I was born in New York City on February 12, 1884. My mother was a banking heiress and my father was a New York State Assemblyman. My father had higher political ambitions and destiny would reward him in an astonishing turn of events.
My mother died from acute kidney failure two days after I was born. My father was distraught. He placed me in care of his sister and moved to a ranch in North Dakota and travelled throughout the western United States for two years.
I loved and admired my aunt. She was a special human being whose influence I felt my entire life.
My father remarried in England in 1886. I was shuffled from one house to another after that.
I suppose I was rather unpleasant as a child. I was pretty selfish and defiant from a very early age. Nobody spoiled me. I spoiled myself. I didn't do any of the nice and proper things expected of me.
Frequent separation from my father--who was pursuing a political career--and an uneasy relationship with my step-mother, made me an independent and outspoken person. My step-mother was usually fair and she helped me obtain a broad literary education. She also had a sharp sense of humor, which she needed. She would have five children and me to manage and care for.
I had very little formal education, which saved a lot of excitement for my later years. I'm really just inquisitive with a simian ability to catch on. My father read all the time, so I just followed his example.
My father moved to Washington, D.C. in 1901 and took his family with him. Due to the nature of his new job, our family was hounded by the press and a curious public. I was seventeen years old, and in the mood for adventure. My father got most of the attention but I got some too. I smoked cigarettes in public, stayed out late at parties, and I was spotted placing a bet with a bookie.
I guess I was different or trying to be different. I had a pet snake which I called Emily Spinach. It was as green as spinach and it was as thin as my aunt Emily. It was a garter snake. One day I found it dead in its box and I was suspicious and very angry. I thought someone killed it. I was upset for weeks.
I and others in my father's political entourage had the good fortune to go on a diplomatic mission to Hawaii and Asia in 1905. I met my future husband on what would be called the Imperial Cruise. I also met the heads of state in China, Japan and Korea.
When I returned to the United States, I was engaged to the exciting and energetic man I met on the cruise. We were married the following year. He was a congressman from Ohio and would later become Speaker of the House. After the wedding, we honeymooned in Cuba and Europe. I met the King of England, the Kaiser and other notables.
My husband and I soon developed sharp political differences, which were made public in 1912. Our marriage began to unravel soon after he lost a bid for reelection. We stayed married, for appearances, until his death in 1931. He regained his seat in Congress after an absence of one term.
My daughter, Paulina, was born on February 14, 1925. I wrote in my diary that her father was Senator William Borah. I had a long affair with the honorable senator. It was accepted and known in Washington, D.C. By the by, my husband wasn't an angel.
After my husband died, I continued to reside on Embassy Row. I wrote an autobiography, Crowded Hours. Sales of the book helped me and Paulina through the Great depression. I also appeared in tobacco advertisements.
I was active in Washington socially and politically. I attended Republican conventions. During the 1930's, I received the sobriquet "the other Washington Monument." I did not vote for FDR. I was a Republican. I voted for Hoover.
My attitude toward politics and social justice changed in the 1960's. I voted for Nixon in 1960 but I really did like John F. Kennedy and his family. I also voted for Lyndon Johnson.
The Kennedys were a fascinating, incredible outfit. There hadn't been anything like them since the Bonapartes. I had great fun with them, especially Jack. He loved to tease and he was very amusing.
When Richard Nixon came under fire for Watergate, I dropped my support for him. He was a personal friend of mine, but he quoted my father to make an excuse for his involvement in the Watergate Scandal and I abhorred that sleazy association with my father's quoted record.
In 1965 my African-American chauffeur, Turner, was driving me to an appointment. He pulled in front of a taxi, and the taxi driver got out, came to the window of our car and said: "What do you think you're doing, you black bastard?" My driver took the insult calmly, but I got angry and shouted at the taxi driver: "He's taking me to an appointment, you white son of a bitch."
I had a mastectomy after cancer was detected in one breast in 1955, and a second mastectomy on the other breast in 1970. Smoking did not help my health either. In 1960 I was diagnosed with emphysema. I attended the 1976 Bicentennial of the United States and met Queen Elizabeth II. We were photographed together. It was my last public appearance. I died in my home on Embassy Row on February 20, 1980. I was 96 years old.
My name is Alice Roosevelt Longworth.
References:
1) Quotes, in italics, from Mrs. L--Conversations with Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Michael Teague and published by Doubleday & Co.
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Longworth.
3) June Bingham "Before the Colors Fade: Alice Roosevelt Longworth (February 1969, AmericanHeritage.com)
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