Happy Birthday Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt speaking on the radio.

Former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt’s birthday was today, October 11. Although she is well known, many don’t realize her career was far beyond the role of Franklin Roosevelt's wife. 

When she first met Franklin, she became his political advisor. Later on, she promoted women's suffrage by holding leadership positions at multiple organizations, such as, the League of Women Voters and the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee. 

Once she assumed her role as First Lady in 1933, she wrote numerous letters and delivered countless speeches. Not only that, she had a major influence on President Roosevelt's policy making. She encouraged her husband to appoint more women into office and advocated for racial justice.

In 1948, she helped write the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. She continued to make efforts to desegregate housing and to protect civil rights activists. Roosevelt then was on the chair of the President's Commission on the Status of Women where she worked on the Equal Pay Act.

Roosevelt challenged the idea that women must only take care of their children by using her time as First Lady to engage in politics. It's inspiring to see women supporting other women in order to make our society equitable. Happy Birthday Eleanor Roosevelt!

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do," Eleanor Roosevelt.