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Franklin’s Early Political Career ~ Eleanor’s Political Activities ~ Franklin’s Paralysis ~ Governor’s Wife 1910 – 1932Franklin’s Early Political Career
Consequently, when FDR was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in autumn 1913, ER knew most of the rules by which a political couple operated. As ER oversaw the Roosevelts’ transitions from Albany to Hyde Park to Washington, coordinated the family's entrance into the proper social circles for a junior Cabinet member, and evaluated FDR's administrative and political experiences, her independence increased as her managerial expertise grew. Eleanor’s Political Activities
Emboldened by her experiences during the war, ER began to respond to requests for a more public political role. In June 1920, while she was vacationing with her children at Campobello, FDR received the Democratic nomination for Vice-President. During this time, ER developed a close working relationship with FDR's intimate advisor and press liaison, Louis Howe. Invigorated by Howe's support, ER threw herself into the election and reveled in the routine political decisions that daily confronted the ticket. When Republican Warren Harding won the 1920 election, the Roosevelts returned to New York. FDR practiced law and planned his next political move as ER considered her options. She joined the Women's City Club, the National Consumers League, the Women's Division of the Democratic State Committee, and the New York chapters of the League of Women Voters and the Women's Trade Union League. Franklin’s Paralysis
In the summer of 1921, while vacationing at the family's summer home, Franklin contracted polio. He had to be carried off the island, and his legs would never function again. At the outset of his disability, he spent a significant amount of time in Warm Springs, Georgia, attempting to regain the use of his legs. ER remained in New York. Despite her labeling the 1920s as a time of "private interlude" in This I Remember, in the seven-year span between the onset of FDR's paralysis and his campaign for the New York governorship, ER’s political contributions and organizational ability made her one of New York's leading politicians. Soon the New York Times publicized her clout, treating her as the "woman [of influence] who speaks her political mind." ER formed a circle of close friends. Franklin supported ER's independence and enjoyed her new friends. In 1925, he had a small house built, dubbed Val Kill. Occasionally, Franklin would join the group for meals and picnics, but Val Kill was ER's, and she would think of it as her real home for the rest of her life. Indeed, the few old friends and Democratic Party commitments the Roosevelts shared were enough to sustain a friendship, but not an intimate one. Competing pursuits and divergent communities encouraged the Roosevelts to follow different paths and to develop separate lifestyles. As a result, by the time FDR was elected governor, the Roosevelts had developed separate, distinct personal and political support systems. Governor’s Wife
Thus, ER was not thrilled with the prospect of returning to Albany, a goldfish bowl in which all her movements would be both confined by and interpreted through her husband's political prestige. Yet ER also realized that her political expertise and her new support system were an outgrowth of, and therefore a by-product of, her relationship with FDR. ER concentrated on how to find the most appropriate manner to promote two careers at once, how best to pursue her separate interests in ways that did not undermine her husband's public standing. |
In 1911, Eleanor’s life started to change. Dutchess County elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the New York state senate. FDR asked ER to leave Hyde Park and to set up a home for the family in Albany. Eager to leave the vigilance of her mother-in-law, ER tackled the move with enthusiasm and discipline. By the time FDR left Albany to join Woodrow Wilson’s administration two years later, ER began to view independence in personal and political terms. FDR agreed, later telling a friend, Albany "was the beginning of my wife's political sagacity and co-operation."
World War I gave ER an acceptable arena in which to challenge existing social restrictions and the connections necessary to expedite reform. Anxious to escape the confines of Washington high society, ER threw herself into wartime relief with a zeal that amazed her family and her colleagues. She began to realize that she could contribute valuable service to projects that she was interested in and that her energies did not necessarily have to focus on her husband's political career. 
About this time, the Franklin Roosevelt-Eleanor Roosevelt relationship had begun to move away from an alliance defined by marital responsibilities and more toward a professional collaboration between peers. ER's discovery in 1918 of FDR's affair with Lucy Mercer, her social secretary, destroyed martial intimacy and encouraged ER to look elsewhere for closeness. 
The 1928 election presented a new challenge to both Roosevelts. New York state law prevented Al Smith, the Democratic presidential nominee, from seeking reelection as governor and Smith wanted FDR to succeed him. ER did not unequivocally endorse her husband's electoral aspirations, however. The dilemma the return to Albany presented ER was one of continuing independence: one of time management, rather than political fidelity.