Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17 1890 – January 29 1946) was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
, especially the relief programs of the
Works Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest "New Deal" agency, employing millions of people and affecting almost every locality in the United States, especially rural and western mountain populations...
(WPA), which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country. In
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was Roosevelt's chief diplomatic advisor and troubleshooter and was a key policy maker in the $50 billion Lend Lease program that sent aid to the allies.
Early life
Harry Hopkins was born at 512 Tenth Street in
Sioux City, IowaSioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,013 at the 2000 census; census estimates showed a slight decline to 82,807 by 2008...
, the fourth child of four sons and one daughter of David Aldona and Anna (
née Pickett) Hopkins. His father, born in
Bangor, MaineBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine. It is also the principal city of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Bangor and all of Penobscot County...
, ran a harness shop, after an erratic career as a salesman, prospector, storekeeper and bowling-alley operator; but his real passion was bowling, and he eventually returned to it as a business. Anna Hopkins, born in
Hamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, had moved at an early age to
Vermillion, South DakotaVermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. Vermillion lies atop a bluff on the Missouri River....
, where she married David. She was deeply religious and active in the affairs of the
MethodistMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to Reverend John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement in the Anglican Church. His younger brother...
church. Shortly after Harry was born, the family moved successively to
Council Bluffs, IowaCouncil Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River. The population was 58,268 at the 2000 census...
, and
KearneyKearney is a city in Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 27,431 at the 2000 census with an estimated 30,129 in July, 2007. It is the county seat of Buffalo County and home to the University of Nebraska-Kearney...
and
Hastings, NebraskaHastings is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 24,064 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. Hastings is home to Hastings College, a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1882...
. They spent two years in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, and finally settled in
Grinnell, IowaGrinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,105 at the 2000 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
.
Hopkins attended
Grinnell CollegeGrinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. with a strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
and soon after his graduation in 1912 took a job with Christodora House, a social settlement in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
ghettoOriginally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live, a ghetto is now described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure." - Etymology :...
. In the spring of 1913 he accepted a position with the
New York Association for Improving the Condition of the PoorNew York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, organized in 1843 to assist the "deserving" poor, had its antecedents in the New York City Mission Society, which was founded in 1812...
(AICP) as "friendly visitor" and superintendent of the Employment Bureau.
Social work
In 1915, New York City Mayor
John Purroy MitchelJohn Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917, and at age 34 the youngest ever; he was sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York"...
appointed Hopkins executive secretary of the Bureau of Child Welfare which administered pensions to mothers with dependent children.
Hopkins at first opposed America's entrance into
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, but when war was declared in 1917 he supported it enthusiastically. He was rejected for the draft because of a bad eye. Hopkins moved to
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
where he worked for the
American Red CrossThe American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States, and is the designated U.S...
as director of Civilian Relief, Gulf Division. Eventually, the Gulf Division of the Red Cross merged with the Southwestern Division and Hopkins, headquartered now in
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
, was appointed general manager in 1921. Hopkins helped draft a charter for the American Association of Social Workers (AASW) and was elected its president in 1923.
In 1922, Hopkins returned to New York City where he became general director of the New York
TuberculosisTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
Association. During his tenure, the agency grew enormously and absorbed the New York Heart Association.
In 1931, New York Governor
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
named R. H. Macy department store president Jesse Straus as president of the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA). Straus named Hopkins, then unknown to Roosevelt, as TERA's executive director. His efficient administration of the initial $20 million outlay to the agency gained Roosevelt's attention, and in 1932, he promoted Hopkins to the presidency of the agency. Hopkins and
Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights...
began a long friendship, which strengthened his role in relief programs.
New Deal
In March 1933, Roosevelt summoned Hopkins to Washington as federal relief administrator. Convinced that paid work was psychologically more valuable than cash handouts (the "dole"), Hopkins sought to continue and expand New York State's work-relief programs, the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration. He supervised the
Federal Emergency Relief AdministrationFederal Emergency Relief Administration was the name given by the Roosevelt Administration to a program similar to unemployment-relief efforts of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation set up by Herbert Hoover and the U.S. Congress in 1932. It was established as a result of the Federal Emergency...
(FERA), the
Civil Works AdministrationThe Civil Works Administration was established by the New Deal during the Great Depression to create jobs for millions of unemployed. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter. Harry L. Hopkins was put in charge of the organization. US President Franklin D...
(CWA), and the
Works Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest "New Deal" agency, employing millions of people and affecting almost every locality in the United States, especially rural and western mountain populations...
(WPA). Over 90% of the people employed by the Hopkins programs were unemployed or on relief. He feuded with
Harold IckesHarold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office. Ickes was responsible for implementing much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" and is the...
, who ran a rival program the
PWAPWA may stand for:* Patients' welfare association* Pacific Western Airlines* People With AIDS* Pirates With Attitude, a warez release group* Printed Wiring Assemblies, Printed Circuit Boards* Portuguese West Africa, now Angola...
which also created jobs but did not require applicants be unemployed or on relief.
FERA, the largest program from 1933-35, involved giving money to localities to operate work relief projects to employ those on direct relief. CWA was similar, but did not require workers to be on relief in order to receive a government sponsored job. In less than four months, the Civil Works Administration hired four million people, and during its five-months of operation, the CWA built and repaired 200 swimming pools, 3,700 playgrounds, 40,000 schools, of road, and 12 million feet of sewer pipe.
The Works Progress Administration, which followed the CWA, employed 8.5 million people in its seven-year history, working on 1.4 million projects, including the building or repair of 103 golf courses, 1,000 airports, 2,500 hospitals, 2,500 sports stadiums, 3,900 schools, 8,192 parks, 12,800 playgrounds, 124,031 bridges, 125,110 public buildings, and of highways and roads. The WPA operated on its own, and selected projects with the cooperation of local and state government but operated them with its own staff and budget. Hopkins started programs for youth (
National Youth AdministrationThe National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States. It operated from 1935 to 1943 as part of the Works Progress Administration. The NYA was headed by Aubrey Willis Williams, a prominent liberal from Alabama who was close to Harry Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt...
) and for artists and writers (
Federal One ProgramsFederal Project Number One was the collective name for a group of projects under the Work Projects Administration, a New Deal program in the United States. The five elements of the program were:*Mathematical Tables Project*Harry Hopkins-External links:*...
). He and Eleanor Roosevelt worked together to publicize and defend New Deal relief programs. He was concerned with rural areas but more and more focused on
Cities in the great depressionThroughout the industrial world, cities in the Great Depression were hit hard, beginning in 1929 and lasting through most of the 1930s. Worst hit were ports and cities dependent on heavy industry, such as steel and automobiles. Service-oriented cities were less hurt...
.
World War II
During the war years, Hopkins acted as Roosevelt's unofficial emissary to British Prime Minister
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
. Roosevelt dispatched Hopkins to assess Britain's determination and situation. Churchill escorted Hopkins all over the United Kingdom, and converted him to the British cause. At a small dinner party before he returned, Hopkins rose to propose a toast. "I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return. Well I am going to quote to you one verse from the Book of Books ... "Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Hopkins became the administrator of Lend Lease.
Hopkins had a major voice in policy for the vast $50 billion Lend-Lease program, especially regarding supplies, first for Britain and then (upon the German invasion) the USSR. He went to
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
in July 1941 to make personal contact with Stalin. Hopkins recommended, and the president accepted, the inclusion of the Soviets in Lend-Lease. He then accompanied Churchill to the
Atlantic ConferenceThe Atlantic Charter was the blueprint for the world after World War II, and is the foundation for many of the international treaties and organizations that currently shape the world...
. Hopkins promoted an aggressive war against Germany and successfully urged Roosevelt to use the Navy to protect convoys before the US entered the war in December 1941. Roosevelt brought him along as advisor to his meetings with Churchill at
CairoThe Cairo Conference of November 22 - 26 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
,
TehranThe Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference among the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
,
CasablancaThe Casablanca Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French protectorate, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the European strategy of the Allies during World War II. Present were Franklin D...
in 1942-43, and
YaltaThe Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D...
in 1945. He was a firm supporter of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, which received Lend Lease aid for its military and air force. Hopkins wielded more diplomatic power than the entire State Department. Hopkins helped identify and sponsor numerous potential leaders, including
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the...
. He continued to live in the White House and saw the president more often than any other advisor. Although Hopkins' health was steadily declining, Roosevelt sent him on additional trips to Europe in 1945; he attended the
Yalta ConferenceThe Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D...
in February 1945. He tried to resign after Roosevelt died, but President
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
sent him on one more mission to
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
.
Accusations of espionage
Hopkins was the top American official charged with dealing with Soviet officials during World War II and spoke with many Russians, from middle ranks to the very highest. He often explained to Stalin what Roosevelt was secretly planning in order to enlist Soviet support for American objectives. As a major decision maker in Lend Lease, he expedited the sending of as much war material as possible to Russia, as Congress had ordered. As was common in totalitarian societies, Soviets who spoke to Hopkins reported the contact to the
KGBThe KGB was the national security agency of the USSR. From 1954 until 1991, the Committee for State Security was the Communist state's premier secret police, internal security, and espionage organization, whose coat of arms—the Shield and the Sword—illustrate a national military hierarchy...
. Although no one has ever identified any secrets that Hopkins gave away that he should not have, or any decision in which he distorted American priorities in order to help
CommunismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
, some critics have suggested over the years that he was a Soviet sympathizer or indeed an active agent (largely on the basis of the undetermined identity of source "19").
A May 1943
VenonaThe Venona project was a long-running and highly secret collaboration between intelligence agencies of the United States and United Kingdom that involved the cryptanalysis of messages sent by several intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, mostly during World War II. There were known to be at...
report signed by Ahkmerov revealed that secret discussions between Roosevelt and Churchill had been reported by a source identified as "19", who was also present at the meeting. Military historian Eduard Mark, after examining Venona material, concluded that "19" was Harry Hopkins, on the grounds that only Hopkins would have been allowed to attend secret meetings with Churchill.
Personal
Hopkins married Ethel Gross in October 1913. They had three sons: David (1914-1980), Robert (1921-2007) and Stephen (1925-1944), and one daughter, Barbara. In 1927, Hopkins fell in love with Barbara Duncan, a secretary from
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He divorced Gross and in 1929 married Duncan. They had a daughter, Diana, born in 1932. Duncan died of cancer in October 1937. On July 30, 1942, Hopkins married Louise Macy (1906-1963). (Years before Macy had conducted an affair with the humorist
Robert BenchleyRobert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
. When Benchley heard she was marrying Hopkins, he reportedly said: "I place my women well.") A son, Marine private, Stephen P. Hopkins, was killed in action in the
Marshall IslandsThe Marshall Islands , officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. This nation of roughly 62,000 people is located north of Nauru and...
in 1944.
Death and remembrance
Hopkins, a chain-smoker, died in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
in January 1946, succumbing to a long and debilitating battle with
stomach cancerStomach or gastric cancer can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs and the liver. Stomach cancer causes about 800,000 deaths worldwide per year.-Epidemiology:...
. His body was
crematedCremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high temperatures and vaporization....
and the ashes interred in his old hometown of
Grinnell, IowaGrinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,105 at the 2000 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
.
There is a house on the
Grinnell CollegeGrinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. with a strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
campus named after him.
Secondary sources
- Adams, Henry Hitch. Harry Hopkins: A Biography (1977)
- Andrew, Christopher and Gordievsky, Oleg. KGB: The Inside Story, HarperCollins, (1990).
- Hopkins, June. Harry Hopkins: Sudden Hero, Brash Reformer (1999) biography by HH's granddaughter.
- Hopkins, June. "The Road Not Taken: Harry Hopkins and New Deal Work Relief" Presidential Studies Quarterly Vol. 29, 1999
- Howard; Donald S. The WPA and Federal Relief Policy (1943)
- Kurzman, Paul A. "Harry Hopkins and the New Deal", R. E. Burdick Publishers (1974)
- McJimsey George T. Harry Hopkins: Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy (1987), biography.
- Meriam; Lewis. Relief and Social Security The Brookings Institution. 1946. Highly detailed analysis and statistical summary of all New Deal relief programs; 900 pages
- Sherwood, Robert E. Roosevelt and Hopkins (1948), memoir by senior FDR aide; Pulitzer Prize. Enigma Books (2008)
- Singleton, Jeff. The American Dole: Unemployment Relief and the Welfare State in the Great Depression (2000)
- Smith, Jason Scott. Building New Deal Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933-1956 (2005)
- Smith, Jean Edward. FDR, Random House (2007)
- Romerstein, Herbert and Breindel, Eric. The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors, Regnery Publishing, Inc., (2000).
- Jordan, George Racey. From Major Jordan's Diaries, Harcourt, Brace and Company (1952).
- "Harry Lloyd Hopkins". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 4: 1946-1950. American Council of Learned Societies, 1974.
World War II
- Allen, R.G.D. "Mutual Aid between the U.S. and the British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
, 1941—5", in Journal of the Royal Statistical Society no. 109 #3, 1946. pp 243–77 online at www.jstor.org detailed statistical data on Lend Lease
- Clarke, Sir Richard. Anglo-American Economic Collaboration in War and Peace, 1942-1949. (1982), British perspective
- Dawson, Raymond H. The Decision to Aid Russia, 1941: Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics (1959)]
- Dobson, Alan P. U.S. Wartime Aid to Britain, 1940-1946 London, 1986.
- Herring Jr. George C. Aid to Russia, 1941-1946: Strategy, Diplomacy, the Origins of the Cold War (1973)]
- Kimball, Warren F. The Most Unsordid Act: Lend-Lease, 1939-1941 (1969).
- Louis, William Roger. Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by the dictionary of human geography, is “the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” Imperialism, in many ways, is described...
at Bay: The United States and the DecolonizationDecolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. The term generally refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and...
of the British Empire, 1941-1945. 1977.
- Reynolds, David. The Creation of the Anglo-American Alliance 1937-1941: A Study on Competitive Cooperation (1981)
- Thorne, Christopher. Allies of a Kind: The United States, Britain and the War Against Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 1941-1945 1978.
- Woods, Randall Bennett. A Changing of the Guard: Anglo-American Relations, 1941-1946 (1990)
External Sources
slave narratives