Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884. She was a huge disappointment to her parents as they had been expecting boys. However, the boys did come, and their names were Elliot and Hall. Eleanor was politely ignored by her mother, but others called her an “ugly duckling”. Her father, however, cared about Eleanor. Sadly, both of Eleanor’s parents and Elliot died. Eleanor was then taken to her grandmother’s house, which was miserable compared to her old home. She disciplined herself by taking part in competitive sports and won the respect of her teammates. When Eleanor grew up, she met her fifth cousin and future husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Franklin became a New York senator and was eventually elected as president. When World war 1 broke out, Eleanor joined the war effort and worked 15 or 16 hours a day, almost twice the average American workday. After the war however, FDR was struck with polio and he could no longer walk normally. Many advised Franklin to give up politics, but Eleanor encouraged him, and so FDR returned to politics and was elected president in 1932. Eleanor worked to help the poor, at home, and abroad after her husband died. In 1962, she would join her husband in heaven, but not without making a meaningful impact on the world.
During her childhood, Eleanor Roosevelt was not particularly favored because she was a girl and many people called her ugly. She was born on October 11, 1884 and her parents, Anna and Elliot, were disappointed as they wanted to give birth to boys. However, the boys came eventually and Eleanor completely lost the support of her mother. Luckily, she still had her father, and he loved her a lot more than her mother did. Sadly, both of Eleanor’s parents died along with the older brother. Eleanor had to move into her grandmother’s house with her baby brother. Her grandmother enrolled her in Allenswood, a private academy. There, Eleanor decided to teach herself self-discipline and turned her pain into strengths. She made her way into multiple sports teams and won the respect of her teammates through her skilled play. After graduation, Eleanor met her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They often met secretly and they eventually married.
After Eleanor married Franklin Roosevelt, he was appointed New York state senator and Assistant Secretary of the Navy. This meant that Franklin Roosevelt had a huge responsibility in World war 1. After all, transporting US troops 3000 miles across the Atlantic was impossible without ships. Unfortunately, after the war, Roosevelt caught polio and survived, but his lower body was immobilized. This meant that he could no longer walk. Most of his advisors told him to resign from the political world, but Eleanor encouraged him to not give up. In 1932, Roosevelt was elected president and was sworn in in 1933. Eleanor had a total of 7 babies during her marriage with the president, but one of them tragically died in infancy. Another thing that caught Eleanor’s attention was the problems that working women faced in the US. She joined the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL), a group of remarkable women from around the world. Eleanor learned about what it was like to be a poor person, and she became one of the women who were actively trying to help the poor.
In the spring of 1945, it was clear to all that Nazi Germany was done for. They had lost too many men and there was no chance of them coming back. Unfortunately, FDR was also dead. His successor, Harry S. Truman invited Eleanor to go to London to serve in the newly created United Nations(UN). Eleanor hesitated briefly but was convinced when the president insisted. Eleanor still worked to improve living conditions in poorer countries, however. After retiring, she continued to do so. Her doctor advised her to cut back on her work, but Eleanor found it too hard to do so, so she kept living life as she had done so for the previous few years. Even at this age, it was not odd for her to work from 7:30 in the morning to well past midnight. Eleanor Roosevelt passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 7, 1962 at 78 years of age. She was buried at Hyde Park, right beside her husband. Adlai Stevenson remembered Eleanor Roosevelt as “First lady of the world” and proclaimed that “she would rather light a candle than curse the darkness”. She played an important role in fighting poverty and in the struggle for human rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt was president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s wife. As a child, she was treated poorly by her mother as her parents had been expecting boys. Things went downhill as soon as Eleanor’s mother, Anna, gave birth to two boys, Elliot and Hall. When Eleanor was eight, she lost both her parents and one of her brothers within 18 months. She lived with her grandmother, who sent her to Allenswood, a private academy. There, she joined multiple competitive sports teams and won the respect of her teammates. During World war 1, Eleanor joined the war effort by making supplies for the soldiers. Some of the lessons we could draw from her example is that one’s appearance is not how they should be judged. Additionally, gender is not what determines one’s capabilities. Finally, we should persevere through hard times and keep trying rather than giving up. Throughout her life, Eleanor Roosevelt displayed the traits of determination and the will to work hard for others, and that made her one of the most influential women who ever lived.
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