Review: Grand history of 'Three Roosevelts'

"The Three Roosevelts"
By James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn
Atlantic Monthly Press
History/Biography
544 pages

By L.D. Meagher
Special to CNN

(CNN) -- As the year 2000 approached, there were innumerable lists of the most influential people of the 20th century. One name appeared on virtually all of them: Roosevelt. Historians James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn would agree that the name belongs on all those lists. They further make a case that it should appear not once, but three times.

"The Three Roosevelts" is a biography in triplicate. Burns and Dunn examine the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, how they were intertwined with each other and with the ascension of the United States onto the world stage. Their conclusion -- without all three of them, the 20th century would have followed a very different path.

The portraits painted by MacGregor and Dunn are surprisingly intimate and extraordinarily well researched. The familiar details of each life -- Theodore the outdoorsman, Franklin the ambitious young bureaucrat, Eleanor the socialite with a social conscience -- are placed in a broader context of the changing times that shaped each of the Roosevelts.

Theodore became a template for both his niece and her husband, his cousin. His political and social agenda, developed during his presidency, would mold the way the other Roosevelts viewed the world and their place in it.

Standing out

The Roosevelts have been stereotyped as "traitors to their class." Like all stereotypes, that view of the family contains a kernel of truth. But it's also misleading. For these three members of New York society always stood out.

Theodore was described by a friend as "the most un-Harvardlike man that ever came out of Harvard." Burns and Dunn show us that the future trustbuster was straining at the leash of high society conventions even as a student:

"He cut a slightly outre figure among the Harvard 'swells' (those of birth) and 'nobs' (those of wealth). He dazzled passersby with his beaver hat, cutaway coat and colorful cravats. He was 5 feet 8 and around 125 pounds -- bespectacled, with prominent teeth, a reedy voice and a slight speech impediment, perhaps caused by his asthma. None of this appeared to inhibit the torrent of words that poured from his lips on every subject of Harvard interest, from the aerodynamics of birds to medieval German literature, to the degree that his schoolmates were tempted to suspect him of the worst of vices, zeal."

Theodore's decision to enter politics evoked the same horrified response from his family and friends that Franklin's did a generation later. TR's political career path, from the New York State Assembly to the White House, provided a pattern FDR would follow. Even the development of Theodore's increasingly populist politics foreshadowed the arc of Franklin's own journey of political discovery.

Vilified and deified

And, like his cousin, FDR would come to be vilified by those who had once considered him one of "their own."

"Hatred for [Franklin] Roosevelt signified more than rational opposition to his economic policies. It seemed to stem from the WASP establishment's horror of equality, from their fear of not only losing their privileges but, more important, their 'sense' of privilege. It stemmed also from their belief in their own way of life ... As far as members of the upper class were concerned, FDR was threatening their very civilization."

The development of Eleanor Roosevelt's political instincts and social conscience is, if anything, even more remarkable than that of her uncle and husband. She was a shy and awkward girl who harbored no ambition more lofty than becoming a high society wife. She did not share Franklin's ambitions, at least not at the start of their marriage. But she dutifully supported him. The higher they climbed the political ladder, however, the broader her horizons became. By the time of his death, Eleanor's commitment to social causes was even firmer than her husband's. That commitment propelled her into a position she never sought, "First Lady of the World."

All three made mistakes along the way. TR would regret for the rest of his life his decision not to seek re-election in 1908. FDR was hardly a model husband. Eleanor allowed her disdain for Joseph P. Kennedy to cloud her judgment about his son.

Their successes, however, far outweigh their failures. MacGregor and Burns cite all three members of the family for offering "transformational leadership" -- the capacity to bring about fundamental changes to meet the challenges of changing times.

"The genius of these three leaders lay in their recognizing the needs of the people early on, sensing their political mood, mobilizing their support, and then -- above all -- acting. And that is what these three leaders did. By doing so, they transformed American society and reshaped history for the United States and the rest of the world. The impetus and momentum of their leadership carried over through the administrations of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter -- up until the rise of Reagan conservatism. For a hundred years -- from 1881, when TR first ran for the New York State Assembly, until 1981, when Jimmy Carter left office -- the three Roosevelts charted the course of progressive reform in America."

Not everyone will celebrate the progressive agenda the Roosevelts pursued. But their stamp on modern life is unmistakable. Even the 43rd president of the United States, another son of privilege, has pledged himself to pursue goals that were dear to their hearts -- protecting the environment, strengthening Social Security and ensuring human rights. "The Three Roosevelts" offers valuable insights into the way these remarkable people wove their view of a better world into the fabric of America.

See related sites about Entertainment

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.