From 1906 to 1916, Eleanor gave birth to 6 children, one of whom died in infancy. When America entered World War 1 in 1917, Eleanor resumed her volunteer work by visiting injured soldiers and working for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. She also worked in a Red Cross canteen. Eleanor remarked that this type of work increased her sense of self-worth. In 1918, Eleanor found out that Franklin had been having an affair with her secretary, Lucy Mercer. Franklin refused Eleanor’s divorce request because his mother didn't approve, and he thought the scandal would damage his political career. For the rest of their marriage, Franklin and Eleanor kept separate agendas and stopped being intimate, but they remained respectful of each other. Although Franklin agreed to stop seeing Mercer, he continued having affairs and even rekindled with Mercer later on.
When Franklin was elected president in 1933, Eleanor started using her growing public influence to promote civil rights and humanitarian causes. Starting in 1936, Eleanor also wrote a daily newspaper column called “My Day.” Eleanor was a popular speaker at both political meetings and institutions. She specifically showed interest in the issues of child welfare and housing reform. In addition, she sought equality for all races and genders, and she strongly opposed segregation. When the Daughters of the American Revolution wouldn’t allow for an African American opera singer to perform in Constitution Hall, Eleanor immediately resigned from the association. She organized for the concert to take place at Lincoln Memorial instead, and the event ended up being a huge success. Eleanor also constantly sought to bring more groups into the political process such as African Americans, women, youth, and the poor. This type of advocacy as First Lady was unprecedented and made Eleanor a sort-of controversial figure.
After her husband died in 1945, Eleanor continued to be active in the political sphere and in public service. President Truman appointed her as a delegate to the United Nations. Here, she was a chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, and she helped develop/promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1961, President Kennedy also appointed her as a chair to his Commission on the Status of Women. Until the last weeks of her life, Eleanor continued working within the Democratic Party and even kept up publications of “My Day.” Eleanor died in 1962 at age 78 from a rare form of tuberculosis. In her lifetime, she completely revolutionized the definition of First Lady by using her platform to advocate for change.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eleanor-Roosevelt
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=33
This is a very well written post because of how you captured the important aspects of Eleanor's early life, her impact on the role of the First Lady, and how her work exceeded the common expectations of women at the time. After her role as First Lady when she became a delegate for the United Nations, and guided a large group of politicians, diplomats, lawyers, and more, which shows how she demonstrated the vast, powerful capabilities of women. Her legacy of how she made her mark as one of the first politically involved First Ladies is still seen today, even somewhat recently through the work of Michelle Obama, who pushed for students to pursue higher learning and create a healthier America.
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I think your post was very informative and really focused on why Eleanor Roosevelt was significant. I thought it was particular cool that despite having a weakened relationship with her husband, she continued to do her own thing to promote what she believed in. Digging a bit deeper, I found it interesting that after her husband's death she first retired to his old cottage at the Hyde Park estate and told the press, "the story is over". Only a year later she started to be an American spokesperson in the United Nations.
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/anna-eleanor-roosevelt/
I think that Eleanor Roosevelt is a very important but often looked over character in American history, I think it is super important that you made a post about her and acknowledged her achievements. I really enjoyed that you included details and events of her childhood in the blog, I feel that this greatly assisted in illustrating why and how she became the woman she was in her adulthood. I though ti was super interesting that Eleanor unlike many past First Ladies took initiative and made statements along with movements by herself without assistance from her husband, she was truly an indecent woman of her time. I feel that this independence that you of used on in the blog is what made Eleanor so important in American history and truly put her apart from the other first ladies.
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