Summary of Kati Marton's Hidden Power

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 On January 1, 1900, two thousand Washingtonians braved the bitter cold and falling snow to attend the White House’s traditional New Year’s reception. The day also marked the hundredth anniversary of the death of George Washington.
#2 The first presidential couple was Theodore Roosevelt and his wife, Edith, who were both extremely active and colorful. They and their six children filled the mansion with the boisterousness associated with the family.
#3 The White House was a house in the heart of a medium-sized city. It was not until the 1860s that Washington became the hub of wartime operations. Woodrow Wilson, a man past his middle age, and Edith Bolling Galt, a woman well into hers, fell in love and carried on an ardent affair in the White House.
#4 Edith Galt was a cousin of President Woodrow Wilson, and they began dating in 1915. They were both Virginians, and they shared a love of the Old South and romance.

Sujets

• Autobiography
• Biography
• Lettres et linguistique
• Presidents
• Heads of State

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 03 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669399353
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Kati Marton's Hidden Power
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

On January 1, 1900, two thousand Washingtonians braved the bitter cold and falling snow to attend the White House’s traditional New Year’s reception. The day also marked the hundredth anniversary of the death of George Washington.

#2

The first presidential couple was Theodore Roosevelt and his wife, Edith, who were both extremely active and colorful. They and their six children filled the mansion with the boisterousness associated with the family.

#3

The White House was a house in the heart of a medium-sized city. It was not until the 1860s that Washington became the hub of wartime operations. Woodrow Wilson, a man past his middle age, and Edith Bolling Galt, a woman well into hers, fell in love and carried on an ardent affair in the White House.

#4

Edith Galt was a cousin of President Woodrow Wilson, and they began dating in 1915. They were both Virginians, and they shared a love of the Old South and romance.

#5

The courtship between Woodrow and Edith continued, and he asked for her hand in marriage. She turned him down, but kept the courtship going. The presidency was a powerful courtship tool for Wilson, as he made Edith feel that she shared the burden of the office.

#6

By the end of May 1915, Woodrow Wilson’s siege must have been successful, for he wrote, I venture to say, my Lady, my Queen, that never in your life have you looked so wonderfully beautiful as I have seen you look when the love tide was running in your heart without check.

#7

Wilson’s personal life was in shambles, as his wife and children hated him and his second wife, Edith, was falling in love with him. He began to prepare Edith for the role of full presidential partner.

#8

As the president agonized over whether to declare war against Germany, his dependence on Edith grew. These are very solemn thoughts, my precious one, my little partner, and they seem to draw me nearer to you than ever, he wrote her on August 22.

#9

President Woodrow Wilson installed a direct phone line between his home and office to circumvent the White House switchboard. He taught Edith how to use the secret code in which he communicated with his emissaries abroad. She learned to use the simple cipher that consisted of numbers based on a master key.

#10

The capital’s rumor mill was active, passing on stories of the president in love. Wilson’s political allies were worried about the potential political cost of his infatuation. But when Wilson’s doctor recommended a vacation with a friend of his, Wilson began an intimate friendship with Mary Peck Hulbert.

#11

Edith Wilson, Woodrow Wilson’s first wife, enjoyed the attention and pomp that came with being the first lady. She was interested in politics and diplomacy, but only as an activity she and Woodrow could share.

#12

Edith was not a fan of women’s suffrage, and she strongly opposed granting women the right to vote. She was also offended by the growing momentum of the women’s suffrage movement.

#13

In 1918, Wilson summoned a joint session of Congress to lay down the terms for peace, and to outline his plan for the League of Nations. He fervently believed he could bring the Allies around, if he could only meet them face-to-face.

#14

The Paris peace conference, which was held from January 12 to June 28, 1919, was a success in spite of the president’s illness. Wilson was able to prevent the French from dismembering Germany, and blocked much of Italy’s attempt to seize territory along the Adriatic.

#15

In 1919, Wilson was attending a peace conference in France when he became sick with a fever. He was attended by Dr. Grayson, the White House physician, who had treated him since his first term. Edith was fiercely protective of her husband, and she almost never left his side.

#16

Wilson’s physical and mental health continued to deteriorate after the peace conference. He was always on edge, and his emotions constantly fluctuated. His marriage with Edith also began to fall apart, as she took more responsibility for them both.

#17

The battle over America’s participation in the League of Nations had grown fierce by 1919. Wilson was no longer up to the fight, as he was dominated by his worst qualities: stubborn self-righteousness and intolerance of others’ views.

#18

In 1919, Edith made up her mind to cover up her husband’s condition from the public and his cabinet. She governed by default, deciding the national agenda on her own.

#19

The White House’s official line was that Wilson was showing signs of improvement, without providing any additional details or explanations. Edith, however, had a different memory. She thought she could handle the job of president by reading all the cables and decoding secret messages, but she was actually undermining the national interest.

#20

Edith, however, did not allow House’s letters to reach her husband. She blocked Tumulty from entering her husband’s sickroom. The only other person aiding in Edith’s cover-up was Dr. Grayson, who later said he had advised the first lady to make a full public disclosure of her husband’s condition, and for the president to resign.

#21

By mid-December 1919, Wilson was able to walk around, but his mind never fully recovered. He became more and more uncompromising about the League, and he would not compromise one letter.

#22

On March 19, 1920, the treaty that was meant to end all future wars was rejected by the Senate. America retreated into isolationism. Without the support of the most powerful country, the League of Nations was powerless to stop Germany, Italy, and Japan as they moved toward another world war.

#23

The White House’s greatest love story ended tragically. Edith lived for four more decades, long enough to see her husband’s vision of a United Nations realized. She had shared only nine of her eighty-nine years with him.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelts’s marriage was not a good one, but it was successful. They thrived in the White House, and the nation was enriched by their presence.

#2

Eleanor and Franklin’s childhoods were very different. Eleanor was the daughter of a frivolous socialite who did not hide her disappointment that her daughter was plain. She longed for attention and admiration. Eleanor’s father, who made up for her mother’s constricted love with effusive outpourings, died of alcoholism two years after her mother died.

#3

Eleanor and Franklin’s relationship was based on opposites attract. Eleanor was intense and still somewhat insecure, while Franklin was charming and socially awkward. They had never had a steady, loving presence in their lives before, and they both yearned for intimacy.

#4

Eleanor and Franklin’s relationship was very important to Eleanor, and she tried to keep him away from other women. She saw in him the same qualities that she lacked in herself, and she was willing to change to be with him.

#5

Eleanor was married to a man who never left his mother’s side. She was eminently reasonable, but she was searching for a way out of her confinement.