Running header: How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

Rachel A. Shackelford
University of Kentucky

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

Abstract
This paper explains how Eleanor Roosevelt went through many trials and because of them she
became the strong woman shes known for. This is proven by sources such as authors who
explain how involved Eleanor Roosevelt was (Riechers, M). How she stood up for what she
believed was right, and how powerful of a woman she really was. She was in charge of a lot of
presidential duties. Examples include, sharing thoughts about the new deal, and calling
conferences (Shriver, M). This essay highlights the things that not many people new about
Eleanor. She is not a very popular person when thinking about all the influential people in the
world. Even though shes underrated, she was extremely important to not only the US, the
country, and millions more. Without Eleanor a lot of the polices such as the New Deal and the
womens rights movement would not have taken place.
Keywords: Eleanor Roosevelt, women activist

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

The world is full of amazing and interesting people. Its hard to choose which person is
the most inspiring. Everyone is inspired by someone. Its extremely hard to pick someone in
particular that made someone want to accomplish their dreams. It obviously depends on the
person, and the values that they possess. Also it depends on their experiences, and how they
overcame any challenges that were presented in their lifetime. This is why I chose a brave and
unique woman for someone that has influenced me. Something thats so incredible is when
someone can overcome their own fears or issues and still change the world for the better. Shes
written her own book, was the first woman that was involved in politics, and her words and her
knowledge still impact us today. She inspired me to become a feminist, believe I can do
anything, and to never back down. Eleanor Roosevelt is a woman who believed in equality, was
a great leader, and always worked for change and for the greater good.
Eleanor Roosevelt as said before, has worked for human rights. She believed that
everyone was created equal and deserved the same treatment as others. This quote shows how
much she believed in the power of women, women had a unique power to change the language,
tempo and character of the world (Shriver, M). At the time when Roosevelt was young, this
would have been a controversial statement. At this time, women had never been in politics, or a
high place in the government. Women were still encouraged to pursue an education, and only
while her husband was president were women encouraged to pursue a career. Women were only
encouraged to do this in order to help out the war effort. Eleanor exuded a strong leadership role
on womans rights, she was on the first Commission on the Status of Women, and helped to run
the presidential office for her husband. She rewrote what it meant to be a first lady (Blair, D. M).

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

She wasnt just viewed as the presidents wife, she was respected. She would call her own
council meetings, and receive insights on things that were going on around the country(Shriver,
M). She surprised men with everything she did. Maria Shriver who was inspired by Eleanor set
out to interview men and women on how the views on womens rights are changing. Maria
received this quote from one man, All of us grew up thinking this was a man's world, that doors
were just gonna open to us because we had a Y chromosome (Shriver, M). Eleanor planted the
seed in the minds of many that helped to break down sexist mindsets. Even after Eleanors day
we still have struggles, but this is changing. Women are demanding to be heard and not to be
ignored anymore and a lot of this is due to how Eleanor approached these issues. Along with the
change in womans rights, Eleanor also motivated women to try for leadership roles.
Eleanor obviously was a leader. She reminds me of Rosie the Riveter, how strong and
influential she was. Rosie the Riveter helped women to go out and work to support the war, and
as said before this wasnt the norm for that time. A few of Eleanors accomplishment include
serving as eyes and ears for her husband, she worked as a newspaper columnist, as said before
she was the chair of the Commission on Human Rights, and she was a delegate to the United
nations as a diplomat. (Youse, C). Something that I believe makes her such a great leader was the
innovative approach that she had.
Its amazing that she did all of these things while the second World War was going on.
Some may believe that this is why she was able to achieve all of these things, that the public was
too busy focusing on the war to refuse her the right to do all of these things, but this isnt
something I believe. Eleanor suffered throughout her life, her path to power was not an easy one.
She was insecure and shy which now is hard to believe. Franklin Roosevelt increased her
insecurity and took away her work in New York City (Goodwin, D. K). Eleanor was brought

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

down by a mother who was disappointed by her looks, and was married early to her fifth cousin
who made her feel even worse about herself. If she managed to accomplish all of these things
this during this time, then there is not limit for the women of today to accomplish their dreams.
With being a leader, Eleanor worked for change in any way that she could.
In the 1940s everything was changing. A large part of this was due to the second World
War. The methods of fighting, the new technologies introduced in the war, and women in the
workplace. Some people were against all of these changes, but this didnt matter to the activists
at the time. Without these changes I wouldnt have been encouraged to seek higher education,
and would have been even more weighed down by the inequality between genders. Eleanor
focused a lot of her time and energy into groups that supported these changes (Riechers, M). She
helped to establish a minimum wage, helped to abolish child labor, and stood up for workers
rights. After joining organizations, and being the voice of them as well as the voice of her
husband she gained a lot of her confidence back. (Goodwin, D. K). She discovered that she was
great at public speaking and connecting with people. I was influenced by Eleanor to always
question things I dont believe are right. Groups such as sexual assault awareness are examples
of people that have spoken out against issues they dont agree with. This in turn has educated
many and helped others to speak up against sexual assault. This is a prime example of what
Eleanor envisioned. She kept working toward changes, she was shocked to see how
discriminated against the blacks were in the south so she tried to change that. She would
constantly be questioning institutions as to why they didnt treat women as equals.
She gave women and minorities a voice, something they had never had before. The
amount of effort and how much Eleanor cared has been seen by many, and its why I believe
there are women senators, activists, and women running for president. Its why I believe that

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

people dont take no for an answer, and why they question everything. Eleanor was caring
towards people that had nothing to do with her, she just believed in the fair treatment of others. I

also believe in caring of others, and especially the caring of animals. Animals cant do anything
for my personal gain, but I still care a lot for them anyways. Ive chosen to devote my life to
caring of animals, as Eleanor devoted her life to caring for human rights of any kind. This is why
I know I can follow my dreams, and become a veterinarian and that nothing besides myself
stands in my way.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a once in a lifetime type of person. Someone who I would have
loved to meet and question about how she went about the struggles in her life. I am and always
will by amazed by everything she did, as well as the courage she possessed. I dont think any
book, article, or source could capture how great she really was. Its because of her that women
have come so far today. Its because of her that people will always keep trying.

Personally, I will always be a feminist because of how much I care for others. I will try
my hardest in everything I do, and believe that I can achieve anything. I will also never back
down, because if Eleanor Roosevelt kept going in her lifetime then so can I. She made it through
all of her own struggles and still chose to care about others when no one seemed to care for her.
She succeeded in changing the world and the minds of many people. So if I could pick someone
that made it possible for me to follow my dreams, or someone that helped me to pick a certain

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

major or career it would be Eleanor Roosevelt, because of how she inspired millions just doing
what she believed in.

How Eleanor Roosevelt Inspired Millions.

References
Blair, D. M. (2008). I Want You To Write Me: Eleanor Roosevelt's Use of Personal Letters as
a Rhetorical Resource. Western Journal Of Communication, 72(4), 415-433.
doi:10.1080/10570310802446064
Goodwin, D. K. (1998). Eleanor Roosevelt. Time, 151(14), 122.
Riechers, M. (2000). Eleanor Roosevelt. Humanities, 21(1), 21.
Shriver, M. (2009). The Unfinished Revolution. Time, 174(16),
UN: One day conference in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt. (1995). Women's International Network
News, 21(2), 7.
Youse, C. (2015). The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. Library Journal, 140(3), 60.