The Struggle For Human Rights By Eleanor Roosevelt

The position of first lady in a country like the United States has never and will never be an easy job. Women that have held that position through the ages have been the wife’s of both praised and infamous presidents. This has led to a general overlooking at the first lady’s importance in the well-being of the nation that is until certain women became more involved and defined new standards for the role. One of the first of such women and the one that is said to have set the bar for all future first ladies was Eleanor Roosevelt. Praised for her charm, generosity and outstanding intellect she was an avid activist and a supporter of human rights. In the 90’s another first lady was casually compared with Eleanor Roosevelt, this started a worldwide
Eleanor Roosevelt is admired throughout the globe for her ability of making herself heard. In her most famously known speech “The Struggle for Human Rights “delivered in 1948 in France, Roosevelt spoke on behalf of the United Nations and inspired the world. One of the most notable quotes from the speech goes: “The basic problem confronting the world today, as I said in the beginning, is the preservation of human freedom for the individual and consequently for the society of which he is a part” (americanrhetoric.com). This quote along with the rest of the speech reflect Eleanor’s Roosevelt’s ability to argue and make her opinions know. She never renounced her early activism, and strongly believed in the struggle for true human freedom. Her diplomatic abilities were praised worldwide, in her speech she declared sympathy for the Russian people but at the same time denounced their government and the system to which they had submitted. In fact her work in the United Nations and in the commission on human rights, ultimately led to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights