The Blog

Whenever I am looking at inspirational quotes, it seems that many of them come from Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman named by Time Magazine as the most influential First Lady of the United States. Born in New York City on October 11, 1884, she was a shy child who was orphaned by the age of ten. She was a favorite niece of President Theodore Roosevelt (her father’s older brother) and in 1905, married her distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She stood by his side as he ran for New York State Senate, served as Secretary of the Navy, when he was struck with paralyzing polio in 1921, and when he became President of the United States. Her pedigree, however, is not what is inspiring to me about Eleanor Roosevelt, her work as a humanitarian and her beliefs in the rights of blacks, women, and the poor.

Prior to marriage, Roosevelt worked to better the conditions in Public Housing in New York.  During her time as First Lady, she transformed the role of First Lady from Hostess to a role geared towards Social Reform. She gave a voice to those people who didn’t have access to power. She was also the first woman to cross the gender barrier, becoming the first woman to write a syndicated column, earn money as a lecturer, speak in front of a national convention, hold regular press conferences and be a radio commentator.  She traveled heavily, as the eyes and ears of her husband and was the perfect counterpart to her charismatic husband.

After her husband’s death, Roosevelt continued to work for social reform and in the political arena.  She was a spokesman to the United Nations and advised political candidates, including John F. Kennedy, until her death in 1962.

Posted by Deb in Inspiring Women |

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Inspiring Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.