Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the longest serving First Lady of the United States. Through her activism, diplomacy, and political involvement, Eleanor Roosevelt helped elevate the role of First Lady. She also continued to serve the country after FDR’s death, serving as a delegate to the United Nations.
Early Life
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884. She was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. Born into a wealthy family, Eleanor tragically lost both of her parents by the age of 10. At 15, she attended Allenwood Academy in London, where she began to overcome her extreme shyness. In 1905, she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They had six children: Anna, James, Franklin (who died in infancy), Elliott, Franklin Jr. and John.
Eleanor’s relationship with her husband was complicated, in large part due to her discovery of his affair with Lucy Mercer, who had served as Eleanor’s secretary. Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce, but they remained married for the sake of his political career. Their son James described it as “an armed truce that endured until the day he died.”
Disenfranchised with domestic life, Eleanor began to develop her own interests. During World War I, she worked with the Red Cross. When FDR contracted polio, Eleanor took on a greater role in his political career. After he was elected Governor of New York, she would often make speeches and attend events on his behalf.
Role of First Lady
As First Lady, Eleanor played an active role in U.S. politics. She was a vocal supporter of human rights, racial equality, and children’s issues. She also supported women’s issues, working on behalf of the League of Women Voters. She also wrote her own column in the newspaper called “My Day.”
While controversial at the time, Eleanor is credited with changing the role of the First Lady. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face …You must do the thing you think you cannot do,” she said.
Life After FDR’s Death
Eleanor initially stated that she would leave public service following her husband’s death in 1942. However, President Harry Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1945. During her eight-year tenure at the U.N., she became chair of the U.N.’s Human Rights Commission and played a key role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy reappointed Eleanor to the United States delegation to the U.N. She later served on President Kennedy’s National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corps and chaired the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Eleanor died on November 7, 1962, at the age of 78.
