In her highly untraditional marital partnership, she privately helped FDR shape his progressive political agenda, but wasn’t afraid to diverge with him publicly. Shy and insecure in her youth, she cultivated a ubiquitous national presence on radio, in print and through public appearances. Born an aristocrat, she became a fierce champion for underdogs. Roosevelt’s life and work were filled with paradox. Truman called her “the First Lady of the World.” When she oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the newly formed United Nations-and lobbied delegations to adopt it in 1948-President Harry S. And she vigorously supported the expansion of women’s rights. She defended the civil liberties of Japanese Americans her husband ordered incarcerated during WWII. She vocally rejected racial prejudice and promoted economic empowerment and civil rights for Black Americans. Against the calamitous backdrop of the Great Depression, Eleanor promoted efforts to curb economic inequality. Her causes were wide-ranging, inclusive-and to some, radical. And after her husband’s 1945 death, she evolved her mission further onto the international stage. In her 12 years in the White House alongside her husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she engaged in activism and public service far beyond what any other first lady had ever done. Eleanor Roosevelt’s tireless advocacy for social and economic justice made her one of the most admired women of the 20 th century.
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