An Essay On Eleanor Roosevelt

Priscilla Le
Mr. Martin
English 2H
7 April 2014
Eleanor Roosevelt
On March 17, 1905 , Eleanor Roosevelt married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Roosevelt. Intimate relationships between family members is greatly looked down upon and often associated with ignorance and ways of the past. However without her marriage to Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt would have never became the woman she is today. Eleanor is one of America’s most influential and impactful women. Eleanor rose to her position of high esteem and popularity through her term as First Lady, her support of social reform and her controversies.
In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio which led to paralyzation of his legs . This event served as a catalyst for “ the emergence of Eleanor’s political prominence” (Steinberg 140). Eleanor continued to increase her political power to the point where she needed to “best to pursue her separate interests in ways that did not undermine her husband's public standing” (Black). When Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1933, Eleanor hesitantly became First Lady due to the chance of being restricted of her independence. During her term, Eleanor “served through two nationally traumatic events”,the first of which being The Great Depression and the second being World War II .In an effort to alleviate the destruction caused by The Great Depression and prevent a future one, Franklin initiated The New Deal in 1933. However due to his paralysis, Eleanor took the role of traveling to various parts of the United States to genuinely inspect The New Deal programs “usually without announcement so program directors could not suddenly disguise problems”( “ First Lady Biography: Eleanor Roosevelt”). As a result of her constant traveling and...

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...ormal. Oh! I want to put my arms around you, I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it & think ‘she does love me, or I wouldn’t be wearing it!’ ” (Streitmatter)
Although it is a matter of opinion and speculation, Eleanor and Lorena’s relationship is highly believed to have contained romantic and possibly physical factors.
Eleanor Roosevelt , although initially criticized, became one of America’s most beloved figures. Through hard work, she slowly gained the respect of her peers and changed people’s idea of a First Lady. She “broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, ‘My Day’ ” (“ Anna Eleanor Roosevelt” White House). America would be lucky to have another First Lady who was as active as Eleanor.