring theme in the letters is the plight of the elderly. In many instances, letter writers reveal how after long years of toil some unexpected event has plunged the writer into poverty. Clearly evident is the catastrophe brought on by illness, for instance. Consequently, the letters afford an opportunity to discuss the origins of social security which Roosevelt refers to as a "right" (p. 84). |
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Rather than annotate each letter, Knepper chooses to group them into four parts: The Great Depression; The New Deal; The War Years; and The Homefront. Each part is prefaced by a short descriptive essay, providing some historical background for the period and topic under consideration, but little historiographical analysis. Knepper's introduction similarly outlines some of the themes evident in the letters and discusses the procedures by which Roosevelt read and responded to these letters. In contrast to some edited volumes of letters, Knepper at times includes Roosevelt's response (or that of her secretary, Melvina Thompson), as well as notes that Roosevelt wrote to government officials concerning specific letters. Indeed, some of the most fascinating letters are the ones in which we can trace a story through the subsequent action on the letter. In one set of letters, for instance, we follow Roosevelt's efforts to help the family of a soldier missing in action in the Philippines. On occasion, Knepper researches the letter writers or their subjects and then shares the information she discovered at the end of a letter or series of letters, as she does with a letter concerning the fate of a Jewish couple in Europe. |
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Although many of the responses to letters, especially those asking for financial assistance or donations, are formulaic, seeing the return mail gives readers some sense of how Roosevelt sought to deal with the mail she received. Patterns emerge in her replies, but even more telling perhaps are the letters in which she takes a more personal interest. For instance, she intervened in a military disciplinary case, asking for more information on a soldier who appeared to receive an extremely harsh punishment for his transgression. It is perhaps this occasional personal intervention that encouraged so many others to seek her assistance. Knepper's volume reminds us of a period in which the federal government, through Eleanor Roosevelt, connected to people in a very personal way. Teachers from high school through college may use samples of these primary sources to explore a number of themes. Many of the letters reinforce recent scholarly interpretations on the New Deal, but they also offer historians and teachers opportunities to tease out new understandings of the era. A significant number of writers, for example, feel that they deserve some governmental assistance, given their contributions to the country's economic, social and cultural development. This new sense of rights has been explored by Lizabeth Cohen, among other historians. |
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| Roosevelt University |
Margaret Rung |
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