Civil Rights Activists: Eleanor Roosevelt

Today’s world is rife with problems. With conflict in the Middle East, countries abroad becoming more aggressive, and protest over human rights violations taking place all over the country, America needs a strong leader to get through these times. One such leader would be Eleanor Roosevelt, the United State’s longest-serving and undoubtedly most active First Lady. Beyond her duties as the wife of the president, Eleanor Roosevelt took part in many movements and was one of the most unabashed spokespersons on issues of her time. Taking sometimes controversial stances on matters such as civil rights, welfare, global issues, Eleanor deviated from some of the more common view of her contemporaries; but in spite this, she was still one of the most

Similar to China, Russia has been exerting its dominance in areas near its borders, particularly in Ukraine and Syria (MacFarquhar). Using its military, it has been giving a show force, harassing US carriers, invading the air space of its neighbors, and interfering the political situations of Syria and the United States (Lockie; Nakashima). Eleanor saw the rising influence of Russia during the Cold War as well and she often distanced herself from movements when they were charged with communism; nevertheless, she did not let herself get caught up in the fear of communism ("First Lady Biography…”). She spoke out against the violations of civil rights that were being caused by McCarthyism and questioned whether Americans were fighting out of commitment to democracy or fear of the communists ("Eleanor Roosevelt and the Cold War”; "First Lady Biography…”). At a time when America’s infrastructure is capable of being hacked by the Russians, Eleanor would urge Americans to remain calms (Knake). At the same time, however, she would be taking actions to stop Russia, preferably without military engagement. She criticized the notion of an “Iron Curtain,” which was promoted by Churchill, and argued that instead of a British-American alliance against the Soviet Union, America should focus on empowering the UN as a means to spread democracy ("Eleanor Roosevelt and the

Following conflicts in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, the latest estimates say that 1 in 100 of the world’s population displaced, with a substantial amount of these people being refugees. Whether forced by war, poverty, or political reasons to leave their homelands, these refugees are looking to the West, particularly Europe and America, for shelter and are being reluctantly accepted. Here in America, historically and even today, majority of the native population has been against the idea of welcoming refugees (Connor and Krogstad). While majority of Americans have opposed the “Muslim ban,” that does not mean religion is not a reason why people would reject refugees. With nearly half of the refugees being self-reported Muslims and 62 percent of American citizens citing Islamic terrorism as the greatest problem the country faces, it would not be a stretch to say that those who oppose accepting refugees maybe fearful of refugees because of their religious beliefs (Bowman). However, this would not be the first time that Americans have tried to turn their backs on refugees because of their faith. During World War II, Hitler was exterminating the Jewish population of Europe, which led to a steady flow of Jews trying to enter the United States. However, majority of Americans were against accepting Jews and many politicians spoke out against it as