Eleanor Roosevelt
By: Ele Thompson
Fifty years after the death of Eleanor Roosevelt, people are still
fascinated by her. The wealthy childhood she enjoyed is very
interesting. Her life as the first lady of the United States intrigued many
people. Even after her husband’s death she remained active in politics
and social organizations.
The birth of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt occurred on October 11,
1884. She was born in New York City to the parents of Elliot Roosevelt
and Anna Hall Roosevelt. Eleanor was named Anna after her mother
and her aunt Anna Cowles. Eleanor after her father, and was
nicknamed “Ellie” or “Little Nell”. She was also the niece of President
Theodore Roosevelt. Eleanor also acted in such a good manner that as a
child her mother nicknamed her “Granny”. Her mother died from a
disease called diphtheria when she was eight. Eleanor’s father also died
as an alcoholic two years later. Her brother Elliot Jr. died from the same
disease as her mother.
Eleanor as a teenager was raised by her maternal grandmother,
Mary Ludlow Hall. Eleanor was insecure and wanted affection. She felt
that she was the “ugly duckling”. At the age of 15 her family sent her to
Allenswood Academy, a private school in London, England. During her
time there she learned to speak French and she gained self confidence.
Roosevelt returned to the United States in 1902 at the age of 17. This
move ended her education. She was later given a debutante party at
the Waldorf- Astoria Hotel. She also did volunteer work in the East Side
slums of New York City. That same year she met her father’s fifth
cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and she was excited when the 20-yearold dashing Harvard University student demonstrated affection for her.
On New Year’s Day, 1903, Franklin’s courtship of her began. Later she
brought Franklin along with her on her rounds of the tenements, which
was a walking tour that profoundly moved therefore sheltered young
man. On November 1904 they became engaged, though it was not
announced until December 1, 1904, at the insistence of his mother,
Sara Delano Roosevelt. She took him on a cruise in 1904, hoping that
the relationship would be separated and it would squelch the romance
between them, but Franklin returned to Eleanor with a renewed ardor.
Their wedding date was also fixed so that President Roosevelt, who
agreed to give the bride away.
Eleanor at the age of 20, married Franklin Roosevelt, age 23,
which was her fifth cousin was removed, on March 17, 1905 (St.
Patrick’s Day). The couple spent a preliminary honeymoon of one week
at the Hyde Park, and then they set up housekeeping in a townhouse in
New York City. That same summer they spent a three month tour in
England for their formal honeymoon. Retuning form the U.S., the
newlyweds settled in New York City in a house provided by Franklin’s
mother. She did not gain a measure of independence until her husband
was elected to the state sense and then they moved to Albany, New
York. The Roosevelt’s had six children and five of them survived
infancy. Anna Eleanor Jr. was born on May 3, 1906. Their second child
was James Roosevelt and he was born on December 23, 1907. The third
child was Franklin Delano Jr. was born on March 18, 1909. Then they
had a son named Elliot Roosevelt and he was born on September 23,
1910. Their next son was named John Aspinwall and he was born on
March 13, 1916. Finally the last son was named Franklin Delano Jr. and
he was born on August 17, 1914. The family began spending their
summers at an Island called Campobello, New Brunswick, on the
Maine-Canada border which was where Franklin was stricken with a
paralytic illness in August 1921, which resulted in permanent paralysis
in her legs. It was Eleanor who prodded Franklin to return to an active
life. She is also the only First Lady whose maiden name and married
name were identical. Eleanor still had a continuous relationship with
her mother-in-law. Before she fell in love with Franklin she already had
a relationship with Sara but it was a highly engaging cousin. Even
though Eleanor had a hard relationship with her mother-in-law, Sara
wanted to be Eleanor’s mother-in-law. From Sara’s opinion, Eleanor
was pretty young and inexperienced and also lacked maternal support.
Sara felt like she had a lot to teach her daughter-in-law on what a
young wife probably should know. Sara was also very disposed to
ensure her son’s success in every area of life including his marriage.
Sometimes even Eleanor had issues with the influence that came with
the “mother’s largesse.”
Following her husband’s paralytic illness attack in 1921, she began
serving as a stand-in for her incapacitated husband, making many
appearances on his behalf, and carefully coached by Louis Howe, with
successful results. This is when she began working with the Women’s
Trade Union League (WTUL), raising many funds in the support of the
union’s goal: 48 hour week, which was minimum wage, and the
abolishment of child labor. Through the 1920’s, she became very
influential as a leader in the New York State Democratic Party while her
husband used her contacts Democratic women to try to strengthen his
standing with them. In the 1920’s Eleanor taught some literature and
American History at the Todhunter School for women, now the Dalton
School, in New York City.
According the Presidential inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt on
March 4, 1993, Eleanor became the First Lady of the United States.
Having watched the strictly restrain and common protocol of her aunt,
Edith Roosevelt, during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (19011909), Roosevelt went out on a different course. With Eleanor’s
husband very strong support, despite the criticism of them both, she
still continued with the bustling business and speaking the agenda she
had started before becoming the First Lady, in an area where very few
women had careers. Eleanor was the first to hold weekly conferences
and she also started writing a widely newspaper column, “My Day” at
the urging of her agent, George T. Bye. She also maintained a travel
schedule over her 12 years in the White House. In a widely cartoon of
this time from The New York magazine (June 3, 1933) an astonish coal
miner, coming down from a dark tunnel, says to a co-worker “For gosh
sakes here comes “Mrs. Roosevelt!” She also became a very important
connection with the African American population during the
segregation era. Eleanor was outspoken in her support of the Marian
Anderson in 1939 when the black singer was contradicted the use of
Washington’s Constitution Hall and was instrumental in the concert
held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The First Lady played a role
in affairs when she appointed Mary McLeod Bethune. One big highlight
of her years was the 1939 visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth,
which were the parents of the currently reigning Queen Elizabeth II and
the first British monarchs to set a foot on the U.S.
Eleanor Roosevelt received 48 horary degrees during her whole
life. Eleanor’s first was a Doctor of Humane or D.H.L. on June 13, 1929,
was also the first honorary degree given and awarded b Russell Sage
College in Troy, New York. Her last was a Doctors of Laws, LL.D. degree
given by what is now Clark Atlanta University in June 1962. In the year
of 1958, Folkways Records absolved a collection by Roosevelt of her
account o the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights. Ten years
later, she was awarded on one the United Nations Human Rights Prize.
She was also nominated three times, during her whole life for a Nobel
Peace Prize, between 1947 and 1955. Roosevelt was also the FirstLady
to receive honorary membership into a sorority called Alpha Kappa
Alpha.