Eleanor Roosevelt, Biography Of A Great First Lady
Today we turn to the life of one of the most important women in contemporary history, Eleanor Roosevelt. He is a key figure in many of the most important events of the last century. Roosevelt was a diplomat and a human rights activist. She is one of the most influential people of the 20th century.
As the niece of President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she enjoyed a privileged relationship as First Lady. This position has been the platform from which she has been able to provide institutional support to such important subjects as social justice, women’s liberation and universal human rights.
While the women who had preceded her in this position had limited themselves to their status as the president’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt succeeded in giving her the posture of first lady its letters of nobility. She made it a position of responsibility vis-à-vis the government and the people. And she didn’t stop there. Indeed, her work as a delegate to the United Nations has left a very important legacy to the whole world.
Her youth
Eleanor was born in New York City, to an elite American family. It is said, however, that she did not have a happy childhood. She was orphaned at a very young age. She was sent to study at an upscale school in London. She seems to have received help from a good teacher. The latter was able to make her a strong and charismatic young woman in a short time.
Back in the United States, she met a distant cousin with a promising future, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with whom she married in 1905. They moved shortly after to Albany, after her husband’s appointment as senator. The couple have 6 children, one of whom died very young.
Despite her family obligations, Eleanor begins to take an interest in the secrets of politics and participate in several organizations. She supported the League of Voting Women, the League of Women of the Trade Union. Or the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party. In addition, she ran a furniture factory and taught literature and history at a high school. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross.
Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady
In 1933, a great ascent occurs. Her husband is elected President of the United States for 12 years. During these terms, Eleanor acts like no First Lady has done before. At a time when women occupied little public space, she gave more than 300 lectures for women journalists. In addition, she participated in political acts in favor of the rights of women and especially African-Americans.
She defends the civil rights of the most disadvantaged, she writes in newspapers. She edits a women’s magazine and publishes four books. During World War II, she took charge of civil defense matters. During the war, she even publicly opposed one of her husband’s decisions as president in relation to the imprisonment of thousands of Japanese women on the West Coast.
An important legacy
On the death of her husband, far from retiring from public life, Eleanor gave a new turn to her political activity. She is recruited by President Truman as a delegate of the United Nations Assembly. She participated in the elaboration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document is considered the International Magna Carta. Its influence appears in the constitutions of many countries and protects the rights of men and women around the world.
President Truman called her “the First Lady of the World”. John F. Kennedy considered her to be the archetype of the American woman. His legacy has served as an inspiration to many of the women who have succeeded him. Roosevelt opened the doors of politics to women. She died on April 23, 1962 in the city where she was born, at the age of 78.
Never before has a woman had the public and political importance to which she has achieved. Eleanor is still a source of inspiration to many women inside and outside the borders of her country today. All those who fight for the rights of women and minorities recognized that Eleanor dramatically improved the dignity of all human beings.
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