Louis McHenry Howe was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on
January 14, 1871, to Edward Porter Howe, a Civil War
veteran
who worked as an insurance executive and small-time newspaper
publisher, and Eliza Blake Ray. After watching their
son
battle a series of illnesses and accidents, the Howes thought
Louis could not handle the roughness of public school
and
enrolled him instead in the Temple Grove Seminary for young
women in Saratoga Springs, New York. Howe began his
journalism
career at seventeen when he joined the staff of his father's
Democratic-leaning weekly, The Sun, and began
freelancing for other regional papers, often scooping
his rivals. When
The Sun folded in 1900, he turned to freelancing
fulltime and in 1906 the New York Herald hired
him to assist in their coverage of the Albany legislature.
Eventually his interests moved from covering politics
to politics itself. In 1906, Howe began handling political
matters
for Auburn, New York, Mayor Thomas Mott Osborne. Their
collaboration was not smooth and Osborne fired Howe three
years later.
In 1911, Howe became enthralled with FDR's anti-Tammany
insurgency within the state senate. When typhoid sidelined
FDR in the midst of his 1912 re-election effort, ER asked
Howe to manage FDR's campaign. Howe and FDR quickly became
devoted to one another and Howe adopted FDR's ambitions
as his own. When FDR became assistant secretary of the
navy
in 1913, Howe accompanied FDR to Washington and served
as his chief of staff, deftly using the patronage positions
FDR had at his disposal to weaken Tammany and shore up
the FDR factions within the party. When the Democrats
tapped
FDR as their vice-presidential nominee, FDR then asked
Howe to manage his 1920 campaign. Howe then tutored ER,
as they
rode the campaign train, becoming, according to Blanche
Wiesen Cook, ER's confidant, mentor, and jolly chum.
Howe's dedication to both Roosevelts was fierce. When polio
paralyzed FDR in 1921, Howe strove to boost FDR's spirits,
preserve his political reputation, and support ER in her
efforts to bolster FDR's independence and continue her own
public commitments. In the process, he helped ER master
public speaking and navigate the turf wars of New York politics.
He helped keep FDR before the public by orchestrating FDR's
statements on public issues, writing magazine articles published
under FDR's byline, and coordinating FDR's appearance at
the 1924 Democratic convention. Howe's efforts, coupled
with ER's political network and FDR's incessant correspondence
with Democrats across the nation, convinced New York Governor
Alfred E. Smith (who was then the Democratic candidate for
president) that FDR must be his successor in the New York
statehouse. At first, Howe was reluctant for FDR to return
to active politics (together they had planned to wait four
more years). But quickly Howe was able to convenience voters
that FDR's illness was not a reason to bar him from office.
FDR's election to the governorship in 1928 changed their
relationship as Howe, while still FDR's closest advisor,
now had to share the governor with other key members of
his staff. During FDR's four years in Albany, Howe worked
closely with both Roosevelts, promoting ER's literary work
and assisting her political efforts while working unceasingly
to secure the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination for
FDR. The more successful Howe became in promoting FDR, the
more advice FDR sought for other quarters, much of which
challenged Howe's more traditional political views. Rivalries
within FDR's inner circle developed and the asthmatic Howe's
always frail health declined rapidly. Once FDR won the nomination,
to Howe's great dismay, much of FDR's postconvention campaign
would be managed by a team lead by Jim Farley.
Having mentored, pushed, and championed FDR for twenty
years, FDR's victory meant almost as much to Howe as it
did to FDR. FDR appointed Howe his personal secretary,
a title that allowed Howe great latitude and few official
duties, and Howe moved into the White House. Although his
health quickly deteriorated, Howe continued to speak bluntly
and frankly to FDR, refusing to let the aura of the presidency
isolate him from the man whom he had supported for two
decades.
His advice to ER was just as honest and bold. He encouraged
her to hold women-only press conferences, helped choreograph
her media campaigns, and supported her efforts to find
a way to address issues and shape policy. Howe especially
championed the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Subsistence
Homestead programs, and the New Deal's anti-crime initiative.
Howe entered the Bethesda Naval Hospital on August 21,
1935 and remained there until his death April 18, 1936.
ER arranged a state funeral in the East Room of the White
House for her friend, whom she would later describe as "one
of the seven most important people" in her life.
Sources:
American National Biography. Volume 11. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1999, 335-6.
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume II,
1933-1938. New York: Viking Press, 1999, 348-352.
Graham, Otis L. Jr. and Meghan Robinson Wander. Franklin
D. Roosevelt His Life and Times. New York: DaCapo Press,
1985, 189-190.