Eleanor Roosevelt Courageous Woman Essay

Words: 787
Pages: 4

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” These are the wise words of a very courageous woman. A woman who changed the role of the first lady tremendously, was a leading activist for women’s rights and against racial discrimination, and was also very active during both world wars.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884. Her father, the brother of Theodore Roosevelt, was an alcoholic who contributed greatly to her so- called broken childhood. Because of his alcoholism, he was sent to multiple
…show more content…
She was the longest serving first lady in history, severing for four terms. She traveled the nation visiting farms, native American reservations, and traveled to many places that her husband was unable to go to because of his polio, acting as his “eyes and ears”. She served as a great inspiration to many Americans, using her position to serve the United Nations, focusing on human rights and women’s issues. When the bonus army had decided to march on Washington for a second time, instead of sending in troops like President Hoover had done, FDR had sent Eleanor Roosevelt to sing to them to show them that the government care for them even though they were not able to pay them. Eleanor Roosevelt broke precedent to hold press conference as well as travel to all parts of the country giving lectures and radio broadcasts, she also expressed her opinions in a daily newspaper column she titled “My Day”. In 1933 when Mrs. Roosevelt came into the white house, she held an understanding of social conditions better than any first lady before her. She spoke out for human rights, children’s causes, women’s issues, ad racial discrimination. She focused mainly on helping the countries poor, advancing public health and educations, as well as