Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is most widely known as The First Lady in the United States, or otherwise known as the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor was born on October 11, 1884 and passed on November 7, 1962 living to be just 78 years of age. Eleanor was very supportive of her husband as she supported the New Deal polocies of his and also assumed her role as an advocate for American Civil Rights Movement of 1896 to 1954. After FDR had passed, she had decided she would continue to be a public speaker, motovist, and polotician in the New Deal.Early LifeAs I had already mentioned, Eleanor was born on October 11, 1884 at West 37th Street in New York City. She is the daughter of Elliot and Anna Hall Roosevelt. Eleanor was named after her father, and after her mother and aunt Anna Cowles.She was nicknamed 'Ellie' and 'Little Nell' by her father. From early on, she had always rather be called by Eleanor, her middle name. She was the oldest of syblings, brother Elliot Jr. and brother Hall. She also had a half brother, Elliot Roosevelt Mann, who was born to a family servant named Katy Mann. He had died in 1941. Growing up, Eleanor's family was in the high society of New York, very wealthy and privilaged. Her mother had often called her 'Granny" because she was such a strong and sober girl. But that soon ended, as her mother died from diphtheria when she was eight and her father died from alcoholism less than two years after. Her brother, Elliot Jr., had also passed from diphtheria. Because Eleanor had no one left, she lived with and was was raised by her grandmother, Mary Ludlow Hall in New York. During this time, she had longed for attention and affection. She had considered herself 'ugly' and was very insecure. But by the age of 14, she had figured out that "no matter how plain a woman may be if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her."Marriage and FamilyIn 1902 at age 17, Eleanor had met her father's fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt who was 20 years old at the time. They began to date on New Year's Day of 1903. In November 1904, they became engaged, although the engagement was not publicly announced until December 1, 1904. Franklin and Eleanor had six children together, Anna Eleanor, Jr. (1906–1975), James (1907–1991), Franklin Delano, Jr. (b./d. 1909), Elliott (1910–1990), Franklin Delano Jr. (1914–1988), John Aspinwall (1916–1981), each child to which was very successful with their lives and carreers. The family spent many summers in Campobello Island on the Canada/Maine border, where Franklin was diagnosed with a high fever and bacame paralyzed in the legs permanantly. If it wasn't for Eleanor, Franklin never would have returned to his active life again and she overcame her shyness of public speaking and began to make public appearances for him due to his limited mobility.The First LadyAfter the inauguration of President FDR in March of 1933, Eleanor became the First Lady of the United States. With her husband's strong support, she began to actively continue speaking she had begun before becoming the First Lady. She was the first to hold weekly press conferences and started writing a widely exclusive newspaper column, called "My Day". Over her 12 years in the White House, she had a busy traveling schedule. She had even made personal visits at labor meetings to assure Depression-era workers that the White House was aware of their situations. She was also a big part of the communication between the African-Americans. Eleanor alsoaplayed a role in racial affairs when she appointed Mary McLeod Bethune as head of the Division of Negro Affairs.Eleanor Roosevelt Video:
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