How Did Eleanor Roosevelt Impact Society

Women leadership has played a major role in anal of history. But more so, women leadership has also helped shaped the development of contemporary human civilization. One woman that left a footprint in women leadership role is Eleanor Roosevelt.

Eleanor Roosevelt was the daughter of Elliot and Anna Roosevelt. She was born in New York City on Oct 11, 1884. As a very young child, Eleanor endured loneliness because her father was suffering from alcohol addiction and her mother often show more attention to Eleanor’s brothers. Eleanor felt isolated and her self-esteem was deeply affected. At some point, Elliot’s brother, Theodore, sent Elliot to an alcohol rehabilitation center for him to get his life back. This further worsen Eleanor’s loneliness.

Her influence catapulted Eleanor’s self- esteem, a characteristics that she needed, before she left for the school. This exposed her to earn her self-confidence among girls. In 1902, Eleanor left England for New York to make her debut in the American society. The same year she got engaged to her distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt’s mother, Sara, was initially opposed to the relationship, she felt Franklin was too young to get married. She eventually gave in to Franklin’s choice. After which they eventually got married in 1905. Just two weeks after Eleanor got married to Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor’s iconic mentor, Marie Souvestre, passed away. Within an eleven years period, they both had 6 children. Their first child was a girl named Anna, she was born in 1906. The raising of children also added to Eleanor’s philosophical content of women leadership. A groundbreaking book titled the price of Motherhood, written by Ann Crittendon, would have gained the full approval of Eleanor. Ann Crittendon noted that mothers who work outside the home have “their principal place of business in the home.” She also debunked the society’s view of the irrelevance of mothering to the economic development. 1910, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to state

She felt that her mother, Anna, is more interested in devoting her attention and care towards her siblings. This affected her self-confidence. She often depend on a fatherly care. Her father, Elliot tend to show her more attention than the mother. But her father’s alcohol addiction hindered her one chance of get a full dose of parental support. When her father passed away, that dealt a major blow on her. When Eleanor was sent off to London, England to study, she found an iconic mentor, her Head Mistress, Marie Souvestre, who helped her gain the lacking self-confidence that she has been deprived at her early childhood age. Even after her education was completed at Allenswood School, Eleanor still communicate with Souvestre via letter. It was two weeks after Eleanor got married that Marie Souvestre passed away.

Another influential factor that influenced Eleanor’s leadership potential was what she learnt about Franklin’s during her marriage, when he cheated with Lucy Mercer. Though Eleanor hired Mercer as her social assistant, but Lucy ended up having an affair with Franklin. After she learnt of the situation, Franklin was unwilling to change his way despite being caught cheating. This experience helped Eleanor understood how to deal with human being and she mentioned in her autobiography that it’s difficult to tell humans what to