Home > Eleanor Roosevelt

Mrs. Roosevelt was active in the formations of numerous institutions most notably the United Nations, United Nations AssociationThe United Nations Association of the United States of America or UNA-USA was founded in 1943 by Eleanor Roosevelt as the American Association for the United Nations (AAUN) which was merged with the U. Committee for the United Nations in 1964. UNA-USA is and Freedom HouseFreedom House describes itself as "a non-profit, nonpartisan organization" that is "a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world". Founded in the 1940s, it produces reports on the progress of democracy and freedom in the government of countrie. She chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Harry S. TrumanTruman Order 33rd President Term of Office April 12, 1945 January 20, 1953 Predecessor Franklin Delano Roosevelt Successor Dwight D. Eisenhower Date of Birth Thursday, May 8, 1884 Place of Birth Lamar, Missouri Date of Death Tuesday, December 26, 1972 Pla called her the First Lady of the World, in honor of her extensive travels to promote human rights.

Mrs. Roosevelt was the eldest child of Elliot Roosevelt and Anna Hall Roosevelt and was a favorite niece of Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt Order 26th President Term of Office September 14, 1901 March 4, 1909 Predecessor William McKinley Successor William Howard Taft Date of Birth Wednesday, October 27, 1858 Place of Birth New York City Date of Death Monday, January 6, 1919. On St. Patrick's DayPatrick's Day ( March 17) is the Roman Catholic Feast day which honors St. Patrick (A. 387-461), the patron Saint of Ireland. Because of St. Patrick's patronage, the celebrations in Dublin have been extended to a week-long event called St Patrick's Festiv, 1905Events January-April January 22 Massacre of Russian demonstrators at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, one of the triggers of the abortive Russian Revolution of 1905. January 26 The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier she married a fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In 1939, the opera singer Marian Anderson was refused permission to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington because of her skin color. Mrs. Roosevelt arranged for Anderson to perform from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to a live audience of 70,000, and a nationwide radio audience.

Mrs. Roosevelt opposed her husband's decision to sign Executive Order 9066 which resulted in the internment of 110,000 Japanese nationals and American citizens of Japanese descent in internment camps on the U.S. West Coast. In 1943 Mrs. Roosevelt, along with Wendell Willkie and other Americans concerned about the mounting threats to peace and democracy during World War II, established Freedom House.

After World War II, she was instrumental along with John Peters Humphrey and others in formulating the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the night of December 10, 1948, Mrs. Roosevelt spoke on behalf of the Declaration calling it "the international Magna Carta of all mankind," and the Declaration was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly later that night.

In 1954 Tammany Hall boss Carmine DeSapio campaigned against her son, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., in the New York Attorney General election and successfully defeated him. Mrs. Roosevelt held DeSapio responsible for her son's defeat and grew increasingly disgusted with his political conduct through the rest of the 1950s. Eventually, she would join with her old friends Herbert Lehman and Thomas Finletter to form the New York Committee for Democratic Voters, a group dedicated to enhancing the democratic process by opposing DeSapio's reincarnated Tammany. Eventually their efforts were successful, and in 1961 DeSapio was removed from power.

Mrs. Roosevelt was a close friend of Adlai Stevenson and was a strong supporter of his candidacies in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections. When President Truman backed New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, who was a close associate of Carmine DeSapio, for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mrs. Roosevelt was disappointed but continued to support Stevenson who ultimately won the nomination. She backed Stevenson once again in 1960 but John F. Kennedy received the presidential nomination instead.

She was responsible for the establishment of the 2,800 acre (11 km²) Roosevelt Campobello International Park on Campobello Island, New Brunswick in 1964 following a gift of the Roosevelt summer estate to the Canadian and American governments.

After her death, her son Elliot Roosevelt wrote a series of best-selling fictional murder mysteries wherein she acted as a detective, helping the police solve the crime, while she was First Lady. They feature actual places and celebrities of the time.