Eleanor Roosevelt

On October 11, 1884, Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City. She was the daughter of Elliott Roosevelt and Anna Hall Roosevelt, and the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. Eleanor's parents both died when she was very young, her mother when she was eight and her father when she was ten. She went to live with her grandmother until she was fifteen. She then attended a boarding school in Europe.
On March 17, 1905, after a three year courtship, Eleanor married Franklin Roosevelt. The couple had six children: one girl, and five boys.
Franklin became very involved in politics. He was in the New York Senate, a member of the Navy Department and President of the United States for four terms. Eleanor was also very influential in politics. She became involved in the League of Women Voters in 1920, and the Women's Trade Union League. In the League of Women Voters she played an important role in drafting bills and making policies.
In the summer of 1921 Franklin was stricken with poliomyelitis (polio). He was paralyzed from the waist down and would never walk without the aid of crutches. Eleanor then began to work politically in his behalf. She joined the women's division of the New York State Democratic Party in 1924 and helped set up local Democratic clubs for women. She became a popular speaker and lecturer, overcoming her fear of public speaking. Along with her work in politics she also taught classes in literature, drama, and American history.
Eleanor was very important to the political success of her husband. Due to his illness, he used Eleanor many times as his "eyes and ears." He would send her on tours and inspections and then have her report back to him about the conditions. She became known as a first lady who cared about people and their problems. Franklin became President of the United States in 1932, during the Great Depression, and Eleanor continued to assist him and became very influential in his administration. She visited all over the country reporting on the people. She became a powerful advocate for the weak and disadvantaged in America. She was very outspoken in her quest for racial equality and in one famous incident resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 when the black singer Marian Anderson was denied the use of their facilities.
She was also instrumental in the creation of the National Youth Administration in 1934 which helped high school and college students stay in school. During World War II she visited American soldiers around the world, and promoted desegregation of the armed forces. She also acted as a good will ambassador and visited areas such as England, Australia, and the South Pacific Islands during 1943.
Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945 but Eleanor tried not to let this slow her down. If anything, she stayed busier in hopes of dealing with her loneliness. Harry Truman, the next president, had Eleanor serve as an American delegate at the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, she served for another seven years after this. She chaired the commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was passed on December 10, 1948.
Throughout the remainder of her life, Eleanor was involved in politics and bettering people's lives. She gave lectures, broadcasts, and wrote several articles, always fighting for the underdog. She died on November 7, 1962 after a severe stroke. Eleanor Roosevelt was a compassionate, loving, and motivated woman who spent her life serving the people of the world. She lived her life by this philosophy, do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do and damned if you don't. Life was meant to be lived and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never for whatever reason, turn his back on life.