Chapter 55

Contains spoilers

Summary

  • The chapter is set during the reelection campaign of Franklin Roosevelt, from the point of view of Eleanor Roosevelt.
  • Eleanor is frustrated by the lies told by Steve Woodburn, a member of Roosevelt's team, specifically his public misstatement about racial segregation in the military.
  • She is present with Franklin at a Madison Square Garden rally, watching as he delivers a speech about the importance of peace and military preparation.
  • Eleanor expresses frustration that segregated black servicemen are not given the chance to fight like their white colleagues.
  • Backstage after the rally, Eleanor interacts with various figures, including members of the Democratic National Committee.
  • She observes her husband's apparent lack of worry about the ongoing international war situation.
  • Steve Woodburn leaves to answer a few questions from the press, delaying Franklin's and Eleanor's departure.
  • A disturbance breaks out near the guarded entrance of their train involving a man attacking a black police officer. The man is revealed to be Steve Woodburn.
  • Eleanor insists to her husband that Woodburn should face several consequences for his actions, including a public apology and correction of his previous misstatement about segregation in the military.
  • Franklin agrees to action, promising to push for integration in the army's officer corps and the appointment of black officers to senior posts in the War Department.
  • Franklin acknowledges that Eleanor and her friend Mary have been right about Steve all along.
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