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How Did Eleanor Roosevelt Change Society

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the brainchild of Eleanor Roosevelt, can be considered a ubiquitous standard of success for all people of every nation. This statement shows the immense empathy and care Eleanor felt for all Americans. She was an influential woman who used her husband’s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, presidency as an opportunity to advocate for the rights of women and minorities. She was anything but passive during her life in and out of Franklin’s presidency, while simultaneously managing to create a distinguished name for herself to help better other’s lives. An influential woman that flourished during society in the 1930’s, Eleanor’s extensive leadership skills, political assertiveness, and her willingness to succeed …show more content…

It helped give her some name-recognition before she would step into the spotlight as a First Lady in the White House. Eleanor was connected to society in many prominent ways, and she always made an effort to participate in movements beneficial to all people, but majorly focused on women and minorities. Of the multitude of actions throughout her life, the most profitable ones were ones like the Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements in 1903 (Cook 832). Cook adds within this movement, Eleanor took charge against oppression and took the lead with friends Mary Harriman, Jean Reid, Gwendolyn Burden, and others. Most of the issues she got herself involved in were politically centered and played to her strengths - she had a vast knowledge of the inner workings and “how-to’s” of political campaigning and such (Cook 832). Eleanor also cared deeply about the effects and on-goings of her current society - she was extensively involved in national affairs, before and after the period of her life spent in the White House. The great amount of personal interest she expressed towards others helped move her life forward in a direction she believed was …show more content…

She was criticized numerous times, but she kept her head up and continued to fight for what she believed in: equal human rights for all (“Anna” 1). Additionally, Eleanor was nearly the exact opposite of a model wife in the 1930’s. Cook describes her as fierce, independent, and headstrong; making her a formidable opponent to anyone who dares criticize her. Likewise, the article “A Real First Lady” from the New York Times adds to the discussion that Eleanor was a strong and powerful voice for civil rights and liberal causes around the world, After being shipped off to Allenswood, an all-girls school in England, her confidence soared, causing her to become more aware of the equality issues in the United States (Beck). Beck adds Eleanor never lost the fire inside of her that drove her to chase success - she made sure that her opinions always had a chance to be heard, if not just only considered. Furthermore, her fiery nature led to considerable disagreements with a significant amount of people, including her beloved husband Franklin. Out of everything she wrote, the most notable piece was a book titled This Troubled World which illustrated several alternatives to her husband’s policies (Cook 834). Published in 1938, Eleanor remains the only First Lady to use a pen to address and support contrariety of presidential policies (Cook 834). Moreover, Eleanor never took breaks on the crusade of

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