S. history would not have been fought if it had already been established that human beings were entitled to certain rights and not subject to enslavement. 3. Despite being a woman in a very male-dominated world, it is fair to say that Eleanor Roosevelt was absolutely instrumental in getting the UDHR passed. One of the goals in establishing the United Nations (UN) was to guarantee some type of protection for human rights; the problem was that the UN charter did not define human rights. Furthermore, there was no global consensus regarding the definition of human rights. Eleanor Roosevelt became chairman of the committee to draft the UDHR. Though Roosevelt was a well-respected and admired woman, who had political experience from her years as First Lady, she had no official diplomatic experience. Therefore, some questioned whether she was up to the task of engaging in such large-scale diplomacy. However, she proved sufficiently capable of engaging in such a task. She was far more realistic than her public image suggested. In fact, her main goal was to have the committee develop a non-binding definition of human rights. This was an important goal, because it established an international standard for human rights, which would make it more difficult for member nations to desire lesser standards in the binding treaties. Furthermore, that view was more realistic coming from the head of the United States, which was still tremendously racially divided, and routinely denied African-Americans their human rights. It was unlikely that American politicians...

Some countries suggested that different cultures meant different standards of human rights, and that trying to establish one single standard was imperialistic. Therefore, Roosevelt sought out input from the members of her committee, and seemed to resist the urge to over-Westernize the standards. Furthermore, she acknowledged that most countries would fall short of the standards, but still encouraged them as the goal. Roosevelt seemed to understand that most countries would not be like the United States, which gives citizens a venue for the protection of their human rights. On the contrary, rights are more of an ideal, rather than something enforceable. As such, they may seem meaningless to many people accustomed to a government that does protect civil rights and liberties. However, Roosevelt realized that having countries acknowledge a basic minimum standard of human rights was helpful in two ways. First, it deprived a country of claims of ignorance or cultural differences if they later violated those basic human rights, which might help clarify future War Crimes trials and defenses. Next, it provided hope to citizens across the globe, who realized that there was an international consensus regarding human rights, and that they might be able to expect support from the international community if they worked towards attaining those rights in their own countries.