There is so much information out there about Eleanor Roosevelt. She was such an interesting woman. Did you know: She and Michelle Obama are believed to be tied for the tallest of the first ladies- both are 5'11" tall? That she took an active role in the Kennedy Administration, serving as the chair of the President's commission on the Status of Women and on the advisory council of the Peace Corps? That she was a board member of the NAACP? That she accepted the appointment by President Harry Truman to serve as the only woman among the five American delegates to the newly-created United Nations in December of 1945. She was in attendance at the historic first meeting of the institution in London, in January of 1946? That she was a strong supporter of labor unions? That she was the first First Lady to widely enter the general popular culture, which led to the highly caricatured image we sometimes see of her? That no other First Lady has published more books than she has? That she gave an estimated 1400 speeches in her life? That she purchased, ran and taught history at a school for girls in New York City? That she was co-owner of a furniture business? All of these things only scratch the surface of who she was. There is so much more. I find her fascinating. I hope you take just one of these things and do a little more research. If you only google "Eleanor Roosevelt and ________", you will come up with so much fascinating stuff. There is also some pretty good credible evidence that she was engaged in at least one lesbian relationship. The historians like to play that one down, or not mention it all together. Hazel Rowley does a great job of treating it as a matter-of-fact subject in her book, Franklin and Eleanor, an Extraordinary Marriage. See what you can find, if you're so inclined! She might inspire you, too Have fun!
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DawnWomen's history geek, mom, lesbian, theologian, dreamer. Archives
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