White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Charmed Early 1900s America

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2023

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency—from 1901 to 1909, when Mark Twain called him the most popular man in America—his daughter Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty. Alice was known for carrying a gun, a copy of the Constitution, and a green snake in her purse. When her father told her she couldn’t smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked on the roof. She became the most famous woman in America—and even the world—predating Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy as an object of public obsession.

As her celebrity grew, she continued to buck tradition, push against social norms, and pull political sway behind the curtain of privilege and access. She was known for her acerbic wit and outspoken tendencies which hypnotized both the social and political world.

Today’s guest is Shelley Fraser Mickle, author of “White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America.” We explore what it would have been like to be a strong-willed, powerful woman of the 20th century aughts.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:08.0	During Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, from 1901 to 1999,
0:12.0	when Mark Twain called in the most popular man in America
0:14.2	the only one who was arguably more popular was his daughter Alice.
0:17.7	She mesmerized a world with her antics and beauty and was beloved by the press.
0:21.2	Alice was known for carrying a gun, a copy of the Constitution, and a green snake in her purse.
0:26.7	She clearly had the rough writer's adventurous streak in her.
0:29.2	When her father told her she couldn't smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked on the roof.
0:34.5	She became the most famous woman in America, predaining Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy.
0:38.9	As her celebrity grew, she continued to buck tradition, pushing against social norms, and pull political sway behind a
0:43.6	curtain of privilege and access.
0:45.3	To explore the world of the early 20th century, the height of power, through the eyes of somebody
0:49.0	who witnessed many of the most important events, is today's guest Shelly Mickle, author of White House Wild Child,
0:54.4	how Alice Roosevelt broke all the rules and won the heart of America.
0:57.2	We'll learn why Teddy Roosevelt said, I can do one of two things.
1:00.1	I can be President of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.
1:04.8	This is an unconventional exploration of the early 20th century auts and I hope you enjoy this discussion
1:09.9	with Shelly Frazier Mickle. Shelley Frazier and Mikkel. And one more thing before we get started with this
1:15.7	episode, a quick break for word from our sponsors.
1:19.7	Before we get into the life of Alice Roosevelt, let's begin with Teddy Roosevelt and look at
1:28.3	parts of his life that we need to know to make sense of her story.
1:31.9	So what facts should we keep in mind with Teddy's life as we
	...

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