Eleanor Roosevelt First Lady

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Eleanor Roosevelt was a first lady like no other first lady had been before. Eleanor was the start of many firsts in the White House, from her press conferences to driving her own car (Freedman 2). Fleming reports that Eleanor made herself known as brave women when she made the stand to not be followed by the Secret Service, even though her husband, Franklin, did not approve (71). “When Franklin insisted on assigning an agent to her, Eleanor snapped, “Don’t you dare do such a thing. If any secret service man shows up… and starts following me around, I’ll send him straight back to where he came from” (71).
Eleanor often shied away from the traditional life style of a first lady. Joseph P. Lash emphasizes in his book Eleanor and Franklin: the Story of their Relationship Based on Eleanor Roosevelt’s Private Papers that Lou Hoover, the first lady prior to Eleanor Roosevelt, did her best to keep out of the eyes of the public. Lou Hoover made few public appearances, but the ones she did make often had to do with the Girl Scouts …show more content…

“My own work had to go on regardless of anything,” Eleanor often said (Pfeffer). Eleanor wrote for the newspaper, magazines and talked to radio shows about her everyday life and all her other clubs and commitments that she took part in every day (Beasley 519). Eleanor kept up with her magazine columns and the many lectures she gave even though she was growing older and slowing down as time went on (Freedman 165). Eleanor stepped back from her political status, but still tried to stay involved (84). The new president after Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, often came to Eleanor for advice. President Harry Truman valued Eleanor’s insider’s knowledge and stood mindful of her influence. He wanted Eleanor on his side as he tried to fill FDR’s gigantic shoes

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