CHARACTER
The First Ladiesby Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Quick Facts

  • Role: Governor of New York; later the 32nd President of the United States and political fulcrum of the novel’s conflicts
  • First appearance: Introduced early as a rising executive whose office and ambitions set the stakes for national policy
  • Key relationships: Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sara Delano Roosevelt, Steve Woodburn; relies on advisers like Louis Howe
  • Appearance & Disability: Handsome, with silvering hair at the temples (Chapter 8). Paralyzed from polio; uses a wheelchair and heavy leg braces, masking pain and strain from the public eye—“beads of sweat” gather on his upper lip when he stands (Chapter 12).

Who He Is

Franklin Delano Roosevelt embodies the paradox of power: a visionary who believes government can transform lives, and a consummate tactician who trims that vision to survive the political realities of his era. In the novel, he is both the gatekeeper and the gate—indispensable to progress and yet often the one slowing it. His public image of buoyant strength contrasts with private scenes of physical struggle, mirroring a moral struggle between his progressive leanings and the calculations required to keep a fragile coalition intact.

Personality & Traits

Roosevelt’s personality is defined by confidence and charm tempered by a wary instinct for political survival. He is genuinely moved by moral appeals yet filters those impulses through electoral math. The tension between empathy and expediency is the engine of his characterization.

  • Ambitious and pragmatic: He refuses to back the anti-lynching bill, framing it as a risk to the broader New Deal agenda (Chapter 32). The choice reveals a hierarchy of priorities: systemic reform first, even if justice is delayed.
  • Charming and charismatic: His warmth is palpable—when he meets Mary, his smile “feels like an embrace” (Chapter 36), a strategic charisma that wins trust even before policy follows.
  • Capable of betrayal: The affair with Lucy Mercer fractures his marriage and remakes it into a political partnership (Chapter 4), showing his capacity for personal deception alongside public resolve.
  • Complex and contradictory: He champions the “common man,” yet hesitates to extend protections to Black Americans at the pace advocates demand; he’s moved by Mary’s Hyde Park speech but slow to codify that feeling (Chapters 36, 38).
  • Dependent on others: He leans on Eleanor as his “eyes and ears,” and on advisers like Louis Howe and Steve Woodburn to manage optics and strategy—dependencies that also entangle him in their agendas (Chapter 12, and throughout).

Character Journey

Franklin’s arc traces a steady, reluctant movement on the theme of Civil Rights and Racial Injustice. Early on, he calls the issue a “veritable quagmire” (Chapter 32), signaling avoidance to protect the New Deal. Pressure from Eleanor and Mary shifts him from passive sympathy to incremental action: Mary’s Hyde Park address pierces his distance, leading to the creation of the Division of Negro Affairs (Chapter 38). Even as he resists sweeping legislation like the anti-lynching bill, the assault of a Black police officer by his own aide, Steve Woodburn, forces a moral confrontation (Chapter 55). From there, he moves toward public commitments—appointing Black officers, improving conditions for Black soldiers—and ultimately to landmark executive action with EO 8802 (Chapter 61). The arc never becomes a full moral conversion; instead, it’s the story of a leader learning how far he can be pushed—and how far he will let himself be pushed—by women who refuse to relent.

Key Relationships

Eleanor Roosevelt: After his infidelity, their marriage reconstitutes itself as a formidable political alliance. Eleanor’s moral clarity and grassroots connection expand his vantage point, but his caution often exasperates her as he trades speed for stability. Their partnership dramatizes the novel’s central argument: change happens when idealism and power learn to negotiate, not simply to agree.

Mary McLeod Bethune: Initially filtered through Eleanor’s introductions, Mary becomes a force Franklin cannot ignore. Her Hyde Park speech humanizes policy (Chapter 36), and his decision to create the Division of Negro Affairs (Chapter 38) shows evolving respect; later, he treats her as a vital broker of Black political power, bargaining over military reforms (Chapter 53).

Sara Delano Roosevelt: As the “beloved son,” he is susceptible to Sara’s firm, sometimes meddling authority. She can amplify Eleanor’s aims—as in the meeting with Walter White (Chapter 32)—but also reinscribe family tensions that complicate Franklin’s choices.

Steve Woodburn: The embodiment of the Southern Democratic constraint on FDR’s coalition. Franklin’s reliance on Steve’s political instincts underlines his fear of alienating the South; when Steve assaults a Black officer (Chapter 55), Franklin is forced to reckon with the moral cost of the alliance he’s maintained.

Defining Moments

Franklin’s turning points illuminate how private decisions and public calculations collide—and how moral suasion chips away at political caution.

  • The Lucy Mercer affair (Chapter 4): Shatters the romantic core of his marriage and recasts it as a high-functioning political partnership. This rupture empowers Eleanor’s independent activism, which in turn reshapes Franklin’s policy horizons.
  • Refusing to support the anti-lynching bill (Chapter 32): In a tense meeting with Walter White, Eleanor, and Sara, he prioritizes coalition over principle, a textbook display of Political Activism and Strategy. The refusal clarifies his red lines—and the limits advocates must work around.
  • Hyde Park NYA meeting (Chapters 36, 38): Mary’s speech pierces his defenses; his creation of the Division of Negro Affairs formalizes her influence. The moment shows how personal contact can translate into institutional change, even when legislation stalls.
  • Steve Woodburn’s assault (Chapter 55): The violence within his own circle exposes the moral hazard of placating the Southern wing. Franklin’s subsequent commitments to appoint Black officers and expand opportunities mark a public reckoning.
  • Signing Executive Order 8802 (Chapter 61): Under pressure from Mary, A. Philip Randolph, and Eleanor to avert a March on Washington, he bans discrimination in defense industries. It’s the quintessential FDR compromise—executive action that moves the needle without detonating his coalition.

Essential Quotes

“I wish I could help the ninety people who fall victim to the horrors of lynching every year, but I can’t risk the future of millions. There will have to be another way to stop lynching besides this blasted Costigan-Wagner Bill, because I will not be supporting it.”
— Franklin Roosevelt to Walter White, explaining his political calculation (Chapter 32)

This statement crystallizes his governing ethos: triage. He frames justice as a numbers game, privileging aggregate welfare over urgent redress. The language—“blasted”—also reveals irritation at being cornered morally, a discomfort he resolves through calculation rather than courage.

“Ah, Mrs. Bethune. I’ve heard so much about you from my wife that I feel I know you already.”
— Franklin Roosevelt upon formally meeting Mary McLeod Bethune (Chapter 36)

Charm precedes policy here. By invoking Eleanor’s admiration, he signals openness while retaining control of the interaction; the compliment is a bridge, not yet a commitment. It shows how he uses warmth as political currency to keep advocates close.

“Mrs. Bethune, please don’t apologize. I thank you for your words, and you’re right. We must provide as much aid as we can to our Negro youth, especially those living in dire conditions. I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help your people.”
— Franklin Roosevelt after being moved by Mary’s speech at Hyde Park (Chapter 36)

The shift from courtesy to pledge marks an inflection point. His promise, framed as “whatever I can,” acknowledges both sympathy and constraint, foreshadowing the creation of the Division of Negro Affairs. It’s an early glimpse of the incremental, executive-path solutions he’ll ultimately favor.