The Most Important Woman in America That You've Never Heard Of

     Raise your hand if you've ever heard of Anna M. Rosenberg? No, not Ethel Rosenberg, who was executed along with her husband for espionage and treason. Anna Rosenberg, the woman who was one of the closest advisors and confidantes to 5 presidents over about 50 years, the woman who had a hand in creating and administering some of the most consequential government programs in American history, programs that had a fantastic impact on America and represented major improvements in America, the woman who was interviewed and featured in every major newspaper and magazine, newsreels, and tv interview shows of the 1940s and 1950s. None of you? That's what I thought. I've spent 30 years of my life teaching American History and have been a rabid consumer of all things history for my entire life , and I had never heard of her until I received an Advance Readers copy of The Confidante written by Christopher C. Gorham. This book, set for release on February 21, 2023, is, incredibly, the first full biography of Anna Rosenberg.  I read it, and I was blown away. Like Gorham, I believe that it's a great injustice that she is not well known today.

    Like most US history teachers, I always taught that Eleanor Roosevelt was FDR's eyes and ears, traveling around the country and making reports and suggestions based on her meetings with everyday people and seeing issues firsthand. However, I just read a great biography of a woman that most Americans have probably never heard of, even though she was one of the most accomplished figures in American history. Anna Rosenberg wasn't unknown during her life. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television shows covered her frequently, reporting on the little woman who wore the fancy hats and got things done. Like Eleanor, she advised FDR on all things regarding labor, industrialization, and wartime mobilization. The difference is that FDR actually listened to Anna Rosenberg, and he constantly ignored Eleanor because he feared her constant advocacy for civil rights would cost him southern Democratic votes in Congress and in elections.

    Anna Lederer was born to a Jewish family in Budapest probably in 1899, although it could have been a year or two later. Her family immigrated to New York in 1912 to follow her father who had arrived in 1910. Her father instilled his great patriotism and love for his new country into his children. Anna married Julius Rosenberg in 1919.

    Anna first made national news as a high schooler when she led a student movement against a plan for mandatory military training. By the 1920s, she had become a part of the Tammany Hall Democratic political machine, mentored by Belle Moskowitz, the most powerful female Democrat in New York. From there she became a political consultant. After meeting the Roosevelts, she quickly became FDR's most trusted advisor. From there, she was involved in many of the most important actions of the 20th century.

    FDR sent Rosenberg on numerous fact finding missions. Her work involved coordinating industrial production and labor requirements in American factories to meet the demands on the battlefield. In the waning months of the war in Europe, she accompanied US troops as they liberated the Nordhausen concentration camp, and she became one of the first Allied women to enter a concentration camp. She was also with American soldiers as they entered Hitler's personal retreat mountain home, the Eagles Nest at Berchtesgaden. As she traveled with troops and got to know them, she learned that they shared concerns about how they would readjust to civilian life: this led directly to her work on the GI Bill. Finally, she became the highest ranking woman in the Pentagon and the Department of Defense in 1950 when she became Assistant Secretary of Defense, despite strong opposition led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, at the height of his Red Scare power, because she was a woman, Jewish, a New Dealer, and her last name (by marriage) was Rosenberg. 

    Aside from all of her other accomplishments, Anna Rosenberg was the driving force behind three of the most important acts of the 20th century while she was an advisor to FDR and to Harry Truman. First, Executive Order 8802 required integration of government jobs and jobs in the defense industries, prohibited discrimination, and created the Fair Employment Practice Committee to enforce it. Second, Truman issued Executive Order 9981 which required integration of military units. As Asst. Secretary of Defense, integration was one of her biggest responsibilities. Finally, the G.I.Bill gave veterans free educational, vocational, and financial benefits to help them readjust to civilian life. Rosenberg practically wrote all three, and all three faced major opposition. (Yes, even the GI Bill faced major opposition in Congress.) 

    The media loved her. WWII soldiers that she traveled with in Germany loved her. Politicians and Generals loved and respected her and valued her opinions. She was the first American to be awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Truman, created to honor civilians for their efforts in WWII. (This Medal of Freedom morphed into the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.) Yet, she is practically unknown today.

    Gorham's book addresses and corrects that injustice. Do yourself a favor and read The Confidante.