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| The loving, hard-working first lady of the Roosevelt presidency, 1933-1945. |
Eleanor was a shy, quiet girl from a wealthy family.
Even though she was terrified to take on the responsibilities of the first lady, Eleanor wrote a column in the newspapers and attended daily press conferences to keep the people informed about the doings of the White House. She championed Roosevelt’s new deal and persuaded him to create the NYA (national youth administration) to help struggling youth get through school and find jobs. She worked tirelessly alongside organizations like NAACP (national association for the advancement of colored people), and resigned from her standing with the Daughters of the American Revolution organization when they wouldn’t allow a black women, Marian Anderson, to sing in the constitution hall. During WWII she visited the troops abroad and rallied volunteers together for the war effort. After her husband died, she continued her work, writing several books and serving as a delegate to the United Nations. She drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights-proclaiming equal opportunity and treatment for all people, regardless of race, color, or creed.
And then, while president Roosevelt was away during WWII, Eleanor discovered letters revealing a long standing affair between the president and Eleanor’s secretary, Lucy. Get this: she offered Franklin a divorce so that he could be with the women he loved. There is a women with an unselfish heart. But, from the persuasion of his mother he decided that such a divorce would ruin his political career. He promised to stop seeing Lucy, but their affair continued regardless.
Eleanor was devastated. After all of her sacrifice to overcome her shy, introverted nature and take on the social responsibilities of a first lady, I wonder if she felt like she just wasn’t charming enough for president Roosevelt. After that, the marriage became more of a political alliance than anything. It was Lucy, not Eleanor, who was with the president when he died.
It’s not always what it seems, is it? Lonely, shy, introverted Eleanor Roosevelt used her circumstances and her heart to change to world, even when her heart was broken. Even when she surely felt alone, unloved, unappreciated. The strength of a women cannot be put into a box. It endures through dark nights and lonely days.
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
