Eleanor Roosevelt: Biography Of A Great First Lady

Today we get closer to the life of one of the most important women in our history, Eleanor Roosevelt, a key figure in several of the most important events of the past century and humanity. Roosevelt was a diplomat and human rights activist and one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

Niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she held a privileged position as American First Lady. This position was the platform from which she carried out institutional support for such important issues as social justice, women’s liberation, and universal human rights.

While the women who had preceded her in that position had limited themselves to their status as wives of the president, Eleanor Roosevelt managed to make the position of first lady a position of responsibility with the government and with its citizens. And she went much further, because her work as a delegate to the United Nations left a very important legacy to the entire world. 

His early years

Eleanor was born in New York City, into a family of American high society; however, it is said that he did not have a happy childhood. She was orphaned of father and mother while still very young. She was sent to study at a select school in London, where it seems that she had the help of a magnificent teacher who managed to make her, in a short time, a strong and charismatic young woman.

Back in the United States, she maintains relationships with a distant cousin with a promising future, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom she married in 1905. Shortly after, they moved to Albany, when her husband was appointed senator. The couple has 6 children, one of whom died very young.

Despite all her family obligations, Eleanor became interested in political ins and outs and participated in different organizations. She supported the League of Women Voters, the Trade Union Women’s League, and the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party. He ran a furniture factory and held chairs of Literature and History at a secondary school. During World War I, he joined the forces of the Red Cross.

Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady

In 1933, his great ascent took place; her husband is elected president of the United States. A term that lasted 12 years, during which Eleanor Roosevelt acted as no first lady had ever done before. At a time when women had little relevance in public life, Eleanor gave more than 300 conferences for women journalists and participated in political events in favor of the rights of women, especially African Americans.

She promoted the civil rights of the most disadvantaged, wrote in newspapers, edited a women’s magazine and published four books. During World War II, he was in charge of civil defense matters. During the war, she even publicly opposed one of her husband’s decisions as president of the United States regarding the internment of thousands of Japanese 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 and was recruited by Truman as a delegate to the United Nations Assembly. He participated in the elaboration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document considered as the great International Magna Carta. Its influence appears in the constitutions of a large number of nations and protects the rights of men and women throughout the world.

President Truman called her “The First Lady of the World.” John F. Kennedy considered her the archetype of the American woman. A legacy that has served as an inspiration to many of her successors, Roosevelt opened the field of politics to women. Finally, 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 relevance that she achieved. Eleanor continues to be an inspiration to many women inside and outside her country. All those who fight for the rights of women and minorities recognize that Eleanor greatly enhanced the dignity of all human beings.

His favorite phrase, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the dark”, defines his character and his strength. And it turned out that Eleanor lit a flame in all of us that no one can put out anymore.