CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born in 1884, was the wife of President Roosevelt (who

served as the president of the United States from 1933 to 1945), and acted in the undertaking

civic engagement in her own right while taking part in different humanitarian tasks until her

death in 1962. She was at first hesitant to assume the position of the first lady, afraid of losing

her well-earned autonomy and reputation, and the knowledge that she would be forced to leave

her Todhunter educating work and other tasks that she valued.1 Nonetheless, following the

swearing in of Roosevelt as the president, she started changing the conventional function of

being the first lady from an unapproachable steward to a sociable, active partaker in the nation’s

development.

Eleanor Roosevelt became the first lady in the course of the Great Depression (which

commenced around 1929 and lasted for approximately ten years) when the circumstances called

for the president and the Congress to execute numerous economic recuperation programs

referred to as the New Deal. In her capacity as the first lady, she traveled around the US while

monitoring and observing operations in public institutions and establishments.2 She also acted as

a great supporter of the civil rights of African Americans, in addition to an advocate for women,

US employees, the unemployed, the youth, and the poor in the country. Moreover, she put efforts

in the reinforcement of government-financed initiatives for writers and artists. Eleanor persuaded

her husband to increase the number of females in federal positions. In about a week of being the

first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, astonished the then conventional society through her

announcement that she would have an all black domestic personnel in the White House.

. Doris Goodwin, No ordinary time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The home front in
1

World War II (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013), 24.

2
. Howard Gardner, and Emma Laskin, Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership (New
York City: Basic Books, 2011), 88.
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Although the majority of historians perceive her dedication to Arthurdale as the most

precise instance of her impact in the New Deal, Eleanor Roosevelt did more than just

championing a single poverty-eradication strategy. She constantly advocated for the

diversification of relief in accordance to the people that required it.3 She affirmed that the

unemployed are not an eccentric community but are just like anybody would be if not offered an

opportune chance to make a living. She stated that the distress that the unemployed suffered

ought to be the focal point of relief. In this regard, she initiated the schemes for people that had

not been encompassed in New Deal initiatives, assisted others that were at risk of exclusion or

experiencing the loss of their sources of income, ensured the recruitment of females, African

Americans, and the liberalists in the federal organizations, and worked tirelessly as the most

forthright backer of liberal transformation.

Eleanor Roosevelt tackled the challenges facing the jobless youth with the same zeal as

that of the economic sufferings being encountered by women, which was not a politically trendy

role for her to embark on. Through her conviction that additional policies modified to the

specific requirements of the youth were urgently required, she pushed for the creation of youth

programs that would offer a social, instead of a martial, consideration. Eleanor Roosevelt

emphasized that the problems that the youth were suffering demanded recognition, but just in

manners that promoted a sense of self-esteem.4 Through the provision of job proficiencies,

knowledge, training, and development, she was convinced that the generated initiatives would

enhance civic knowledge that would consequently support devotion to social fairness. In this
3
. Diane Blair, and Shawn Parry-Giles, "The rise of the rhetorical first lady: Politics,
gender ideology, and women's voice, 1789-2002," Rhetoric & Public Affairs 5, no. 4 (2013):
565-599.
4
. John Bickford III, and Cynthia Rich, "Trade books’ historical representation of Eleanor
Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Helen Keller," Social Studies Research and Practice 3, no. 4 (2014):
18.
 3

regard, the youth were empowered to convey their necessities and ambitions in a way that

articulated their insights evidently.

In the course of the Second World War, Eleanor Roosevelt campaigned in support of

European Refugees who sought coming to the US.5 She as well backed matters that were

significant to the United States military, made efforts to improve the motivation of the troops,

advocated for volunteers on the home front, and ensured that women were hired in the defense

sector. She would hold talks with numerous individual soldiers in a bid to understand and handle

their concerns effectively. She relentlessly endeavored to create an environment of equal pay for

equal work, aware of the continued discrimination against African Americans and women.

Despite the death of President Roosevelt in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt strongly continued with her

civic engagement. For instance, she would balance her tasks as a US delegate and the demands

of her conscience particularly on matters of civil rights for the people of color in the United

States. She passed away in late 1962 at a hospital in New York when she had 78 years of age.

The civic engagement (contribution in the society that is not openly political) of Eleanor

Roosevelt had a gender tone as it powerfully championed the rights of women and their welfare.6

This was in the areas that women focused on more than men as they had been discriminated

against for a long time and left to undertake just domestic chores. On this note, Eleanor

Roosevelt sought to create a social setting represented within the US community through the

reinforcement of female contributions that incorporated a far greater public and a reduced degree

of purely maternal position.

. Carl Guarneri, and Jim Davis, Teaching American history in a global context (London:
5

Routledge, 2015), 34.

6
. Ann Reiner, "On leadership from the bedside to the boardroom," Clinical journal of
oncology nursing 17, no. 4 (2013): 353.
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Eleanor Roosevelt created the cultural understanding that prepared women for the

participation in a heterosocial culture that mainly treasured social justice. 7 The absence of such a

culture facilitated a continuum that relied on the status of women and offered them minimal

opportunities such as employment in federal agencies or defense industry. Women in the United

States greatly focused on the arising chances of contributing in matters of national development

and overcoming economic challenges. This is contrary to their male counterparts who had more

opportunities. Through the identification and enhancement of the roles and knowledge of

women, Eleanor Roosevelt sought to advance their inclusion in all sectors.

The activities of Eleanor Roosevelt advanced her reputation and image not just as a first

lady but even years after the death of her husband, President Franklin Roosevelt.8 Her

involvement in the transformation of gender fairness created a level ground for women and men

in the workforce and pay equality, which made her image outstanding. Some of the activities that

boosted her image and made her always linger in the minds of the Americans encompass being

the first and only first lady to hold numerous press conferences, engage in the writing of a

newspaper column, and write publications and articles. Moreover, she handled national

gatherings of social transformations, represented the US overseas, and directed public agencies.

Her activities in civic engagement made her later years, when she was no longer the US first

lady, become very unique.

Because of her positive image, after the death of President Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt

was appointed to the US delegation to the UN where she astounded delegates with the elegance

she demonstrated while managing such things as the drafting and undisputed endorsement of the
7
. Richard Baron, "Professional self-regulation in a changing world: old problems need
new approaches," JAMA 313, no. 18 (2015): 1807-1808.
8
. Liz Watts, "Covering Eleanor Roosevelt: Associated press reporter Bess Furman and
four years with the first lady," Journalism History 36, no. 1 (2010): 45.
 5

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She prepared a document that continues to offer

directions of the way people and countries ought to deal with one another regardless of their

differences.9 From 1961 until her passing away, Eleanor Roosevelt led the extraordinary

Presidential Commission on the Status of Women after being requested by the then president,

John Kennedy.10 Furthermore, Eleanor Roosevelt headed the boards of different organizations,

encompassing the Advisory Council for the Peace Corps and the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People.

Bibliography

Baron, Richard. "Professional self-regulation in a changing world: Old problems need new

approaches." JAMA 313, no. 18 (2015): 1807-1808.

9
. Lewis Gould, American first ladies: Their lives and their legacy (London: Routledge,
2014), 63.
10
. Brigid O'Farrell, She was one of us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American worker
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2010), 56.
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Bickford III, John, and Cynthia Rich. "Trade books’ historical representation of Eleanor

Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Helen Keller." Social Studies Research and Practice 3, no. 4

(2014): 18.

Blair, Diane, and Shawn Parry-Giles. "The rise of the rhetorical first lady: Politics, gender

ideology, and women's voice, 1789-2002." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 5, no. 4 (2013):

565-599.

Gardner, Howard, and Emma Laskin. Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership. New York

City: Basic Books, 2011.

Goodwin, Doris. No ordinary time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The home front in World War

II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Gould, Lewis. American first ladies: Their lives and their legacy. London: Routledge, 2014.

Guarneri, Carl, and Jim Davis. Teaching American history in a global context. London:

Routledge, 2015.

O'Farrell, Brigid. She was one of us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American worker. Ithaca:

Cornell University Press, 2010.

Reiner, Ann. "On leadership from the bedside to the boardroom." Clinical journal of oncology

nursing 17, no. 4 (2013): 353.

Watts, Liz. "Covering Eleanor Roosevelt: Associated press reporter Bess Furman and four years

with the first lady." Journalism History 36, no. 1 (2010): 45.