Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for human rights. She chaired the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which was responsible for drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was a great leader who helped her husband Franklin Roosevelt, the country and the world work towards peace and tolerance. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the oppressed and the poor earned her the love of millions throughout the world. She was, as President Truman said, "First Lady of the World." She was friends with many artists, and supported the career of African-American opera singer, Marian Anderson.

It is not only in war, however, that we fight for freedom. One fights for freedom in personal contacts and in many phases of civilian life. At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want, for all these things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.
April 15, 1943

Kendyle from Belgium writes:

My hero is: Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was a remarkable woman. She took care of her husband and fought for human rights. She fought for justice for all. She could have become the first female president of the United States.Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: "A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others." Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for human rights. She chaired the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which was responsible for drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was a great leader who helped her husband Franklin Roosevelt, the country and the world work towards peace and tolerance. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the oppressed and the poor earned her the love of millions throughout the world. She was, as President Truman said, "First Lady of the World."

Linda from Chicago writes:

(Anna) Eleanor Roosevelt was born on Oct. 11, 1884, in New York. She overcame an unhappy childhood and personal troubles to become a very influential person in her world. She was a wife, mother, statesperson and world crusader for justice and good will. She was not a "typical" famous woman, who was admired for her beauty and "feminine" traits. In fact, she was considered plain, and she had been awkward and extremely shy as a child. However, she used her position in society to do great good for poor people while her husband was in politics. When he was president, she worked alongside him, and was tireless in her efforts to help the country get out of the Depression. She also campaigned for human rights.

She died in 1962 after a life of service to humanity.

Roosevelt had a long and interesting life. I really like to read about her. One book I especially like about her is the one written by Russel Freedman, Eleanor Roosevelt, A Life of Discovery. I also really enjoy the fictional books written by Elliot Roosevelt, in which she is a detective, and solves crimes!

Whitney Anderson from Hastings, MN writes:

My hero is: Eleanor Roosevelt. In the early 1900s, black people were separated; they weren't allowed to use the same restrooms or drinking fountains as whites. When they rode a bus or even went to Mass, the blacks had to sit in back while the whites sat in front. When Eleanor went to Mass, she wasn't sure where to sit. Since Eleanor's husband was running for president, she had to watch everything that she did. She knew if she sat with the blacks the whites would be angry, and then if she sat with the whites, the blacks would be angry. So what Eleanor did was she brought her own chair and sat between the blacks and the whites.

You may be wondering who this outspoken courageous woman is. Her name is Eleanor Roosevelt and she was born in New York City on Oct. 11, 1884. She didn't have an easy life when she was younger. She was shy and starving for recognition and love.

When she was only eight years old, she had to go live with her grandmother because her mother, Anna Hall, passed away. As if that wasn't enough, her father, Elliot Roosevelt, died two years later when Eleanor was 10.

She went to school in England at the age of 15. That was her first chance to build confidence as a young lady. She got married to her distant cousin Franklin Roosevelt in 1905. Within 11 years, they had six children, one of whom died in infancy. Her husband was a state senator from 1910 to 1913. From this period, she learned much about Washington and its ways. Sadly, Franklin was stricken with polio, a crippling disease. Eleanor devotedly attended to him day and night. Since polio's effects could have doomed her husband's career, Eleanor's help and encouragement gave him the will to go on and eventually become President of the United States. Eleanor continued helping Franklin while he was president. She was the first lady and an energetic and outspoken representative of the people suffering from the Great Depression.

She demonstrated humanitarian efforts in many ways. She taught at a school she set up for poor children and ran factories for the jobless. She was also very active in the welfare program. She touched many lives and was a hero to many people. She was a role model in public life. She went out of her way to help so many people with their problems and needs, even when she had things of her own to deal with. That is why she is a hero to the world and me.

An excerpt from the "Wit and Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt:"

Housewife

Asked by feminists whether the term "housewife" engendered sufficient respect, Eleanor confessed she hadn't given it much thought, and then gave a thoughful answer.

I must confess that in days gone by, I have often entered myself on questionnaires as "housewife" without feeling the slightest embarrasment. Now I put down "writer" or "lecturer," because the major part of my life is taken up in this way rather than in running a home and watching over the daily needs of a household and children plus guests, as it used to be in the early days.

Those were the days when on a questionnaire I would put down "housewife" and feel proud of it, and I am quite sure that no woman has any reason for feeling humiliated by the title. It is one of the most skilled professions in the world. When one adds to the business of running a house the care and bringing up of the children, there is so much needed preparation for this occupation that I think it could be classed today among the most skilled occupations in the world.

To be sure, there are good homes and bad homes, and there are children who are well brought up and there are children who are badly brought up. This happens in any business or personal activity. But when one adds up what it means to a nation, one must concede that the well run home and the well-brought-up children are more important even than a well-run business.

More people are affected by the occupation of a housewife and mother than are ever touched by any single business, no matter how large it may be.

My Day, Oct. 17, 1955