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Eleanor Roosevelt

Who was she?

By D’Ann Campbell

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Who was ER?

• Early history, b 1884, d 1962

• Famous husband– FDR #2 in Navy WWI– VP candidate 1920– Governor NY 1928-32– President 1933-45

• Social reformer

• Stump speaker for husband

• First lady

• Diplomat

• Democratic Party leader

Childhood

• Mother died when 8

• Father, brother of Theodore Roosevelt died when ER age 10, alcoholic

• Orphan under protection of TR

• Unattractive, love not likely to last, those counted on let down

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Teens, Young Adult

• Age 15 attended Allenswood school near London under Marie Souvestre– ER learned art &

ideas

• Age 18 return for debut in NY

• 1902 dates FDR, admired TR

Young housewife

• 1905 married, lives in Hyde Park NY

• 5 sons, 1 daughter, 1 son died infancy

• Domineering mother in law Sara Delano Roosevelt– Forbids settlement

house work

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Early Married Life

• 1911 NY State Senate, Albany

• 1913 moved to DC, Asst. Navy

• WWI volunteer work resumed

• 1918 Lucy Mercer

• 1921 FDR contracts polio

• Women’s suffrage

• League of Women Voters, WTUL, NYC Women’s City Club, Women’s Division of Dems (NY then Nat’l)

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FDR: strong man with weak legs

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First Lady

• 1933 Afraid of being first lady, should see seek a divorce?

• 1933-1945 First Lady

• Great Depression & WWII

• Postwar years alone

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First Lady

• Made 70+ speeches / year for her husband

• Wrote 2,500 daily newspaper columns, 299 mag. articles

• Wrote 6 books

• Answered letters

• Gave women prominent positions in gov’t during the Depression era

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ER visits workers

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Many trips for each

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Conservative opponents

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ER & Blacks

• Was their voice/advocate with the President

• Mary McLeod Bethune

• Enlistment in the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard

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After 1945

• Leader at United Nations

• Leader Democratic Party– Supports

Stevenson– Feuds with

Catholics– Opposes

John Kennedy

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ER & United Nations

• First Delegate• Wrote Human

Rights Declaration

• Ambassador to the world

• Most famous American woman in the 20th century

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Eleanor Roosevelt

• Great Depression

• WWII

• United Nations

• Resources:– PBS documentary– FDR/ER presidential library– The ER Papers at GWU– Robert Cohen, Dear Mrs.

Roosevelt: Letters from Children of the Great Depression 2002