.png)
Wilson Chooses FDR as Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In 1913, Franklin Delano Roosevelt accepted the position as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy inside Woodrow Wilson's administration. FDR had held no previous experience in the Navy, yet was documented as saying it was his favorite service and even called it "My Navy."1 Prior to assuming this position, FDR was a New York State Senator and had just won re-election in 1912. FDR came from an upper-middle-class family and obtained re-election to the state senate in large part due to his ability to afford an automobile when few others could, using this advantage to travel more quickly during campaigning. FDR's effective use of technology would be a recurring theme during his political career.
FDR was chosen for the position in the Navy in large part because he had endorsed Wilson as a presidential candidate, even as Wilson ran against his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt. Although "Teddy" Roosevelt was running for president, he had long odds of winning the position as he had already lost the Republican nomination and was running as an independent. In doing so, Theodore divided the Republican vote between himself and the incumbent, President Taft, paving the way for Woodrow Wilson's presidency. Interestingly, Theodore Roosevelt also briefly held the position as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897 and 1898.
While FDR was the Assistant Secretary, he served under the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels. FDR was more responsible for detailed matters of personnel and operations while Daniels focused more on higher-level policymaking.
In 1914, FDR took a brief pause from focusing on his position in the Navy to run as a United States Senator in New York in 1914. In early1913, the Seventeenth Amendment had just been ratified which changed the way that United States Senators were elected. They went from being chosen by their state legislatures, to becoming popularly, or directly elected in each state. This had giant ramifications and FDR perhaps saw this as an opportunity while also exiting his position in the Navy, where he had limited control. Regardless, he was defeated by the incumbent Tammany Hall candidate, Elihu Root and returned to focusing on the Navy.
World War I Begins
As World War I started in the middle of 1914, America was a patient observer in the war until 1917, while aiding their allies with supplies and financing. FDR hoped that America would take a more active approach to preparing the Navy while Wilson believed that the United States' direct involvement wouldn't be required. FDR wrote in a letter to his wife Eleanor, "These are history-making days. It will be the greatest war in the world’s history."2 As the war continued, Congress began to think about future contingencies that might result from the war, such as a German victory. In late 1915, the United States passed its first bill to expand the United States Navy, providing $600 million in funding.3 In a questioning session in front of the House of Representatives on March 28, 1916, FDR was questioned by Representative Butler from Pennsylvania whether the United States could build a navy to keep up with Germany's expanding naval forces.
Mr. Butler: If Germany should build according to the program adopted 6 or 8 or 10 years ago, after this present war is over and with her fleet saved to her, starting with the fleet she now has and adding to it year after year, if we should adopt the president's program, how far will we be behind her in 1925?
FDR: There would be 27 capital ships, which she would have added in the meantime, and the present so-called five-year program calls for 16 capital ships in five years. That means that during the other four years, we should have to add 11 more ships.4
Before World War I, Britain's navy remained comfortably ahead of Germany's. In fact, since 1913, Britain began to focus on building an oil-powered navy as Winston Churchill was the Admiral of the Navy since 1911. Churchill recognized the various advantages an oil-powered navy provided and even caused the British government to go so far as to acquire a 51 percent stake in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which owned and operated the Abadan Oil Refinery in Persia. Given Britain's naval lead, and that they were an ally, America only hoped to contend with Germany for the second most powerful navy. Similar to Britain, but not nearly with as much foresight, America began to plan for an oil-powered navy instead of coal in 1910. As a result, in 1916, the United States completed their first two oil-powered ships, the USS Nevada and the USS Oklahoma.5 In 1918, at FDR's lead, America also began to deploy mines in the North Sea to destroy German U-boats and although the program was just getting started as the war was ending, four U-boats were destroyed.6
Near The End of The War
When the war was near its end, FDR traveled to Europe in the summer of 1918 to see the aftermath that World War I had caused. He made the trip on the newly commissioned USS Dyer destroyer. Before visiting the front lines in France, the ship stopped in Great Britain, where it was escorting a convoy of troopships. While in Great Britain, FDR got to hold a meeting with King George V inside Buckingham Palace where the king shared news that "Uncle Ted" had written a cordial letter to the king.7
Next, FDR traveled to France where he met with the French Prime Minister Clemenceau and also got to visit his cousins who were fighting in the war. It is reported that he went on to visit the front lines of the war and came close enough to hear bombs whistling overhead. In a dramatic address given in August 1936, FDR recalled his experience from visiting Europe in those days.
I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen two hundred limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of one thousand that went forward forty-eight hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war. I have passed unnumbered hours, I shall pass unnumbered hours, thinking and planning how war may be kept from this Nation.8
FDR's Legacy As Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In 1920, Woodrow Wilson elected not to run for a third term in office. As a result, FDR became the vice presidential nominee with the Democratic nominee James Cox. FDR campaigned aggressively as the vice presidential candidate and although they lost, he became endeared to his Democrat colleagues and supporters. This is marked as the first presidential election to have the results aired in real-time over the radio. The Cox-FDR ticket was defeated by the Republican ticket, Harding-Coolidge.
FDR's time as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy became valuable years for FDR's experience as a politician and established him as a positive figure in American politics. Despite this, a dark spot occurred during this time. It was documented that FDR had an affair with his wife's secretary, Lucy Mercer during a period of time roughly lasting from 1916 to 1917. It is believed that for the sake of FDR's political career, Eleanor and FDR remained together. FDR also lived a lifestyle outside of the financial means provided by his political career which was made possible thanks to monetary gifts from his mother, Sara Roosevelt. In the event of a divorce, his mother threatened to cut him off from further gifts as well as his inheritance.9
Sources:
FDR & His Mighty Navy. Naval History Magazine. February 2019 Volume 33, Number 1. U.S. Naval Institute, September 5, 2019, https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2019/february/fdr-his-mighty-navy.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Assistant Secretary of the Navy (U.S. National Park Service), accessed October 23, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/articles/franklin-delano-roosevelt-assistant-secretary-of-the-navy.htm.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Assistant Secretary of the Navy (U.S. National Park Service).
Statement of Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary: Hearings Before the United States House Committee on Naval Affairs, Sixty-Fourth Congress, First Session, on Mar. 28, 29, 1916. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1916. 3438.
Bruce Wells.“Petroleum and Sea Power.” American Oil & Gas Historical Society. May 3, 2023. accessed October 23, 2023. https://aoghs.org/petroleum-in-war/petroleum-and-sea-power/#.
FDR & His Mighty Navy. Naval History Magazine.
FDR & His Mighty Navy. Naval History Magazine.
Address at Chautauqua, N.Y.. The American Presidency Project. accessed October 23, 2023. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-chautauqua-ny.
US News & World Report. FDR’s Secret Love. April 18, 2008. https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/04/18/fdrs-secret-love.