Eleanor Roosevelt:
Her thoughts and “My Day”
What was “My Day”?
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote
a daily column for
papers all over the U.S.
and Canada
She wrote six days a
week from 1936-62,
even when sick.
She wrote it for 26 years
What were
some events
between 1936
and 1962?
She wrote about. . .
• Her activities as
First Lady, wife,
mother and grandmother
• Her reactions to
events like Pearl Harbor
• Her travels all over
the U.S. and the world
The first
First Lady to fly a plane
She gave her views. . .
• On politics,
civil rights, equal
rights, international
affairs, poverty and
more – especially
when she disagreed
with FDR!
Who read “My Day”?
“My Day” appeared in
200 newspapers, usually
on the “women’s page.”
Over 4 million people
read it, making ER
one of the most successful
columnists in the U.S.
What did readers think?
Mrs. Roosevelt received
about 1,000 letters a
week about her column.
Most were positive.
She made sure every
letter was answered.
Children wrote, too
Every letter was answered
Why people liked “My Day”
She wrote for “regular people.”
She had a friendly, personal writing style.
She was not afraid to express strong opinions.
Some hated it because…
They thought it was poorly written—some people
wrote to correct her grammar!
They didn’t like her political or racial views.
How did ER write?
She wrote wherever she was—in a car, plane, train,
ship or hotel room. She wrote one column while she
was at FDR’s inaugural.
She either dictated to her secretary or typed it
herself. Then she would edit her draft by hand for
her secretary to retype.
Then off it went by telegraph to make the deadline.
She also used media . . .
This newspaper photo of
her in a plane with
Tuskegee Airman
“Chief” Anderson
appeared in 1941, when
most people didn’t think
African Americans
could learn to fly.
. . . To make a point . . .
She was the first First Lady to hold press
conferences in the White House, and only
permitted women to cover her.
. . .To expose conditions
“For gosh sakes, here comes Mrs. Roosevelt!”
But wait, there’s more
Eleanor
Roosevelt wrote
7,000 My Day
columns . . .
. . . And 17 books
. . . 2,000 magazine articles. . .
She went on radio. . .
. . . At least once a week for 20 years and had her
own show three times. She didn’t like her “funny”
voice and took vocal coaching in the 1920s.
. . . And on TV
She appeared on TV
dozens of times in
the 1950s.
“Today with Eleanor Roosevelt” appeared on NBC
for 2 years beginning in 1950, and “The Eleanor
Roosevelt Show” appeared monthly on public
television from 1959 until her death in 1962.
The last word
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in
the long run it is easier. We do not have to
become heroes overnight, just a step at a time.”
“I have never felt that anything really mattered
but the satisfaction of knowing you stood for the
things in which you believed, and done the very
best you could.”
“First Lady of the World”
“No, I have never
wanted to be a man.
I have often wanted
to be more effective
as a woman, but I
never felt that
trousers would do
the trick!”