To cspan. Org and click on the tab at the top of the page. Hello and welcome, everyone. My name is herman, i am the supervisor here at the Franklin Roosevelt president ial library and museum. Im at the library and museum i would like to welcome you to the 16th annual roosevelt meeting festival. Fdr planned for his library to become the premier Research Institution for studying the entire roosevelt era. Library Research Room is consistently one of the busiest of all of the president ial libraries. This years group of authors with a variety research. If you like the festival and went to the point is in programs we do, i encourage you to become a member. You can do so in the hall. Let me quickly go to the former appeared at the top of each hour session begins with a 30 minute author talk. Followed by 10 minute question and answer period. Authors will be at tables in the lobby we can purchase books and have the authors sign them. Now it is my pleasure to introduce, james lacey, whose book is subject of the session. Mr. Lacey is at the Marine Corps College of quantico, virginia. Prior to joining faculty at the college he was a widely published Senior Analyst at the institute for defense in washington d. C. He served over a dozen years on active duty as an infantry officer. He is retired from the u. S. Army reserves. He has taught courses in military history and global issues at john hopkins and georgetown universities. He will be speaking today but his newest book, the washington war fdrs innercircle and the politics of power that one world war ii transfer that won world war ii. Please join me in welcoming mr. Lacey. [applause] i brought my own timer. I can get verbose if im not watchful. I put myself on a diet, i lost 30 pounds and 28 days. [applause] it has made me mean and angry so [laughter] careful with those questions at the end. Im afraid to turn sideways, you might not be able to see me. Anyway broken that up, everyone is getting along. It can only go downhill from here. Thank you for coming in listening to me, seems like a pretty good crowd overall. We do talk with Harry Hopkins in here, the guy that wrote that book is not here, that is a big plus. Nothing worse than arguing with each other because it is vicious and academic debates are very vicious. Anyway, used to come appear and ad lib. Like im doing now. Once so i got a chuckle. Most of them fell flat, didnt really matter to me but i was getting paid but i am not getting paid so it is hurtful when they dont laugh at my jokes. Then i actually saw a video of myself adlibbing the main part and i did not do very well. So unlike the last speaker i had three nose and talks like 90 minutes or something. I decided i better read most my stuff as i go along and i will do all that stuff like make eye contact with the like im supposed to. So you dont think im talking from notes. Well see how it goes. Anyway, the United States has always been difficult to run a nation with global war is a hercules task. One is a president even as competent as roosevelt needed some help with. They all talk about a few of the people that pop up in my book. Remarkably today, many are largely forgotten. This is a sophisticated audience hopefully also present one or two about the man that he surround himself with during the war. At this point in time in history was mostly men, for better or for worse. Perkins was there as secretary of labor. She was not really involved in the war decisions. Fdr realized early on that winning the war would require a brandnew team. A team very like those that hed had for the new deal. There were a few members, the old team, those who roosevelt considered sufficiently able, determined who did make the transition to the world war ii team, there were few indeed. As a second term near the end they began ousting the old and the constant badgering of the president to move faster toward war. First and foremost, the method you all know is Harry Hopkins. For the first half of the war, for lack of a better term, pumping that you will watch game of thrones. He was a president s hand. If you watch game of thrones admittance to. If he didnt, well talk about it later. To some, he was a symbolic work his evils in the present but to fdr, he was a man who translated his desires into action. Fdr could only see loyalty in him. He started in 1939, roosevelt was certain to things, europe would erupt into work, keep the United States would end the war. He also realized that at some level, he would need a wartime hopkins was born in iowa, the fourth of five children. After graduating college, 1912, he moved to new york and took a job in the lower east and slums. We have progress for his succession social welfare, job development, reputation of someone who got the job done but never cheaply. This came during the Great Depression when roosevelt established a precursor of the new deal agency. The temporary emergency relief initiation 20 million which a long time ago was a lot of money. Speed at which hopkins spent the 20 million impressed the similarly aggressive present. When roosevelt went to the white house, hopkins followed. Placed in charge of the newly minted federal Emergency Administration hopkins did not the first 500 million he got. He would join roosevelt on trips and the potential yacht, even where we are sitting now. Roosevelt not only appreciated hopkins work, noah spent money faster better than hopkins could. But he enjoyed his company, they note he never fought fdr. Ever. Hopkins had other qualities besides being a great storyteller to fdr who he liked to have around. Just gotta talk to. It is described that hopkins had a mind like a razor, a tongue like a skinny neck, temper of a sufficient vocabulary of profundity to make a mule skinner jealous. Just about everything one needs to get big jobs done. While working on the new deal, hopkins made a permanent enemy of another close person of fdr. The ministry it is permanent the both shared a single goal to help the president. But the methods differed in personalities were certain to class. Hopkins was given to selfconfidence and righteousness. And the other to paranoia. The only thing that shared in common was irreconcilable a low opinion of each other. Hopkins can be tough, displayed a volcanic jumper and generally made friends easily and most people found him pleasant company. On the other hand, the other had a talent for bringing everyone the wrong way. He actually reveled in his reputation. Although it underplayed the words. He is famously described as having the mind of a commissar and the soul of an ax. Time magazine said of him, this is a little long, honest, phyllis, tervis, should, loyal. Howard wanted to earn his place as the to robert. Plowing the unexplored public opinion. Pro and cons whatever roosevelt decided that the United States should be pro and con four. The boy that takes the blame of anything goes wrong. The new deals janitor who cleans up this material and scoops of the floor. Usually some poor victim as his broom. He keeps his colors on his his the public executioner, the court prisoner and is a dirty job that has to be done, he gets the assignment. While living in the white house for several years he is someone that will center until while taking the role he trailed behind americans always ready to give a speech or an interview in the positions of personal character. He remained in the cabinet the entire war. He did take on some important jobs early on but the first was always, making the lives of people fdr not care for, did not care for come miserable. And if fdr did not like it, he hated you. Look at what he did not help the policy goals the Great Depression. Expand and wonder why he was given more to do. The president needed to make nice with business and a bunch of people that did not like his policies during the Great Depression. When needed, to bring more production and other elements of society along, he cannot get along with anybody. Hopkins could. He proved surprisingly amicable to business adjuster when he was appointed he loved telling one with the rich and famous. It was one of the things that kept him close to roosevelt. Because he was perfectly at home deal with the president s rich, social cast. Even more important, a buoyant lifestyle, fdr who really got involved in any personal lives greedily took in every story hopkins had especially with involved starlets. The president was over the kind of life that others learn for. It was like so many times hopkins if not for the gracious generosity of rich friends, paying his gambling debts, he wouldve had much fewer stories to tell to keep roosevelt enthralled. Anyway. There was one absolute crucial. He picked many of the persons taking kate wartime jobs, and washington. And for hopkins, it had to be the right person. To him, highly competent but personally weak. But we can meet a person that would do it hopkins wanted always. I know this is not the usual but it is the truth. Even at the time, many asked how hopkins got its close to the presidency did. Hopkins was supremely confiden , had an uncanny ability to read as well. As one reporter, many dealers have this solemn earnest hopkins never did. And instinctively went to ask, what to keep still, went to press, went to hold back, went to approach roosevelt direct and went to go about. Another claim hopkins had sensitivity to roosevelt moods. He seemed to know process in the present with a discussion. The heads of state and when he wanted to escape the consciousness of being the president of the United States during the war. But there are many jealous of his closest with the president , hopkins was bending the president to his will. Inevitably whenever the president decided something contrary to the advice of one of his other advisers, they blamed it on hopkins malevolent counsel. Reality was quite different. What made hopkins valuable to the president and the reason for his longevity is after yours top advisor was, he never got out ahead of result. When hopkins did everyone is to make the desires happen. And he was very jealous of his own power. The special relationship with the president. To anyone who fdr took into his as a mortal threat to his own position. Consequently, he went to great extremes to keep people from seeing the president. I could give you many examples but you will have to read the book. 50 copies would be nice to get all of your friends and family. I still have College Tuition to get through. But all of roosevelt so is loyalty. Once explained someday maybe sitting where i am is president and when you are youll be looking at the door over there and know when everyone walks through it wants something of you. You will learn what a lonely job this is and you will discover someone like Harry Hopkins that has nothing but his influence eventually did wade. We made two crucial errors. First, he got married. Force him to split his time between his wife and roosevelt. Roosevelt did not like people splitting their time, he deserved it all. Even more damaging, he eventually moved out of the white house. And a speechwriter once claimed a true source of his power is that he was there, he lived there, had dinner and lunch with roosevelt. There was time to argue and debate, create a common vision without the crutch of time rushing in. When he moved out, all that disappeared. Hopkins probably did not see the ending of the special relationship. For three years of being so close to the president , he was invincible, he was indispensable. Results personal secretary, probably told them differently. She said once, the president , the president was incapable of personal relationship with anybody. If not messy than his wife eleanor certainly knew better. She was explained to one of her biographies, each man that each imagines that he is indispensable to the president. All will be surprised that the president uses those who suit his purpose, he makes up his own mind and discards people when they no longer perform his purpose. The more i looked it was about the more true that became. So although hopkins remained one of his trusted advisors by the middle 1943, the special relationship was on the wane and the door open to another. Before we get to that, let me briefly mention some of the other men of the pinnacle of power in washington d. C. Some like harry morgan, secretary of the treasury, incapable of any independent thinking. Sorry. Morgan, Dutchess County neighbor of result did have one truly endearing quality of the fdr prized above all else. I need to please the president , give him anything he wanted. So when there was present to ms. Roosevelt response was to have the jar to the treasury. And dozens of talented accolades and make them happy. The treasury in the early years of the war, the years before the war and the first two years took on most of the important jobs because it is stuck in their recall the deep state now. For the president at every turn. For the most part, roosevelt for most of the world lets say, roosevelt also had wallace as his Vice President. Wallace was almost derailed himself before becoming Vice President in the Democratic Party found out he never made a decision without his personal trend by the founders. Side note, that republicans were going to release the letters. Someone at the time of the democrats they had evidence of that. So they pocketed their weapons and went on. Wallace spent most of the world looking for something important to do. He first took to take over the job of wartime production but soon found himself besides, no one come to his needs and say thank you. The ones that went to the early founder could speak long about serious people refused to attend because they agreed with the secretary of war at the time. Perkins was a stocky high driving businessman who believed no one in the world should never go hungry. Due to secretary of state acheson described as one of the most able and energetic administrators ever brought to washington. He was also not. A little politically incorrect. He had ordained and still priest in charge of his own breakaway sect. He conducted services in his attic every sunday, claimed his home was a church, got the Tax Exemption and spent years fighting with the irs. Under my low, the board took on an operational role. Issuing teams out to conduct cast the robbery being done by other agencies. In doing so, the bureau of Economic Warfare was following the first rule of all bureaucracies, grow fast, grow as fast as possible to the maximum possible extent, or die. Within two months, the bureau had a staff of 1100, all housed in a brandnew office building, spending almost all the time trying to justify 12 million in salaries. Remember this is when 1 million was a lot of money. Neither wallace and michael ever fought to work with anyone else. Anyone not part of the bureau were enemies, or at this, obstacles to their vision which included costly screams to enrich south american even as he is was finding it difficult to pay for the war. In short they were setting up a global new deal at a time when the country had other priorities which would be winning that war. Unfortunately, wallace took on too enemies who were website is leak. Late. One was harold the horrible 80s, but took the sending insulting the time he got in order from mylapore wallace. When wallace showed one of these notes the president ial fixer jimmy burns will talk more about later, he was advised to either murdered or go over and punch the keys in the nose. Like as not to do is get into a mudslinging match with the master. The other was jesse james, sorry jesse jones. [laughing] anyone here from texas . A big name in texas. Jones never liked wallace and he didnt like him when he secretary of agriculture. He also blamed wallace for the president ial not offering him the job of Vice President. Jones was the most powerful financier in washington. He was born in tennessee, made his own personal fortune in texas starting at his uncles lumber business big establishes a a lumberyard soon after that can begin extending into banking, real estate and host of other businesses. He stood six feet tall, Time Magazine called jones biblically big with a face that looked like the ten commandments. He was almost always calm, sometimes a bit profane, a good storyteller who could get physically violent when he felt himself personally insulted. Only those that no attachment to the money played poker with him. The only thing after hard days work that could entice him away from a long nights work was and my closing in . Was a poker game. Throughout the depression he ran the reconstruction finance company, a new deal entity that paid everything. The reason jones this powerful is congress login and they loved it because he never discriminated. Where hopkins spent his son in democratic districts, once saying we will spend spend spend and elect company like come electric jones funded current projects and if i did a lot of projects. There is no more sure way to make yourself popular on capital. Time magazine took to call on the senate jones admiring friends. Jones nursed along personal animosity to wallace, so when wallace went looking for funding for always courses, jones blocked him. When wallace to decode a rounded to the congress and the second jones blocked in there. He had his admiring friends doing all his dirty work. The dispute made in newspapers and roosevelt asked his fixer jimmy burns to make it go away. Arent call them both into a meeting which was quickly adjourned when jones threatened to punch the Vice President in the face if he word. And told him to go home and pray to his god to help him stop line. Jones was quite capable of punching people in the face because earlier that week the Washington Post had written an article about him, and editorial, the stated jones had fell down rather badly on the job coach another striker he fired up a cable to eugene meyer demanding a retraction. But there was no reply. Eugene myers, the famous editor for the Washington Post. But as luck would have it they ran into each other at a ballroom that very evening. Jones began by berating myers and grabbed him by the lapels, threw him against the wall. Not one to be pushed around