First Lady Delegate: Eleanor Roosevelt and the U.N.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s birthday is October 11. October 24 commemorates U.N. Day, which honors the day the United Nations Charter was formally ratified. In honor of these occasions falling so close together, we look to this iconic trailblazer in the fight for global humanitarian rights.
Front Seat to the Action
As First Lady of the United States during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four terms of office, Eleanor left an indelible mark on the role for future First Ladies. Roosevelt knew or was friends with every 20th-century First Lady who preceded her, and initially, she dreaded assuming the role because of its largely symbolic qualities.
She quickly took the reins of the First Lady post, transforming it into a proactive position. Although she certainly was not the first First Lady to make public appearances or even get involved with politics, her firm insistence that First Ladies could champion national causes led to an unprecedented formalization of the role.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt Visits a National Youth Administration Project
For the War Effort
Eleanor Roosevelt was deeply involved in diplomatic and political efforts during World War II that cemented her as a dignified American leader and voice for progress. As First Lady, she traveled extensively to support troops and boost morale, often visiting military hospitals and engaging with soldiers and their families.
Roosevelt’s compassion with regard to the horrors of war extended beyond the homefront and American citizens. Even before the United States’ formal entrance into World War II, she advocated for a more flexible immigration policy that would allow Jewish refugees from Germany to come to the U.S. The First Lady expressed her support for the Wagner-Rogers Bill in 1939, which would have permitted upwards of 20,000 German refugee children aged 14 and under into the United States, bypassing the restrictive immigration quotas that were in place.
Cable from Eleanor Roosevelt to President Franklin Roosevelt, urging his support of the Wagner-Rogers Bill, 1939. Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY
Despite her urging, the bill, which President Roosevelt refused to endorse, never received a vote in the U.S. House.
Eleanor remained invested in efforts to aid refugees, from leading the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children to traveling to an internment center for Japanese Americans. While broader popular sentiment saw the forced internment of Japanese Americans as necessary for national security, her visit symbolized her commitment to humanizing immigrants, refugees, and all people.
Eleanor Roosevelt at Gila River, Arizona at Japanese American Internment Center, 1943
Overall, her role in wartime policies showcased her commitment to humanitarian causes, setting the stage for her later work at the United Nations.
The Global Stage
The formation of the United Nations in the wake of World War II sought to promote international cooperation and prevent more devastating conflicts in the future. Additionally, the UN sought to foster social and economic progress, ensuring that its initial 51 member nations could work to improve living conditions and uphold norms of justice and equality worldwide.
United Nations Poster, c. 1945
President Truman, assuming office in the spring of 1945 after Franklin Roosevelt’s death, offered the prestigious position of the first United States delegate to Eleanor in December. At first, she actually declined, thinking she did not have enough experience. Thankfully, Truman convinced her to change her mind, assuring her that she was more than capable.
As the only woman member in the General Assembly, it then came as quite the shock when she was unanimously elected to chair the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. This committee was tasked with drafting the first-ever uniform document outlying common, universal human rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt at the United Nations, 1947
She was instrumental in creating the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, working tirelessly to ensure that it not only provided for civil, political, social, and economic rights, but also that it would pass muster with three key stakeholders: the U.S. Department of State, the Soviet Union, and the U.N. General Assembly.
The committee included 18 individual nations with vastly different legal and political frameworks, so the effort was not straightforward by any means. Roosevelt took special care to prioritize the rights of women, advocating for their inclusion in decision-making processes and the Declaration.
Eleanor Roosevelt at a United Nations for Human Rights Commission meeting in Lake Success, New York, 1947
After several years of laborious debate and countless drafts, the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in December 1948. The 30 articles provide that member nations regard all humans as "born free and equal in dignity and rights" regardless of "nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status.”
While she left her formal role as a delegate in 1952, Eleanor's vision for a peaceful and just world laid the groundwork for future human rights initiatives. Her work solidified her legacy as a transformative figure in global diplomacy and a tireless voice for the equal rights of all people.
