By Noah Brasseur
Eleanor Roosevelt is a woefully underappreciated force in American history. Too often only referred to as only FDR’s wife, Roosevelt became a powerful figure after the president’s death. In fact, she would stay in politics for 17 years as an advocate for the civil rights of women and minorities.
After World War II, she was instrumental in pushing the United States to join the newly formed United Nations and became the U.S.’s first delegate to the organization. Additionally, she served as the first chair for the U.N.’s Commission on Human Rights.
As part of her time there, Roosevelt would oversee the drafting of the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that enshrines the rights and freedoms that is inherent to every person.
Among its provisions, the document outlines the right to be free from slavery and torture, the right to property and free movement, the rights to freedom of thought, opinion, and expression, and the right to an adequate standard of living.
According to the New York Times, during her life, she was “the object of almost universal respect,” and was voted the world’s most admired woman several times over.
To this day, she is considered one of the greatest First Ladies the U.S. ever had. President Truman called her the “First Lady of the World.”
