Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the women who have been admired a lot in American history. She helped her husband, Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression and World War II; he was ill and she was a very good assistance to him.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. She was the first child of the family. Her father, Elliott was a businessman, from a distinguished, wealthy family; he was active politically and her mother, Anna came from a family that rooted in the political history of colonial New York and Revolutionary America. Anna was one of the most beautiful women in New York high society, and this made young Eleanor feel as an "ugly duckling". She lost her parents when she was young. She was subsequently placed in the care of her maternal grandmother, Mary Hall.
At the age of 15 her grandmother sent her to the Allenswood Academy in London, England. There she was under the tutelage of Marie Souvestre, Eleanor; she was one of the most important influences in her life. She was interested in politics, social causes, history and literature. She returned to US in 1902. She was a young, well educated and self confident one. She was looking for improving the work conditions for women, so she joined the National Consumers’ League. She was a member of different reform organizations.
She met her cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt on a train and it came to their marriage on March 17, 1905. Franklin's mother had believed that they were too young to marry and after marriage she had strong influence on her son and daughter-in-law; she decorated their house for instance or hired their servants.
Politically she became more active after her marriage. She gave birth to six children. She always lived under critical eye of her mother-in-low. They lived in the houses which had doors connecting the two households in New York. They had a family estate that she stayed there when she was not in the city. Franklin Roosevelt was a progressive Democrat and he moved the family to Albany, since he had won a seat in the New York State Senate. After two years they went to Washington, D.C. Franklin had a new position; he became the assistant secretary of the navy. During World War I Eleanor worked for the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations; in fact it was the continuation of what she was doing before her marriage. Now she was the wife of a cabinet undersecretary and she could lobby for an investigation into shortages in a government hospital treating veterans suffering from shell shock.
The intimacy of their marriage was lost forever after she found that her husband had affair with her own social secretary. She offered to divorce, but it did not happen; not to destroy Franklin's political career. This marital problem increased her activism and political involvement. She had a separate social and professional life. Her close friends were Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman.
Franklin was diagnosed with poliomyelitis, a viral disease that caused permanent paralysis to his legs and he did not return to politics until 1928. In that year he ran successfully for governor of New York. It made Eleanor more prominent than her husband. She was a leader of the League of Women Voters, the National Consumers’ League, and the Women’s Division of the New York State Democratic Committee in New York City.
She wrote for and published articles in a number of national journals. She overcame her natural shyness and became a skilled public speaker and effectively used the new media of the day, radio. She campaigned vigorously for Democratic candidates. With her friends she built a country home for herself on the Roosevelts’ Hyde Park estate. In 1927 she was teaching in Todhunter, a private girls’ school in New York City; she helped Dickerman to purchase there.
In 1928 New York governor Al Smith pressed Franklin to accept the Democratic nomination for governor. Franklin was reluctant, and some of his closest advisers urged him to decline the offer, but with Eleanor’s help, Smith persuaded Franklin that it was the right move and Franklin narrowly won the election. Although Franklin’s election would diminish her own political autonomy she supported him. Eleanor spent most of her weekdays in New York City, remaining active in various social causes and teaching part-time at Todhunter, and often spent time at her beloved stone house. Also she remained a close adviser to her husband. She was a lifelong liberal and frequently spoke out on controversial social issues, from civil rights for minorities to support for the poor.
Franklin’s election as president of the United States in 1932 forced Eleanor further away from grassroots political action and she feared that the role of first lady would be a confining one. She became Franklin's political representative. Her broad sympathies and great energy created a whole new image of what a First Lady could be. Eleanor Roosevelt continued her press conferences, toured the nation repeatedly, and pressed her opinions in newspapers and radio broadcasts.
During the Depression she made Americans feel that someone cared and would try to help. Franklin Roosevelt did not always follow her advice, but still she pressed the cause of Black people, youth, the poor, and the unemployed. Franklin died in 1945and President Truman named her U.S. Delegate to the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, was what she had a lot of efforts on it, and the delegates rose in a standing ovation for her.She continued to be active in politics and in work for international cooperation and she was praised for her attempts. She changed the role of first lady and became a powerful political figure in her own right, voicing her opinion on a wide range of social causes. She concerned youth employment, civil liberties, and civil rights for blacks and women. She channeled her passion for world issues as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She impressed many with her shy dignity and fierce determination.
Reference and citation : http://www.msnbc.com/onair/msnbc/timeandagain/archive/eleanor/default.asp?cp1=1http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=128
Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. She was the first child of the family. Her father, Elliott was a businessman, from a distinguished, wealthy family; he was active politically and her mother, Anna came from a family that rooted in the political history of colonial New York and Revolutionary America. Anna was one of the most beautiful women in New York high society, and this made young Eleanor feel as an "ugly duckling". She lost her parents when she was young. She was subsequently placed in the care of her maternal grandmother, Mary Hall.
At the age of 15 her grandmother sent her to the Allenswood Academy in London, England. There she was under the tutelage of Marie Souvestre, Eleanor; she was one of the most important influences in her life. She was interested in politics, social causes, history and literature. She returned to US in 1902. She was a young, well educated and self confident one. She was looking for improving the work conditions for women, so she joined the National Consumers’ League. She was a member of different reform organizations.
She met her cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt on a train and it came to their marriage on March 17, 1905. Franklin's mother had believed that they were too young to marry and after marriage she had strong influence on her son and daughter-in-law; she decorated their house for instance or hired their servants.
Politically she became more active after her marriage. She gave birth to six children. She always lived under critical eye of her mother-in-low. They lived in the houses which had doors connecting the two households in New York. They had a family estate that she stayed there when she was not in the city. Franklin Roosevelt was a progressive Democrat and he moved the family to Albany, since he had won a seat in the New York State Senate. After two years they went to Washington, D.C. Franklin had a new position; he became the assistant secretary of the navy. During World War I Eleanor worked for the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations; in fact it was the continuation of what she was doing before her marriage. Now she was the wife of a cabinet undersecretary and she could lobby for an investigation into shortages in a government hospital treating veterans suffering from shell shock.
The intimacy of their marriage was lost forever after she found that her husband had affair with her own social secretary. She offered to divorce, but it did not happen; not to destroy Franklin's political career. This marital problem increased her activism and political involvement. She had a separate social and professional life. Her close friends were Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman.
Franklin was diagnosed with poliomyelitis, a viral disease that caused permanent paralysis to his legs and he did not return to politics until 1928. In that year he ran successfully for governor of New York. It made Eleanor more prominent than her husband. She was a leader of the League of Women Voters, the National Consumers’ League, and the Women’s Division of the New York State Democratic Committee in New York City.
She wrote for and published articles in a number of national journals. She overcame her natural shyness and became a skilled public speaker and effectively used the new media of the day, radio. She campaigned vigorously for Democratic candidates. With her friends she built a country home for herself on the Roosevelts’ Hyde Park estate. In 1927 she was teaching in Todhunter, a private girls’ school in New York City; she helped Dickerman to purchase there.
In 1928 New York governor Al Smith pressed Franklin to accept the Democratic nomination for governor. Franklin was reluctant, and some of his closest advisers urged him to decline the offer, but with Eleanor’s help, Smith persuaded Franklin that it was the right move and Franklin narrowly won the election. Although Franklin’s election would diminish her own political autonomy she supported him. Eleanor spent most of her weekdays in New York City, remaining active in various social causes and teaching part-time at Todhunter, and often spent time at her beloved stone house. Also she remained a close adviser to her husband. She was a lifelong liberal and frequently spoke out on controversial social issues, from civil rights for minorities to support for the poor.
Franklin’s election as president of the United States in 1932 forced Eleanor further away from grassroots political action and she feared that the role of first lady would be a confining one. She became Franklin's political representative. Her broad sympathies and great energy created a whole new image of what a First Lady could be. Eleanor Roosevelt continued her press conferences, toured the nation repeatedly, and pressed her opinions in newspapers and radio broadcasts.
During the Depression she made Americans feel that someone cared and would try to help. Franklin Roosevelt did not always follow her advice, but still she pressed the cause of Black people, youth, the poor, and the unemployed. Franklin died in 1945and President Truman named her U.S. Delegate to the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, was what she had a lot of efforts on it, and the delegates rose in a standing ovation for her.She continued to be active in politics and in work for international cooperation and she was praised for her attempts. She changed the role of first lady and became a powerful political figure in her own right, voicing her opinion on a wide range of social causes. She concerned youth employment, civil liberties, and civil rights for blacks and women. She channeled her passion for world issues as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She impressed many with her shy dignity and fierce determination.
Reference and citation : http://www.msnbc.com/onair/msnbc/timeandagain/archive/eleanor/default.asp?cp1=1http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=128
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