Dinner with the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt by Samantha

Dinner with the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt by Samantha - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

If I could have dinner with any historical figure, I would have dinner with Eleanor Roosevelt. She is an inspirational women, and a controversial first lady. She was helping her husband and was outspoken as a first lady. She was a writer, who published many books and wrote a newspaper column while in the White House. She was a part of the United Nations, and continued to work for human rights, after the White House, until her death. Eleanor Roosevelt was a humanitarian, and was an inspiration to women everywhere.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, contracted polio in 1921. After he got sick, she took his place in appearing in campaign events and giving speeches. In 1921, this was not something that women did. When she was the First Lady, she held news conferences. Eleanor was the first First Lady to hold press conferences. At these conferences, there was an open ban on male reporters. Eleanor did this because large publications wanted to be at the press conferences, and this ban made them keep female reporters on the staff. Because of this practice, female reporters were made a part of the permanent and modern White House Press Corps. She revolutionized the position of the First Lady. Before she became First Lady, the women were not involved in the political life with their husbands, like giving speeches and appearing in campaign events and holding press conferences.
While she was the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote newspaper columns. One of the columns she wrote was “I want you to write to me”. This column allowed the public to write to her with questions, in which she would respond with advise, personal opinions, and info on issues, both personal and political. She earned a $1000 pay for this column, and she donated it to charity. She was not the first First Lady to write a book, but she wrote the most books out of any First Lady. Her work as a writer was inspirational.
Eleanor Roosevelt continued her humanitarian work with the United Nations, from 1945 to 1952. She was the first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She also oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1968, she was awarded the United Nations Human Rights prize posthumously. She was very accomplished with the United Nations.
After her husband’s death, Eleanor was still very involved in the government. She chaired John F. Kennedy administration’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women from its beginning through until her death in 1962. In 1961, she was a part of getting the Tammany Hall boss Carmine Despio removed from power. She was a part of politics and government until her passing in 1962.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a very inspirational women. She was accomplishing things well before her time, like being involved in politics. She reinvented the role of the First Lady, and helped get women reporting at large publications, and eventually in the White House. She was a humanitarian as well, working closely with the United Nations until her death. Eleanor Roosevelt was a very inspirational women, with a lot of accomplishments for not just women, but for humans everywhere.