Eleanor Roosevelt

Born on October 11, 1884 in New York City, Eleanor lived there until she was 15 years old and then moved to London, England. There she attended school for the next three years. After she came back to the United States, she lived in Albany as the Senator’s wife from 1910 to 1913. In 1933 her husband, Franklin Roosevelt, was elected the President of the United States of America and she came to the White House as the First Lady!

Before moving into the White House, Eleanor joined many different societies and women voters’ groups. She joined the Democratic Party’s National Women’s Committee where she was the co-director and one of the best known Democrats in the country. Mrs. Roosevelt also took part in The League of Women Voters, New York State Democratic Party, and was the editor of the “Women’s Democratic News.”

In 1921 a terrible thing happened. Franklin Roosevelt got polio and was paralyzed from the waist down. While he couldn’t walk, Eleanor took Franklin’s jobs. She went to the National Convention where she would participate in the women’s subcommittee. But after Franklin got better and was running for New York State governor, Eleanor quit the Democratic groups she had joined.

Eleanor Roosevelt made an amazing First Lady. As First Lady she didn’t want all the services provided for her. She drove her own car, traveled by plane, and let many press members interview her. “My missus goes wherever she wants to,” said Franklin Roosevelt. She didn’t even want the money Franklin made from being President so she gave most of it to charity.

Unfortunately Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945. But Eleanor didn’t give up politics. President Harry Truman asked her to be a part of the American Delegates. She said yes and was the only woman in the group.

Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most active woman politicians of her time. She encouraged many women to participate in politics. She also tried to make women feel more comfortable with doing things that only men did. On November 1962, one of the best First Ladies died.

My hero has done many things that encouraged me to believe in myself and to be determined if I want to accomplish something. She did when she was determined and got more women to vote. She was also very daring to do more than expected from a First Lady. Mrs. Roosevelt never gave up on her husband when he was paralyzed, and that taught me never to give up on my goals or my dreams. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” Eleanor Roosevelt said. I thought about that when I was getting ready to go to basketball tryouts. And, I believed I would make the team. That night at tryouts I did a great job and I made the team. Dreams can come true. She was right.