This is part 2 of the article Eleanor Roosevelt: Speaking Volumes. Please click here to read the first part!

The President and his First Lady

In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in the Presidential Election and became the 32nd President of the United States. He was eventually re-elected to complete four terms of office and is the only president that has served more then two terms. His time of office was from 1932 to 1945.

Eleanor was a very active First Lady. She held press conferences, traveled to all parts of the country, gave lectures and interviews on the radio. She would also express her opinions daily in My Day, a syndicated newspaper column. Eleanor eventually had her own radio program.

At this time, the recovery of the country during the depression was priority. Eleanor kept traveling, making speeches on civil rights, and she campaigned for the passing of a new bill which would give aid to the unemployed and farmers, and help reform businesses. This bill would promote the economic recovery of the country. She had a great influence over the public and helped with the passing of The First New Deal in 1933 and The Second New Deal in 1935. This gained her even more recognition; the country loved her style.

Eleanor spoke out on civil rights to women and migrant workers all over the country. So also loved flying and wanted to take lessons from Amelia Earhart – but her husband talked her out of it. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, she extended her travels beyond America to the whole world. Eleanor and New York mayor, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, co-chaired a national committee on civil defense. To boost war morale, she visited civilian and military centers.

April 12, 1945: Eleanor was making a speech in Washington, D.C. when she was called to the White House. She was told Franklin had died earlier that day in the Rehabilitation Center he had founded in Warm Springs, Georgia. Eleanor learned that Franklin had resumed his affair with Lucy Mercer Rutherford, with the assistance of their daughter, Anna. Lucy was with Franklin when he died.

After the funeral, Eleanor was assuming she had lost more than her husband of forty years, but no one would be interested in her opinions.

She said,

The story’s over.

Later on to reporters, upon leaving the White House with Fala, the president’s dog:

All human beings have failings, all human beings have needs and temptations and stresses. Men and women who live together through long years get to know one another’s failings; but they also come to know what is worthy of respect and admiration… He might have been happier with a wife who was completely uncritical. That I was never able to be, and he had to find it in some other people. Nevertheless, I think I sometimes acted as a spur, even though the spurring was not always wanted or welcome.

Eleanor returned her Hyde Park estate, Val-Kill Cottage. Later the same year, President Harry S. Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate to the United Nations. Eleanor began service as U.N. Ambassador in 1945. In 1947, the Commission on Human Rights formed. Eleanor was appointed chairperson of the committee. Diligent work began on theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration was established on December 10, 1948. At the event, Eleanor was given a standing ovation by the delegates. President Truman called her the First Lady of the World because of her dedication.

Eleanor said,

I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me understand something, it would be clear to all other people in the country, and perhaps that will be my real value on this drafting commission.

She became active in the NAACP and the League of Women Voters. Then on April 1960, Eleanor was struck by a car in New York City. A few months later she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and it was found that she had developed bone marrow tuberculosis. On November 7, 1962, Eleanor died at her Manhattan home. She was 78 years old. She is was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband. Eleanor’s funeral was attended by President John F. Kennedy and former Presidents Truman and Eisenhower.

At her memorial service, Adlai Stevenson asked,

What other single human being has touched and transformed the existence of so many?

Eleanor was on the Board of Trustees of the Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She delivered the University’s first commencement speech. Eleanor had joined the Brandeis faculty as a visiting lecturer in international relations at the age of 75, in 1959. She was an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Val-Kill Cottage Today

The cottage Eleanor loved so much, which was a gift from her husband Franklin, is today opened to the public. It is a conference center where people meet to continue to pursue the interests and the work of Eleanor Roosevelt. The cottage has been operated by the National Park Service since 1984.

Eleanor Roosevelt may have been born into a prestigious, wealthy family, but that didn’t mean that her way was without obstacles. She just turned them into opportunities. She has made such a difference to all of us. She insisted on the right to have her own identity and not be in the shadow of her husband or her family. She overcame her insecurity by turning her vulnerabilities into strengths all by herself.

This could sound like a prime example of a true feminist, although Eleanor did not believe she was one. She did believe in equality. It was her wish for change, her wish that men and women would not be judged by their point of view, their religious beliefs, race, or sex.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a powerhouse advocate for social justice. Her voice spoke volumes – and that in volumes; over the airwaves and through her public speaking.

If you enjoyed this article, you may find something more to read in my series Great Women Of The Past And Present.

Do you have a hero?

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P.S.
Wordpress thought this article was too much for it to handle – it made me split it into two parts. The comments are on the first page: I’d love for you to leave me your thoughts! You should click here to read the comments and to add your own.

Thank you!