tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316486182743991911.post1796643755816533029..comments2023-09-21T09:05:02.605-04:00Comments on Viral History: Alice Roosevelt and Nick Longworth: The actual engagement photosKen Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348967274722508119noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316486182743991911.post-25965603750995246122017-03-03T11:15:47.984-05:002017-03-03T11:15:47.984-05:00Alice was sent on the 1905 Taft Far East diplomati...Alice was sent on the 1905 Taft Far East diplomatic tour by her father primarily to divert the press, and the public from the secret deal he was brokering with the Japanese that essentially sold out Korea in exchange for their aid in opening Asian markets to American products. This Alice did with a flourish, with such stunts as her famous fully clothed plunge into a shipboard swimming tank (which some historians believe was preplanned), and smoking opium with the Empress of China. There were also indications that Alice and Nicolas Longworth slipped away for some possible sexual hanky panky aboard ship and at some of the stops during the trip. Recently it's been postulated that Alice latched onto Longworth as a potential future President, so she could become First Lady, and when that didn't happen, she turned her support to her brother, Ted, grooming him to one day to inherit their father's mantle as President, only to be thwarted by the machinations of cousins Franklin and Eleanor.Donald Brynelsennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316486182743991911.post-23004279773947624022016-02-13T12:00:55.025-05:002016-02-13T12:00:55.025-05:00Hello, I have just discovered your blog. I was hu...Hello, I have just discovered your blog. I was hunting for information on New Deal architect Rudolph Stanley-Brown, and followed a link, and here I am. I've wondered if there is a good biography on Alice Longworth. I only know what I've gleaned from other biographies: Her father never loved her, because his adored first wife died while giving birth to her. Her marriage to Longworth was thoroughly and disastrously miserable. He was a mean drunk and incorrigible womanizer. There was no divorce for politicians in those days, so they trudged along. In 1924, while still married to Nicholas, she had a flagrant affair with Senator Borah of Idaho, and gave birth to her only child (?) a daughter named Pauline. Alice wanted to call her Deborah, but Nick put his foot down about that. This affair was an open secret in Alice's social set, and people made snide remarks, i.e. "Aurora Borah Alice." Pauline committed suicide in 1954. After Longworth died, Alice was in desperate financial straits. This did not stop her from throwing Nick's Stradivarius violin into the fire, because he had loved it. She was always cruel to Eleanor Roosevelt, going out of her way to humiliate and slight her. And she invited Franklin and Lucy Mercer to dinner parties when Eleanor was out of town, during the WWI years of their affair. A famous Alice quote about that is, "Franklin needed to have some fun. After all, he was married to Eleanor." I first became aware of her in the 1970's when I read Barbara Howar's memoir, "Laughing All The Way." Barbara was in disgrace, at Luci Johnson's wedding reception, and Alice made a particular point of being nice to her. I had already heard her most famous quote: "If you haven't anything nice to say about anyone, etc." So, I knew who she was. My generation of baby boomers knew her as a salty, witty old lady. We didn't know of her scandalous youth. Alice must have been a holy terror in the early years of the twentieth century. I would not have wanted her for an enemy. What I wonder is, were there ever any friends? Or were there only frenemies?Lemorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11744259477728536885noreply@blogger.com