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Eleanor Roosevelt’s High Expectations Regarding Madame Chiang Kai-shek
by Tim Sheehan

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From “Granny” to First Lady
Page 1 of 24

Eleanor Roosevelt grew up in a world of privilege. The Roosevelt family had been established in New York for generations, with the later generations accumulating great wealth. Yet privilege didn’t shield Eleanor from encountering hardships at an early age. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt came into the world on 11 October 1884. Her mother, Anna Hall Roosevelt, died from diphtheria when Eleanor was eight. Her father, Elliott Roosevelt, brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, suffered from alcoholism. Two years after her mother’s death, Eleanor’s father lost his life due to injuries from a drunken fall. Even before her parents’ deaths, Eleanor Roosevelt endured childhood as a shy, solemn girl lacking confidence. Her mother called her “Granny,&rdquo because Anna Hall Roosevelt believed her daughter looked and acted like an old lady, an act that escalated ER’s inferiority complex. After her parents’ passing, she led a lonely and neglected life under her Grandmother Hall’s supervision. Her grandmother, however, made the wise decision to send Eleanor Roosevelt to Allenswood, a boarding school in England.(2)

The headmistress at Allenswood, Marie Souvestre, fought for unpopular causes and the underdog. Souvestre, however, never wanted her students to copy her beliefs and ideals. She challenged them to think for themselves. Eleanor Roosevelt absorbed Souvestre’s lessons. As a result, she became a more confident young woman determined to assist others.(3)

When Eleanor Roosevelt returned to New York at the age of eighteen, she at first led the debutante life, attending prestigious parties amongst New York’s elite. She tired quickly of New York society. Eleanor instead spent time teaching children at the Rivington Street Settlement, an organization providing civic improvement and education to an impoverished New York neighborhood. Her evolution into a socially-conscious intellectual woman attracted the attention of her distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.(4)

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt fell in love and married in 1905. She endured many hardships with the future President of the United States. His mother Sara held a firm grip on Franklin, which made life difficult for Eleanor. Franklin made things tougher for Eleanor by having extra-marital affairs. He also contracted polio in the early 1920’s, which led to lifetime paralysis. His wife stayed with him, handling all these significance hurdles.(5)

Eleanor Roosevelt’s loyalty to her husband during these crises proved to him that he could treat her as a partner in his political achievements. During FDR’s terms as Governor of New York (1929-1932) and President of the United States (1933-1945), people solicited ER for her husband’s support. If she liked their policy or idea, she’d champion it, making her a very influential person. FDR gave his wife the chance to focus on social issues, instead of household duties and the society circuit. This freedom allowed Eleanor Roosevelt to work for the poor and against inequality.(6)

© 2009-2012 Tim Sheehan tim@historynut.info

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