How Did Eleanor Roosevelt Influence Society

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Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady of the United States beginning in 1933 and ending in 1945. Eleanor was politically active during her time as first lady as well as before and after. Eleanor Roosevelt was the most influential person in the 20th century due to the immense amount of progress she made in redefining the role of the first lady and in improving the rights of the oppressed. Eleanor Roosevelt was born to mother Anna Hall and father Elliot Bulloch Roosevelt in New York City, New York on October 11, 1884. Both of her parents passed away by the time she reached age 10 leaving her an orphan living with her grandmother Mary Ludlow Hall (3). At this time, she was sent to a London boarding school that would ultimately shape her future …show more content…

Due to the fact that she was already relatively well versed in politics by the time her role as first lady began she already had a good understanding of social conditions and how the office worked (1). She completely reformed the role of the first lady by using her role as a platform to further her agenda of establishing a more inclusive and vocal society for opposed groups within the United States. Eleanor was very much an intermediary between her husband and the people wishing to contact him, something not seen before in a first lady. Many prominent officials realized her power in the office and it was known that getting on her good side could be beneficial in having ones’ ideas or agendas reach the president’s ears (6). She was also active in the actual policy-making role of the president through her influence in her husband; although FDR was much less open to her criticisms as his presidency continued on (6). For the first time ever, she had weekly conferences with women-only press courts. At the beginning of her first ladyship, these conferences revolved around women’s rights but as her term continued, they expanded to cover more political topics (2). Eleanor also ran a daily newspaper column called “My Day” that addressed similar topics discussed in her press conferences …show more content…

Her voice inspired others to change their political beliefs because of how well she was able to refute the irrational reasoning behind racial inequality. In a 1934 speech regarding race issues she stated, “‘We must learn to work together, all of us, regardless of race or creed or color.’” (6). One of the most noteworthy actions made by Eleanor Roosevelt in regards to race relations was in a note of her resignation to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) after the organization refused to allow African-American singer Marian Anderson to perform at the DAR auditorium (7). Eleanor was outraged by the decision made by the DAR and her letter resulted in a notable number of African-Americans changing their political affiliation to become Democratic (7). Eleanor’s political influence was largely necessary in her furthering of racial equality for without her standing many of her actions may not have been taken seriously or even regarded as notable at all. In one instance-as a way to protest the lack of deployed African-Americans during WWII-she rode in a plane with an African-American pilot in order to make a statement and soon after African-Americans were being deployed

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