A Historical Sass
Well my dearies I am popping in from my self induced hibernation with my laptop and MS of The Eternal Witch to post today guest blog post. Meg Mims is one of my fave online friends and an APsista.(We are both Astraea Press authors.) And to say Meg knows me would be an understatement because this post just made my day. So without further ado I give you a woman of the past with sass.
SASSY WOMEN BLOG POST
Alice Lee Roosevelt, the only daughter bornto President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt and his first wife Alice (who died twodays after birth), was considered "bohemian" in her day and era. Since her father refused to speak his firstwife's name after her death, Alice was called "Lee" and primarily raised by herfather's sister. Young Alice clashed with her stepmother, who actually forcedher into leg braces and shoes to treat a slight case of polio – which savedAlice from being crippled for life. But tension between stepmother anddaughter, plus inattention from her father served to make Alice independent andrebellious. She refused to attend a conservative school for girls while TeddyRoosevelt served as New York's governor. She promised an act of "shame andhumiliation" if forced to go – and he took her seriously. Alice remained freeto do as she wished.
Not only did people take notice of Alice'sdoings, they also looked to her for fashion – much like Jackie O, PrincessDiana, Kate and Pippa Middleton, or celebrity actresses of today. Alice LeeRoosevelt was a great beauty like her mother, and yet not at all demure likeyoung ladies of the early 1900s. During her father's term, Alice and thenSecretary of War William Howard Taft led a diplomatic "Imperial Cruise" visitin 1905 to Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines and Hawaii. Accompanying themwere 23 U.S. Congressmen, seven Senators and other officials. Alice entertainedthe press and made headlines everywhere by attending sumo wrestling and beingphotographed with the Japanese emperor and the Empress Dowager of China.
The press dubbed her "Alice in PlunderLand" for the quantity of silk she brought home, along with a gorgeous strandof pearls donated by the Cuban government (which she wore until the end of herlife.) Alice even jumped into the cruise ship's pool (fully clothed) andconvinced a Congressman to join her. She considered her whim as akin toswimming in the bathing attire of the day, and not at all scandalous. But her1906 White House marriage to Nicholas Longworth, a Representative fromCincinnati, Ohio, who later became Speaker of the House, failed to settle herinto complacency.
Longworth, 14 years older than Alice, held different political viewsand loyalties. In fact, her 1912 campaign against her husband in his own district– in which he lost – permanently damaged their relationship. Longworth wasre-elected, however, and kept his seat for the rest of his life. But Alicecarried on many affairs and openly noted in her diary that another man fatheredher daughter Pauline, born in 1925. She once noted that Calvin Coolidge "looks as though he's been weaned on apickle." Alice, considered "the other Washington Monument," held famous partiesthrough her life. Her favorite saying: "If you can't say something good aboutsomeone, sit right here by me." A true Sassy Woman for the ages.
Double Crossing, August 2011
The Key to Love, February 2012 HOME TWITTER FACEBOOK
SASSY WOMEN BLOG POST
Alice Lee Roosevelt, the only daughter bornto President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt and his first wife Alice (who died twodays after birth), was considered "bohemian" in her day and era. Since her father refused to speak his firstwife's name after her death, Alice was called "Lee" and primarily raised by herfather's sister. Young Alice clashed with her stepmother, who actually forcedher into leg braces and shoes to treat a slight case of polio – which savedAlice from being crippled for life. But tension between stepmother anddaughter, plus inattention from her father served to make Alice independent andrebellious. She refused to attend a conservative school for girls while TeddyRoosevelt served as New York's governor. She promised an act of "shame andhumiliation" if forced to go – and he took her seriously. Alice remained freeto do as she wished.
Not only did people take notice of Alice'sdoings, they also looked to her for fashion – much like Jackie O, PrincessDiana, Kate and Pippa Middleton, or celebrity actresses of today. Alice LeeRoosevelt was a great beauty like her mother, and yet not at all demure likeyoung ladies of the early 1900s. During her father's term, Alice and thenSecretary of War William Howard Taft led a diplomatic "Imperial Cruise" visitin 1905 to Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines and Hawaii. Accompanying themwere 23 U.S. Congressmen, seven Senators and other officials. Alice entertainedthe press and made headlines everywhere by attending sumo wrestling and beingphotographed with the Japanese emperor and the Empress Dowager of China.
The press dubbed her "Alice in PlunderLand" for the quantity of silk she brought home, along with a gorgeous strandof pearls donated by the Cuban government (which she wore until the end of herlife.) Alice even jumped into the cruise ship's pool (fully clothed) andconvinced a Congressman to join her. She considered her whim as akin toswimming in the bathing attire of the day, and not at all scandalous. But her1906 White House marriage to Nicholas Longworth, a Representative fromCincinnati, Ohio, who later became Speaker of the House, failed to settle herinto complacency.
Longworth, 14 years older than Alice, held different political viewsand loyalties. In fact, her 1912 campaign against her husband in his own district– in which he lost – permanently damaged their relationship. Longworth wasre-elected, however, and kept his seat for the rest of his life. But Alicecarried on many affairs and openly noted in her diary that another man fatheredher daughter Pauline, born in 1925. She once noted that Calvin Coolidge "looks as though he's been weaned on apickle." Alice, considered "the other Washington Monument," held famous partiesthrough her life. Her favorite saying: "If you can't say something good aboutsomeone, sit right here by me." A true Sassy Woman for the ages.
Double Crossing, August 2011
The Key to Love, February 2012 HOME TWITTER FACEBOOK
No comments have been added yet.
