This paper examines Eleanor Roosevelt's lasting legacy, with particular emphasis on her central role in creating the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Beginning with a biographical overview of her early life and activism as First Lady — including her advocacy for the poor, minorities, and women — the paper then traces her appointment as a U.S. delegate to the UN, her leadership of the Human Rights Commission, and the multicultural collaboration that produced the 1948 declaration. Drawing on scholarly sources and Roosevelt's own autobiography, the paper highlights both her diplomatic skill and her unwavering commitment to political, economic, and social rights for all people.
The paper demonstrates effective use of direct quotation paired with attribution to build an evidence-based argument. Rather than simply paraphrasing, the writer selects specific quotations — from Roosevelt's resignation letter to the DAR, from O'Farrell's journal article, and from Pubantz's analysis — and briefly contextualizes each one to show why it matters. This technique models how to let sources speak while keeping the writer's interpretive voice present throughout.
The paper opens with a brief thesis-oriented introduction, moves into a biographical section covering Roosevelt's early life and First Lady activism, then pivots to her UN appointment and committee work. A dedicated section on the drafting process draws on two peer-reviewed journal articles, while a final substantive section mines Roosevelt's autobiography for personal detail. A short conclusion ties the themes together with a memorable callback to the "filling teacups" anecdote. The Works Cited list follows MLA format.
Eleanor Roosevelt served effectively as First Lady throughout the administrations of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but her legacy goes far deeper than her advocacy activities in that role. This paper briefly reviews Eleanor Roosevelt's career and her advocacy as First Lady, then more fully examines her profoundly important involvement in the creation and adoption of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, and died on November 7, 1962. Her father was Elliott Roosevelt, brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, and her mother was Anna Hall. She lost both parents during childhood and lived with her grandmother, Mrs. Valentine G. Hall. She was tutored privately until the age of 15, when she attended a boarding school for girls in England, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Eleanor and Franklin were married in 1905 and parented six children. When Franklin was stricken with polio in 1921, Eleanor — who had already become heavily involved in volunteer work for the American Red Cross during World War I — became increasingly active in politics to help her husband cover all the necessary political bases. Her passion for service became very obvious to the American public even before she became First Lady; she was involved with the League of Women Voters, the Women's Trade Union League, and taught at a private girls' school in New York City (Todhunter School) (FDR Presidential Library).
During her husband's presidency, Eleanor traveled extensively around the nation as "the president's eyes, ears, and legs," advocating for the poor, for minorities, and for women's rights. There had never been a First Lady who held her own news conferences, but Eleanor did just that — and only female reporters were allowed to attend, reporters "who were traditionally barred from presidential press conferences" (FDR Presidential Library).
She was bold and steadfast when it came to racial justice. When the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) — of which she was a member — refused to allow African-American icon Marian Anderson to sing in their auditorium, she resigned. In her letter to the DAR she wrote: "I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist. You have set an example which seems to me unfortunate, and I feel obliged to send in to you my resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed" (American Decades Primary Sources).
Author Brigid O'Farrell — whose book She Was One of Us tells the story of the First Lady's advocacy for the labor movement — writes in the peer-reviewed Journal of Workplace Rights that Eleanor Roosevelt "used her voice as a columnist ['My Day'] as well as a radio and television host to advocate for labor, bringing visibility and respectability to people who were often invisible to media and policymakers alike" (O'Farrell, 2009, p. 333). Roosevelt was the keynote speaker at the World's Fair in New York City on Sunday, June 2, which was also the 40th anniversary of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. She explained that "you have to learn respect for the individual but you have to learn also that each individual must have self-discipline and unselfishness in the interest of the whole group" (O'Farrell, 333).
That message is the one she carried to the United Nations. A few months after FDR's death, President Truman asked Roosevelt to become a delegate to the United Nations. At first she balked, claiming she was not qualified, but she soon acquiesced and was asked to join Committee Three, which dealt with Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs. She was "forceful" but also understood diplomacy; O'Farrell describes her as "a smart, hard-working, and experienced committee member" (335). Roosevelt also knew how to get things done: she invited committee members to her apartment for informal discussions, and the fact that she spoke Italian and French gave her an additional advantage when dealing with international delegates (O'Farrell, 335).
In 1946, Roosevelt was asked to make recommendations for a permanent Human Rights Commission and was given the responsibility of chairing the committee. Meanwhile, she continued her newspaper column ("My Day"), and in January 1947 she reported to her readers that "it is natural, of course, that labor unions should be interested in human rights." She went on to express her hope that her work with the UN Commission on Human Rights would give people "the right to economic as well as political freedom" (O'Farrell, 335).
Her fellow committee members represented cultures from around the globe, including Charles Malik from Lebanon, René Cassin from France, India's Hansa Mehta, and A. P. Pavlov from Russia, representing the Eastern bloc (O'Farrell, 335). Their assignment was to set the standards for political and civil rights, as well as social and economic rights, in advance of the establishment of the permanent Human Rights Commission.
It can be said with assurance that not only did Eleanor Roosevelt fill teacups during her informal committee sessions — her genuine commitment to human rights and labor rights helped fill the gaps in these important international issues that had been left by the male predecessors who came before her in matters of international justice and rights.
American Decades Primary Sources. "Letter of Resignation from the Daughters of the American Revolution." February 26, 1939. Gale Biography in Context. 2004.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. "Eleanor Roosevelt Biography." Retrieved December 15, 2012, from http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu. 2008.
O'Farrell, Brigid. "Restoring Workplace Democracy: Eleanor Roosevelt and Labor Law Reform." Journal of Workplace Rights, 14.3 (2009): 329–350.
Pubantz, Jerry. "Constructing Reason: Human Rights and the Democratization of the United Nations." Social Forces, 84.2 (2005): 1291–1302.
Roosevelt, Eleanor. The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. Jackson, TN: Da Capo Press, 1992.
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