Mary Nicks
Carole Vorke
Eleanor
Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, and grew into a shy
awkward child. Her mother died when Eleanor was very young and her father died
a couple years later, so she went to live with her grandmother, but it was not
until she attended boarding school in England at 15, that she had a chance to
develop her self-confidence among other girls
As an orphan, Eleanor had no real family
identity, no self-esteem or sense of acceptance. No one to whom she could ask those personal questions, daughters
ask their mothers. She had no role
models except her elderly grandmother. Her father, an alcoholic, left the
family physically and mentally, long before he died.
Eleanor married her first cousin Franklin
Delano Roosevelt in 1905. Eleanor's
domineering mother-in-law Sara was a constant irritant in Eleanor's life who
added to her
feelings of inadequacy. When her son,
Franklin, jr., died a few months after his birth
Eleanor became increasingly depressed.
Altogether, Eleanor had six children because birth control did not exist
yet. "I suppose I was fitting pretty well into the pattern of a fairly
conventional, quiet, young society matron," she wrote later in her
autobiography. (Roosevelt 1961)
Eleanor helped her husband with his
political career, from 1910 until he became president in 1933. During this
period Eleanor was raising a growing family while living with Sara, Franklin’s
mother who did not like her. When World
War I started, Eleanor became active supporting the war effort. This got her away from her mother-in-law and
gave her some independence.
In 1918, Eleanor discovered love letters
between her husband and her social secretary, Lucy Mercer. It broke her heart
and she wanted a divorce but Franklin convinced her to stay in the marriage.
Sara, Franklin’s mother, threatened to disinherit him if he divorced Eleanor.
This was more about keeping his political career on track and less about
keeping the family together. However,
contrary to his promise, Franklin continued to see Lucy for the next 31 years.
This marked the beginning of a very hard
time for Eleanor. She spent a lot of
those years in Washington, alone. She realized there was a tremendous amount of
gossip about them and her unfaithful husband. Her humiliation was very public. She did not know if she could manage on her
own with five children under 10 years old or how she would support them if she
left her husband. Looking at pictures
of Eleanor between 1918 and 1921, you can see how thin she became. Not only did
she lose a tremendous amount of weight but also the stress caused her teeth to
go bad. Emotionally she was scarred, and her love for her husband was never the
same.
In the face of these serious personal
setbacks she dedicated herself to helping others,
especially women and the poor. When her
husband's promising career seemed doomed by the crippling effects of polio, her
help and encouragement gave him the will to go on. As a result of her strength,
Franklin eventually became President of the United States and many believe she
was truly the power behind the throne.
As she had written wistfully at 14, "...no matter how plain a woman
may be if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to
her...." (Roosevelt, 1949)
For most Americans however, Eleanor
provided a welcome display of genuine caring during a time of great national
crisis. She became a role model for
other women. She lobbied her husband’s
cabinet to provide greater relief for women and to develop special programs to
help women and destitute children.
She had a hand in the creation of
the Works Progress Administration, which created work projects for the
unemployed, and the associated Federal Arts Project, Federal Writers Project
and Federal Theater Project to help unemployed artists.
It was the beginning of another
level of liberation for her, because when she returns to New York, she became
very involved in feminist politics. She was introduced to Esther Lape and
Elizabeth Read, and became involved in the feminist movement, and later in the
peace movement. Ironically, the years of her greatest personal despair also
become the years of her greatest liberation and public successes.
It is at about this time that
Eleanor’s Grandmother Hall died and Eleanor was responsible for making the
funeral arrangements. As she reflected on her grandmother's life, she began to
compare her life to the "dailiness" of her grandmother's life. She
realized that for her being a devoted wife and a devoted mother was not enough.
She needed a life of her own. Her grandmother could have done so much more than
she did with her life. Eleanor Roosevelt decides she is going to do everything
possible with her life and live it to the fullest.
With many moments of grief -- her
husband's affair, the death of her child, this great sense of grief over her
grandmother's death, the death of her parents, all of the deaths, she becomes
reborn. Just about that time she meets
two politically active and very interesting women who recall the community that
she left in Allenswood. Eleanor
Roosevelt had wanted to teach, and had come back to become a social worker. And
so once again, she gets very involved in politics, only this time the politics
of her own choosing.
After returning to New York in
1902, Eleanor Roosevelt joined the Junior League of New York and the Consumers’
League. At the Junior League, Eleanor taught dance classes to immigrants. In
1905, when she married Franklin Delanor Roosevelt she was asked a political
question about the state and national government. Eleanor did not even know
there were two separate governments and decided that she needed to get involved
in the political community. Along with politics, Eleanor became a crusader for
a wide variety of social causes including the Women’s Movement, Black Movement,
youth employment and aid to the poor.
In 1912, Eleanor attended her first Democratic National Convention. She joined the Women Voters League in 1920, the same year the vote was won for women. She was also active in the Women’s Trade Union League and the Women’s Division of the Democratic State Committee. In 1925 Eleanor founded and opened the Val-Kill Furniture Factory. The factory was meant as a source of income for local farm boys in the off-season of farming. A year later Eleanor purchased the Todhunter School for girls with fellow activists Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook. Eleanor was the vice president of the school and taught history and government classes. Between 1928 and 1934 Eleanor was appointed director of the Bureau of Women’s Activities, assisted with the Arthurdale homestead project for coal miners in West Virginia, formed the National Youth Administration and participated in anti-lynching campaigns. All of her activism comes during a time when her husband had recently been elected president and was also paralyzed as a result of polio.
Early in her career, Eleanor became involved with helping American soldiers and their families. During World War I, Eleanor spoke at a number of patriotic rallies and was involved with the Red Cross. She also took time out of her busy schedule to visit with wounded soldiers and write letters to their families. She oversaw a number of “knitting rooms” set up by the Navy. Her most well known visit with wounded soldiers was in 1919 when she volunteered at the St. Elizabeth Hospital.
In 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt started her
own syndicated column, “My Day”. She
wrote the column six days a week and used it as a tool to reach millions of
Americans everyday. In the column she wrote about social and political issues,
historical events and her life. With the exception of four missed days due to
her husband’s death, Eleanor wrote the column everyday from its beginning until
it ended in 1962. In addition to her well-known column, Eleanor also had her
own radio show and her own television show. The monthly television show,
“Prospects of Mankind with Eleanor Roosevelt”, first hit the airwaves in
October of 1959. The show hosted a wide range of prominent political figures
and discussed topics such as the Peace Corps.
Eleanor also hosted hundreds of her own
press conferences while she was First Lady. One way in which she helped promote
women into media was by only allowing female reporters in her press
conferences. As a result, if any newspaper were going to get a story on Eleanor
Roosevelt, they were forced to hire women.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a continual force
in the anti-segregation and anti-lynching movements and became a member of the
NAACP in 1945. She also encouraged the Army Nurse Corps to open its membership
up to Blacks. As a result of her activism in the Black movement, FDR signed
Executive Orders “barring discrimination in the administration of various New
Deal Programs” (Goodwin 3). Eleanor also made bold moves such as sitting on the
Black side of an auditorium where whites and Blacks were forced to sit separately.
Eleanor was elected head of the United
Nation Human Rights commission in 1946 and drafted the Declaration of Human
Rights. In that same year she also created the Americans for Democratic Action.
This group focused on domestic social reform and resisted the growing Cold War
in Russia. Despite her efforts for a democratic society, the FBI suspected
Eleanor of communist activity. While the FBI never did a full-fledged
investigation on her they did have a file on Eleanor containing over three
thousand pages of information on her activities. She was charged with being
involved in communist activities although nothing ever really came about the
allegations.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a unique and hard
working woman who was ahead of her time. Her actions and efforts in the
political and social arenas furthered the Women’s Movement, the Black Movement
and many other social reforms. According to Goodwin in a Time Magazine article,
“She was the first woman to speak in front of a national convention, to write a
syndicated column, to earn money as a lecturer, to be a radio commentator and
to hold regular press conferences” (Goodwin 1). Eleanor was always looking for
ways to help the less fortunate and propel society toward equality for women,
people of color, immigrants and children. Her progressive ideals and endless
contributions have been a legacy and example for all Americans.
Eleanor Roosevelt embodies women of
change in feminist terms for her contributions that focused on human rights
throughout the world. One way she accomplished this was through her plethora of
writings. Her writings directly influenced the ability of individuals to impact
change. She once said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” She
spent a lifetime living those words. Her life’s work included the role of First
Lady which she directly redefined and established new opportunities for women
as a whole. Her work in the United Nations enabled her to establish a global
framework for the organization of human rights. As the chairwoman of the
Commission on the Status of Women she fought for and ensured the rights and
roles of women that are commonplace today. The following passage from a speech
she gave outlines her direction and vision.
Her vision of human rights encompassed the movement against
Apartheid. She reached a wide array of readers through her daily column, thus
she became a voice that could activate change. She directed readers to take a
stand and join together not only as a community of Americans but also as
citizens of the world. Eleanor sensed that what impacted other nations would
impact each of us. Her call to join in a day of protest validated and brought
attention to the lack of human rights present under the Apartheid system. In
this one day she took an enormous human rights violation and demonstrated the
ability of one individual to effect change. Uniting people in a simple way to
bring about change became her badge and beacon. This excerpt demonstrates her
ability to capture attention and become a human rights activist.
"NEW YORK, DECEMBER 2, 1957 - People all over the world have
been asked to sign a Declaration of Conscience to observe a day of protest
against South Africa's apartheid policy. An international committee, composed
of more than 150 world leaders from more than 43 nations, has designated Human
Rights Day, December 10, as this worldwide day of protest. Particularly in
India and in Africa, as well as in many other countries of the world, there
will be demonstrations protesting the policy, which is felt to be harmful to
human relations, the world over. Therefore it cannot be the domestic concern of
one nation only, but of all nations."(The American Experience Timeline)
In her articles, she compared the effort to desegregate
America with the Apartheid in South Africa. These abuses, although different in
degree, emphasized that human rights were being violated. She bravely resigned
from the Daughters of the American Revolution, declaring that sometimes change
must come in other formats of resistance, especially when an organization
exhibits discrimination. In this case the DAR refused the performance of a
black singer named Marian Anderson in a place where individual rights should
have been guaranteed, Constitution Hall. Moreover, she promoted boycotts of
Southern products during the reluctant implementation of desegregation. Her
voice and views became a sounding board from which citizens could see beyond
their own town. She connected you to the bigger global picture. To be an
activist became a matter of simple choices. Her quote "As for
accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along",
vividly portrays the dedication to which she facilitated change throughout her
life. To effect change she utilized the tools that were available to her.
One of her greatest accomplishments was to collaborate with
the United Nations in the creation of the "Universal Declaration of Human
Rights". During this same time period, Eleanor became an outspoken
advocate of human rights worldwide. Her focal point does not narrow but rather
becomes panoramic. Included in her vision are the rights of individuals, which
are documented in thirty key articles of the "Universal Declaration of
Human Rights." The document became a constitution for the world, outlining
the rights of citizens. Article 1 states “All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and
should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." (The Eleanor
Roosevelt Papers) Article 28, which states, "Everyone is entitled to a
social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration can be fully realized." (The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers)
These two Articles seem to embody the foundation and vision that Eleanor sought
to establish and foster. With renewed ambition, Eleanor describes her philosophy.
"For it isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it
isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it." She championed the
cause of the Jewish people displaced and dehumanized through the Holocaust. She
demanded the recognition of the new state of Israel or threatened to leave her
position with the United Nations. In 1948, as the Cold War began to unfold,
Eleanor formed a committee called "Americans for Democratic Action".
This committee worked to ensure those rights specifically outlined in the
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. Through the formation of
committees Eleanor found the connections and power to initiate change.
Eleanor Roosevelt symbolized change for women when on
December 14, 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed her to the Commission on
the Status of Women. The work of the commission pioneered for the rights and
privileges that women take for granted today but were once prohibited. Although
many women still struggle with equal pay for equal work, this commission made
great inroads and laid the foundation for future legislation. One outcome to
their efforts spawned committees to form at the state level. William
Leuchtenberg, from Duke University reaffirms the efforts of the commission in
the following passage.
"The commission examined discrimination
against women and recommended ways to eliminate it. It studied legislation and
services that would help women to fulfill their roles, whether as housewives or
as workers, and prompted legislative and executive actions. It spurred an
executive order requiring equal employment opportunities for women under
federal contracts. In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which
had been endorsed by the commission. The commission also advocated changes in
state laws that excluded women from jury duty, from owning property or a
business, or from legal control of their earnings. Within a few years every
state had established its own commission on the status of women. The national
commission also made recommendations to the private sector on issues such as
day care, access to education, and wages."(President’s Commission on the
Status of Women) For every woman that earns a wage, utilizes on-site day care,
or receives the jury duty notification in the mail, or attends college because
of equal opportunity grants, they can thank Eleanor Roosevelt and her
contribution to the commission. Ultimately even attending a Women’s National
Basketball Association game most likely could trace roots back to efforts of
this commission. This group of women enacted legislation that our daughters
reap the benefits of today.
The
accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt frame her life. In her own words, “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." She utilized every opportunity
to enrich the lives of those oppressed, mistreated, and devalued. Her
establishment of a world framework by which to ensure human rights prevails
today and will continue for generations to come. Each of us in one way or
another feels the importance of her work. Her legacy endures through our
actions as proponents of change where human rights are denied.
Works Cited
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The Wit and Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York:
Meridian 1966.
Biography of
Eleanor Roosevelt
. White House Web Site.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ar32.html>
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Jeannette. The Story of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York: Morrow.1956.
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>.
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<http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/2upa/Aws/pressComm.asp>
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S. Eleanor Roosevelt 1884-1962 January 12, 2000.
<http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/smahady/ercover.htm>
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Eleanor . Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York: Harper,
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