Essential QuestionsEssential Questions How and why did the person become active on the

international stage? How was the person viewed in the United States?

How was the person viewed in other countries (especially his/her own country)?

What was this person trying to achieve? How did the person influence interactions between nations?

How has this person been memorialized or remembered?

Why is biography important and how can we use individual experiences to explore larger historical themes?

How and why did the person become active on the international stage?

How was the person viewed in the United States? How was the person viewed in other countries (especially his/her own country)?

What was this person trying to achieve? How did the person influence interactions between nations?

How has this person been memorialized or remembered?

Why is biography important and how can we use individual experiences to explore larger historical themes?

Eleanor RooseveltEleanor Roosevelt

“First Lady to the World”“First Lady to the World”

“I [took the assignment] because it seemed I might be able to use the experiences of a lifetime and make them valuable to my nation and to the people of thw world at this particular time. I knew, of course, how much my husband hoped that, out of the war, an organization for peace would really develop. It was not just to further my husband’s hopes, however. . . . It was rather that I myself had always believed that women might have a better chance to bring about the understanding necessary to prevent future wars if they could serve in sufficient numbers in these international bodies.”

“I [took the assignment] because it seemed I might be able to use the experiences of a lifetime and make them valuable to my nation and to the people of thw world at this particular time. I knew, of course, how much my husband hoped that, out of the war, an organization for peace would really develop. It was not just to further my husband’s hopes, however. . . . It was rather that I myself had always believed that women might have a better chance to bring about the understanding necessary to prevent future wars if they could serve in sufficient numbers in these international bodies.”

Circa 1946: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and others representing the UN Assembly, standing aboard the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner.

Circa 1946: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and others representing the UN Assembly, standing aboard the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner.

Work on Committee 3Work on Committee 3

Roosevelt with German children at refuge camp, 1947.Roosevelt with German children at refuge camp, 1947.

“If I failed to be a useful member, it would not be considered merely that I as an individual had failed, but that all women had failed, and there would be little chance for others to serve in the near future.”

“If I failed to be a useful member, it would not be considered merely that I as an individual had failed, but that all women had failed, and there would be little chance for others to serve in the near future.”

February 1946: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt reading the Open Letter to bring together women representatives at the UNO

February 1946: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt reading the Open Letter to bring together women representatives at the UNO

Eleanor Roosevelt to her class on Human Rights:

“Now children, all together….‘The rights of the individual are above the rights of the state.’”

US Delegation to the UN, 1948: Warren R. Austin; Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt; John Foster Dulles; George C. Marshall.US Delegation to the UN, 1948: Warren R. Austin; Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt; John Foster Dulles; George C. Marshall.

1946

United Nations, Lake Success, New York: Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

27 January 1947

First Session of the Commission on Human Rights, United Nations, Lake Success, New York (from left to right): Mr. Henri Laugier, Assistant Secretary-General for the Department of Social Affairs; Mr. Jan Stanczyk (Poland), Director of the United Nations Department of Social Affairs; and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (USA), representative and Chairman of the Commission, before the opening of the session.

6 June 1949

Fifth session of the Human Rights Commission, United Nations, Lake Success, New York (from left to right): Mr. Charles Malik (Lebanon), Mr. René Cassin (France); and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (USA), members of the Commission, discussing before a meeting on the Draft Covenant on Human Rights; Mrs. Marjorie Whiteman and Mr. James Simsarian, United States advisers, are sitting behind.

1952, Eleanor Roosevelt speaking with another UN delegate.

1952, Eleanor Roosevelt speaking with another UN delegate.

With the Kruschevs during their US visit, 1959With the Kruschevs during their US visit, 1959

Eleanor Roosevelt Monument,

Riverside Park, NYC

Eleanor Roosevelt at the FDR Memorial, DC

US stamp, 1998