Why Is Eleanor Roosevelt Important

Brianna Sparks
Mr. Zingale/ Mr. Lehman
US History/ Language Arts
12 December 2016
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was the first First Lady to be publicly active in political and social issues. The director of Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Edgar Hoover; however, believed that she might be involved in communist activities. Did you know that he ordered his agents to monitor and keep extensive files on her? Thomas Jefferson stated that “All men are created equal” in the Declarations of Independence, and until today, our country was founded on that belief. However, that definition had changed throughout our country’s history. Frederick Douglass was someone who not only fought for the rights of slaves, but also the rights of women. Eleanor
Roosevelt was another person who fought for the rights of humans. Through her actions of advocating for women, humans, and Civil rights, she had helped to change the definition of equality in our country by standing up for women, workers, poor people, and black people.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, in 1884. Her parents were Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt and Anna Livingston Hall Roosevelt. Eleanor had two younger brothers. She was also the niece of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as president from 1858 to 1919. Although her family was rich and wealthy, her childhood was quite traumatic. Eleanor’s father often had mental depressions for his alcoholism. Her mother, on the other hand, was concerned about the family’s image in upper class society. She was embarrassed by Eleanor’s appearance, which she considered wasn’t pretty. Eleanor suffered a tremendous loss at a very young age. Her mother died in 1892, when she was only 8 years old. Her father died two years later, following her mother’s death. Because of this, Eleanor was sent to live with her maternal grandmother, who only made Eleanor’s life more miserable. She intimidated Eleanor’s looks, lowering her self-esteem. Eleanor, who was timid and awkward, found it difficult to compete with other girls. When Eleanor was 15 years old, she enrolled in Allenswood Academy. There, she was taught to be independent and aware of political issues. Eleanor herself soon discovered that helping others gave her the greatest happiness. In 1905, Eleanor married Franklin Roosevelt, her distant cousin, who later became president. They had six children. In 1913, the Roosevelt family moved to Washington. Years after their marriage, Eleanor experienced one of the toughest dilemma of her life — her husband fell in love with another women. Despite the fact that Eleanor wanted to end their marriage, she didn’t do it, for Franklin’s urge that she remains his wife. From that point on, their relationship changed — Eleanor decided that she would no longer be a part of a politician’s wife. Instead, she inaugurated her own path, building a life based off her own interests. She said, “I think I lived those years very impersonally. It was almost as though I had erected someone outside myself who was the president's wife. I was lost somewhere deep down inside myself. That is the way I felt and worked until I left the White House.”
During World War 1 in 1917, Eleanor worked with Red Cross, volunteered at Naval Hospital, and joined Navy League’s Comfort Committee. In 1920, she was actively involved in the Women’s Trade Union League. Eleanor was also a member of Legislative Affairs Committee of the League of Women Voters (LWV). LWV is a civic organization that supports the new women suffrage rights. In 1921, her husband suffered from a dreadful disease called polio, which he can’t walk without help. During this time, Eleanor helped her husband return to politics. In 1917, Eleanor established Val-Kill industry to provide supplemental income for local families. Eleanor was different from all the other First Ladies. Unlike the wives of earlier presidents, she was the first First Lady to be active in political issues. She gave many speeches, traveled around the world, and visited areas that need economic help. She wrote a 6 days a week newspaper column: My Day, which discusses issues about women and race, as well as other major events like Pearl Harbor and Prohibition. After World War 1 in 1929, the United States entered a rigorous economic downturn: the Great Depression. During this time, Americans faced many problems: people lost their jobs, banks lost their money, and not being able to afford education. Seeing this, Eleanor stood up for these people and make sure that they gain the president’s attention. Not only that, she also supported federal laws that her husband would not endorse; for he feared that it would make him lose Southern votes. Additionally, she worked with American Youth Congress (AYC), which focused on providing work and education for Americans from 16 to 25 years old. She also worked with the National Youth Administration (NYA). As a matter of fact, from 1935 to 1943, NYA provided jobs, vocational training, and higher standards of education for over 4.5 American youths.
Eleanor was a leading activist for the rights of women & African American. She supported the African American movement and invited hundreds of African American guests to the White House. Moreover, Eleanor advocated equal rights for women and fought for racial rights equality. She encouraged her husband to appoint more women to federal positions, helped them receive better wages, and held 350 press conferences for only female reporters while traveling nationwide on lecture tour. In 1938, at a conference in Birmingham, Alabama, Eleanor challenged a segregation ordinance — a law that separate different races; for it required her to sit aside from her African American friends. She resigned in protest from the Daughters of the American Revolution since she told a famous African American singer, Marian Anderson, that she could not sing in Washington’s Constitution Hall because she was black. In response, Eleanor arranged for Marian Anderson to sing in the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1941, the United States was forced to enter World War 2 when the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Eleanor traveled around the United States and praised soldiers in her speeches over the radio. Her husband died soon after he was elected to a fourth term president. When she heard the news, she said, “I am sorry for the people of this country than I am for myself.” Soon after Franklin’s death, President Harry S. Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate of the United Nation General Assembly. She helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1946. In 1961, she was appointed as the head of the Commission on the Status of Women by president John F. Kennedy. At the United Nations General Assembly, she said,
The long and meticulous study and debate of which this Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the product means that it reflects the composite views of the many men and governments who have contributed to its formulation. Not every man nor every government can have what he wants in a document of this kind. There are of course particular provisions in the Declaration before us with which we are not fully satisfied. I have no doubt this is true of other delegations, and it would still be true if we continued our labors over many years. Taken as a whole the Delegation of the United States believes that this is a good document — even a great document — and we propose to give it our full support. The position of the United States on the various parts of the Declaration is a matter of record in the Third Committee. I shall not burden the Assembly, and particularly my colleagues of the Third Committee, with a restatement of that position here. Eleanor’s contribution made a monumental impact on our country. Her words, her efforts, and her works have made a significant legacy — not only she protected the rights of women and men in our country, but also across the world. Eleanor expanded the role of women in society. She fought for numerous humanitarian causes, such as political, social, and racial rights. Within the last two years of her life, she suffered from aplastic anemia and tuberculosis, but that didn’t stop her from advocating and fighting for women’s rights, human rights, and civil rights. Until today, many schools have been named after her. In fact, on the back of the new five dollar bill will feature the image of Eleanor Roosevelt; for the historic events that happened at the Lincoln Memorial. In conclusion, Eleanor and her humanitarian works contributed greatly not only for our nation, but also the world.
Eleanor brought peace among nations. She fought for women’s rights, labor’s right, and civil rights by advocating for them, bringing attention and inspiration to their issues. She supported many charities, including Red Cross and Navy League’s Comfort Committee. Eleanor became a delegate to United Union and helped write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was appointed as the head of Commission on the Status of Women by President John F. Kennedy. Despite the hardship that she had to go through in her life, Eleanor was known as one of the most important women in the 20th century. She will always be a role model for women and her work will continue to inspire the future generation. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” —Eleanor
Roosevelt

Work Cited
Anirudh.
“10 Major Accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt.” Learnodo Newtonic, 7 Oct. 2016, www.learnodo-newtonic.com/eleanor-roosevelt-accomplishments.
Anirudh's article captures the 10 major accomplishments that Eleanor Roosevelt did throughout her life. Her work and effort transformed the role of First Lady in the White House and advocated for racial equality. Anirudh is a writer, educator, and novelist. He wrote several books such as "Happy Decoded" and "Teicos", and his work is considered credible. This source is excellent for my essay because it includes detailed information about the major accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt.
“Eleanor Roosevelt.” National Women's History Museum, NWHM, www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/eleanor-roosevelt/.
This is an educational website that gives a detailed bibliography of Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the most influential women of the 20th century. This source is credible and objective because there's no pop-up ads or advertisements. In addition, it has a contact option with the National Women's History Museum, phone number, as well as e-mail address. This source is useful for my essay because it has detailed information about Eleanor’s early childhood that I can use for my bibliography
paragraph.