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Adrianna Haight
Jamie Nelson
POLS-1100-400-Sp16
March 21, 2016
Eleanor Roosevelt
In Eleanor Roosevelts book, You Learn by Living, Eleanor states, We do not have to
become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not
as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down. Eleanor Roosevelt
was an American hero who lived her life by the dictates of her conscience and sought to improve
the human condition. She is an important historical figure who filled a number of roles
throughout her lifetime.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born October 11, 1884 to Elliot Roosevelt and Anna Hall.
She was born in New York City and spent most of her childhood in New York. The White House
website describes her younger self as, A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love.
According to the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project by George Washington University, Eleanor
had a difficult childhood that was marred by tension between her parents and criticism towards
Eleanor from her mother. Her father struggled with alcoholism and her mother, who is described
as a, stunning beauty, struggled with Eleanors serious disposition.
Eleanors mother died in 1892 and her father two years later. Her grandmother became
her guardian and she went to live with her in Tivoli, New York. In 1899, her grandmother sent
her to Allenswood Academy in London. This decision proved to be one of the most important
shaping factors in who Eleanor became. According to the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project it
was during this time that, Eleanor began to study under the tutelage of Mademoiselle Marie

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Souvestre, a bold, articulate woman whose commitment to liberal causes and detailed study of
history played a key role in shaping Eleanor's social and political development. The Project
goes on to say that Eleanor thought of Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre as one of the three most
influential people in her life.
After completing her education Eleanor returned to New York, With a fresh sense of
confidence in herself and her abilities, as described by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential
Library and Museum website. She worked with a number of charitable organizations and began
teaching at the Rivington Street Settlement House. It was shortly thereafter that she ran into
Franklin D. Roosevelt, her fifth cousin, on a train, and the two eventually began to date.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project discusses that her future mother-in-law did not
approve of the relationship and sought to, Separate them. However, despite her efforts, the
couple chose to marry and her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, gave her away at her
wedding. Eleanor and Franklin went on to have six children together, one who died in infancy.
In 1911, Franklin was elected to the New York state senate and became Assistant
Secretary of the Navy in 1913. During World War I, Eleanor dedicated her time to the American
Red Cross and to visiting sailors in Navy hospitals. By 1921, Franklin had contracted
poliomyelitis and caused, Mrs. Roosevelt to become increasingly active in politics in part to
help him maintain his interests but also to assert her own personality and goals, according to the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum website.
Franklin became president in 1933 and Eleanor transformed the role of First Lady. The
White House website states that, She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to
all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a
daily syndicated newspaper column, My Day. She lobbied for equality between races and

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genders. Going so far as to hold press conferences with only female reporters and according to
the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, She shocked conservative Washington society by
announcing she would have an entirely black White House domestic staff. She continued to
fight for the causes that she believed in and was willing to take stances on issues that her
husband disapproved of. The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project says, And, in contrast to FDR
who refrained from actively supporting anti-lynching legislation, a very public ER refused to
leave the Senate gallery during the filibuster over the bill. Eleanor was willing to take public
stances in defense of her beliefs, regardless of the backlash.
Franklin D. Roosevelts health had begun to deteriorate by 1944, according to The Miller
Center article on his death. The website goes on to say that, There, on April 12, while sitting for
a portrait, he collapsed and died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Eleanor took a four-day break from
her column after her husbands death, the only break she would take from it, until her death.
Eleanor wrote of her last days in the White House in her column, which was republished on the
Public Broadcasting Systems website, There was consternation and grief but, at the same time,
courage and confidence in the ability of this country and its people to back new leaders and to
carry through the objectives to which the people have pledged themselves. She expressed
confidence in the new administration and the countrys future. Despite her own future becoming
uncertain.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project talks about the many people who suggested that
she run for office, however Eleanor instead took a position that was given to her by President
Truman. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum website says, In December 1945,
Harry Truman appointed her to the United States delegation to the United Nation where she
stunned delegates with her political finesse she displayed in overseeing the drafting and

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unanimous passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights became her project and she actively pursued making it a part of international
politics.
She gave a speech in France in 1948 which gave a passionate plea for the ratification of
the declaration. In it she said, Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of information,
freedom of assemblythese are not just abstract ideals to us; they are tools with which we create
a way of life, a way of life in which we can enjoy freedom. She continued to promote her
causes and serve in various positions throughout the remainder of her life.
Eleanor Roosevelt died on November 2, 1962 and was buried with her husband.
According to an article by The Atlantic, titled, Eleanor Roosevelt's Anything-but-Private
Funeral, Eleanor began planning her funeral years before her death. Despite her requests for a,
Small and simple, service, there were three United States Presidents in attendance, as well as
the current vice president. Two-hundred-and-fifty people were invited and a number of
prominent figures were in attendance.
Eleanor overcame her difficult early years, a lack of self-confidence, the death of a child,
and multitudes of other trials to grow into a strong and determined public figure. She stuck to her
convictions, even when they were not popular, and always had the courage to do what she knew
to be right. Her legacy lives on and continues to influence and inspire people around the world
and throughout history.

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Works Cited
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. WGBH Educational
Foundation. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/eleanor-myday/>.
"Anna Eleanor Roosevelt." The White House. The White House, 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/first-ladies/eleanorroosevelt>.
"Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum." Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential
Library and Museum. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/bio_er.html>.
"Miller Center." Franklin D. Roosevelt: Death of the President-. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://millercenter.org/president/biography/fdroosevelt-death-of-the-president>.
Peyser, Marc, and Timothy Dwyer. "Eleanor Roosevelt's Anything-but-Private Funeral." The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 4 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/11/eleanor-roosevelts-anything-butprivate-funeral/264460/>.
Roosevelt, Eleanor. You Learn by Living. New York: Harper, 1960. Print.
"The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project." The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project. Web. 18 Mar.
2016. <https://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/documents/speeches/doc026617.cfm>.