Ask Aunt Ruthie FAQ on Famous People

Q: Who was Mary McLeod Bethune?

A: Mary McLeod Bethune was born in 1875 to slave parents. She had high aspirations for education and helping others. She was 15th of 17 children and worked her young years picking cotton. in South Carolina. She was the founder of the Bethune Cookman College.

She attended a 1 room schoolhouse and was a prize student  She attained several scholarships to acquire the rest of her education.

Married Bethune in 1898 and was teaching at this time. A Pastor from Florida offered her a school . She did missionary work and teaching in jails and sawmills. She worked with young negro girls and over the next 20 years made the school a success. as well as having built quite a good reputation for herself. She worked to get the blacks a vote and devoted the rest of her life to attaining a better life for the blacks.  She was recognized in many government circles and was befriended by Eleanor Roosevelt.  She died in 1955 of a heart attack but her dedicated and tireless work will never be forgotten in the U.S.

Q: How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) handle the depression?

A: FDR elected in 1932 made many decisions to help ease the Depression.  He, however, made many deals and decisions that were non productive and actually caused another Depression within an existing Depression.  Too much taxation, discouragement of new money  in the Stock Market tended not to be too helpful. When the U.S. entered into the War in 194l, much of the capital of the country was directed into munitions and many other war related industries.  When Truman came to power in the 40's he was not as quick to discourage private investment in the country and thus promoted a recovery from the terrible 30's.

FDR was for the most part a good president.  Every country was struggling to get their economy going again.  I believe that FDR did the very best he could to right the financial situation in the US but as I said before, there were those involved in the financial turnaround that felt he did harm.  I was a young girl in the 30s and we were acutely aware that there was very little money around. as work for my dad was scarce.

"ALL WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF'  I am sure these words encouraged many people to believe there would be better times.  A good leader always strives to raise the confidence level of the people. I did indeed agree with this saying bearing in mind that this could apply to all things in life.

See also the answers on the The New Deal on the "Major Events" FAQ page.

Q: Can you talk about Adolph Hitler?

A: Volumes have been written elsewhere about this evil thug. He was a corporal in the army in World War 1, and also a failed painter. With that on his resume he used his powerful charisma and cunning to rise to power as the head of the Nazi party and in 1933 became the Chancellor of Germany. He was a maniacal dictator who tried to create a perfect human race (by his definition)

Hitler then re-armed Germany in preparation for plans of world domination. This culminated in the start of World War 2 in September of 1939 as Germany invaded Poland. Britain, France and others were soon drawn in and eventually the United States.

Hitler's regime was responsible for the mass extermination of 6 million Jews in concentration camps. As the Russians and Americans closed in on Berlin in April of 1945, Hitler took the easy was out and committed suicide April 30, 1945 in his bunker.

Q: What did James Watson do?

A: Dr. James Watson at the age of 24 was working on what was called the Genome Project.  He was a non-conformist and had a very investigative mind.  Through much research he aided in the discovery of DNA which won the Nobel Prize. I am sure there are books in the library on this man if you need more specific information.

Q: Can you tell me about Clark Gable?

A: Clark Gable was born in 1901 and died in 1960.  He Was married to Carole Lombard who died in a plane crash.  He was known as the "king of Hollywood" and starred in some sixty odd pictures.

His most famous role and best remembered was in "Gone With The Wind" which was released in the late 30's.  The most memorable line from this movie was "frankly my dear I don't give a damn"  and was the first time that any type of bad language ever appeared on the screen.  He was an extremely handsome man but won the hearts of fans because he sold himself as just an average guy.

Q: Can you tell me about Shirley Temple?

A: She started her career taking dancing lessons and was noticed in 1932. She was selected to play 1 reel films known as Baby Burlesks and she would parody leading ladies in popular films.

In 1934 she played in a film called Stand Up and Cheer which led to her making several child films.  She was so popular that she was given an Academy Award in '34.  I think it was in 1938 that she was top box office.

There was Shirley Temple dolls, clothes and coloring books.  Her popularity faded by the time she was a teenager and she left filmland at age 21.  She made a few films in the 40s, tried a couple of TV host shows that bombed.

She entered into politics in the 60s and in '68 was the U.S. rep to the U.N.  She was ambassador to a couple of eastern countries. She married John Agar in the mid 40s. Short marriage to Agar then in 1960 she married Charles Black.