Eleanor Roosevelt

Term Paper # 112395

History > U.S. Presidency
Women Studies > Historical Figures

Eleanor Roosevelt

A biography of the personal and professional life of Eleanor Roosevelt.

1,362 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most powerful and admired women in American history and how her difficult early life likely laid the groundwork for the immense caring and compassion that she showered on a variety of causes. It looks at how over the course of her life, she transformed herself from an orphaned young woman to an accomplished public figure and how despite many criticisms of her public and personal life, she ultimately became a role model for future First Ladies and many other American women.

From the Paper:

"Eleanor Roosevelt was an outstanding example of a First Lady who used her status and power to affect change for other individuals. She was an outspoken advocate for women, children, and African American causes at a time when First Ladies were not expected to do anything other than play the role of a supportive and caring companion to their powerful husbands. In this way, Eleanor Roosevelt was a pioneer in showing America that a woman could be a powerful public presence on her own. While her association with Franklin was clearly important in her fame, she went well beyond that association in order to create a public presence of her own. Therefore she showed a generation of Americans that women could be influential and powerful players on the political and social stage."