Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady and United Nations Delegate
Most of us are aware that Eleanor Roosevelt set the standard for what it means to be the First Lady, turning the office into one of power and influence. She was an activist for human rights and an inspiration and advisor to her husband, Franklin who won the election as US president four times.
She established a women’s only reporter conference to combat discrimination against female reporters and served as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. Further, she chaired the Commission on Human Rights, leading the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document has been adopted by almost every state in the world; inspired numerous international conventions, treaties, and domestic laws; has been the catalyst for improving human rights protections for groups such as disabled people, indigenous peoples and women; and has been translated into more than 360 languages.
Powerful Quotes by a Powerful Woman
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.”
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face ...You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
“It was not until I reached middle age that I had the courage to develop interests of my own, outside of my duties to my family.”
“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.”
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face ...You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
