Eleanor Roosevelt was born in October 11, 1884, in New York City. Her father was the younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt, making her the niece of the 26th President. When she was 18, Eleanor Roosevelt became deeply interested in social reform work, serving as a teacher for immigrant children and joining the National Consumer's League.
Eleanor Roosevelt married Franklin Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. During the war years, Eleanor volunteered with the Red Cross and with the Navy hospital. In the 1920s, she became interested in the politics of the Democratic Party, and was involved with various women's rights groups. When FDR became president in 1932, Eleanor was scared of becoming First Lady and losing her autonomy. However, during FDR's terms in office, she managed to change the traditional role of the First Lady as a social hostess into something with more political power.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong supporter of women's rights, and she is considered as one of the major feminists in American History. During her time as First Lady, Roosevelt worked hard to keep women in the New Deal. She established She-She-She Camps, and made sure that women were included in the National Youth Administration and the Federal Arts programs. She assembled a list of women that she felt were qualified for federal appointments, and held many press conferences for female journalists and reporters in a time where women were typically barred from White House conferences. When America was gearing for World War II, Roosevelt strongly promoted the women's employment in the military and civil defense units.
After she left the White House in 1945, Roosevelt was still a politically active private citizen. She was the US delegate in the United Nations, where she saw the passage of the Universal Human Declaration of Rights. President Kennedy also appointed Roosevelt head of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, championing women's rights until her death in 1962.
Eleanor Roosevelt had a major impact in American history. She was an avid supporter of social reform, and a leading face of the women's rights movement. Although she had her fair share of critics, Eleanor Roosevelt ultimately caused widespread social change across the nation.
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor RooseveltSources:
http://www.history.com/topics/first-ladies/eleanor-roosevelt
https://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/lesson-plans/notes-er-and-womens-movement.cfm
http://www.biography.com/people/eleanor-roosevelt-9463366#life-after-the-white-house
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/first-ladies/eleanorroosevelt
This is a very interesting article. Eleanor Roosevelt is such a house hold name that I have always assumed that I knew a lot about her, but after reading this article it is clear that there is a lot that I didn't, or don't know about her. For example I had never known that Franklin Roosevelt was her fifth cousin or that her father was the younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt.
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ReplyDeleteIt is important to note that Eleanor Roosevelt's confidence and assertive nature as a leader is partly due to the fact that her husband suffered a crippling polio attack in 1921; this forced her to step up and help him with his political career. Also, I found out that one of the ways she continued to serve the public was as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, and as the "chair of the UN's Human Rights Commission," where she helped to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biography.com/people/eleanor-roosevelt-9463366#us-first-lady
I think throughout most of history we tend to study and educate ourselves more on the dominant men of the time period and this is a great exception. I think it's incredible that Eleanor Roosevelt completely changed the role of being the "First Lady" from just being the president's wife to a woman's rights activist.
ReplyDeleteI think your topic was a great choice because as nathan said we mainly talk about the historical men, while the women of history did just as many great things that we don't know about. I think it was brave of her to take on her role as first lady and transform it into a political position instead of just the pretty woman of the house. She was a strong woman who had an impact on our country because she had a strong will to create change.
ReplyDeleteI think Eleanor Roosevelt really set the stage for so many women with her accomplishments. I think that in specific she set the stage for Michelle Obama, who's openly a huge women's rights activist among many other things and this was made possible by Eleanor Roosevelt. She made being a women's rights activist a positive thing that people wanted to follow which is extremely notable.
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