The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: The human rights years, 1949-1952

Eleanor Roosevelt

University of Virginia Press, 2007 - Biography & Autobiography - 1208 pages

The 311 documents in this second volume of Eleanor Roosevelt's papers trace her transformation into one of her era's most prominent spokespersons for democracy, reveal her ongoing maturation as a political force in her own right, and detail the broader impact she had on American politics, the United Nations, and global affairs. Readers will find a fascinating view on the inner workings of President Truman's second administration, the UN at the height of the early Cold War, and the many social and political movements that competed for influence over both. Ranging widely in substance and content, Roosevelt's writings demonstrate a grasp of the intimate connection between domestic and international affairs that led the former first lady to support the Korean War, champion the newly founded state of Israel, demand respect for the civil rights of African Americans, and bolster the political ambitions of people like Adlai Stevenson, Helen Gahagan Douglas, and John F. Kennedy.

The publication of this volume has been supported by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Contents

• Acknowledgments: xxv
• Eleanor Roosevelt to Dwight: xxvi
• Introduction: xxxiii

About the author

Eleanor Roosevelt, October 11, 1884 - November 7, 1962 Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, to Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt. Her mother died in 1892, and she and her brother went to live with Grandmother Hall. Her father died only two years later. She attended a distinguished school in England when she became of age, at 15. She met and married her distant cousin Franklin, in 1905. In Albany, Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, and Eleanor started her career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with polio in 1921, she tended him and became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. He successfully campaigned for governor in 1928 and eventually won the Presidency with Eleanor by his side. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, holding the post from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office. When Eleanor came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady. She never shirked official entertaining. She broke precedence to hold press conferences, traveled to all parts of the country and give lectures and radio broadcasts, and also wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day." After the President's death in 1945 she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate. Within a year, however, she became the American spokeswoman in the United Nations. She continued her career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: The human rights years, 1949-1952; Volume 2 of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Eleanor Roosevelt, ISBN 0813929245, 9780813929248; Volume 2 of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: The Human Rights Years, 1945-1948, Eleanor Roosevelt, ISBN 0813929245, 9780813929248
• Author: Eleanor Roosevelt
• Editor: Allida Mae Black
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press, 2007
• Original from: the University of California
• Digitized: Aug 18, 2017
• ISBN: 081393141X, 9780813931418
• Length: 1208 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs; Biography & Autobiography / Political; Biography & Autobiography / Women; History / United States / 20th Century; Political Science / Human Rights; Political Science / Political Process / Leadership; Social Science / Women's Studies