Selected Digitized Correspondence of Eleanor Roosevelt, 1933-1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Collection Overview
Title: Selected Digitized Correspondence of Eleanor Roosevelt, 1933-1945
Primary Creator: Roosevelt, Eleanor (1884-1962)
Extent: 21.33 Cubic Feet
Arrangement: This collection is a single series organized alphabetically by last name of correspondent, and chronologically thereunder.
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The documents comprising this single-series collection were selected from among the estimated 3 million pages of the Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Papers (1884-1964) residing at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. These documents were selected and microfilmed in 1986 by University Publications of America, a division of LexisNexis. The Selected Digitized Correspondence includes documentation for the White House years of 1933-1945, when Franklin D. Roosevelt served as President of the United States and Eleanor Roosevelt as First Lady.
Selections include Eleanor Roosevelt's correspondence with ninety-three individuals, reflecting the First Lady's personal and political involvement with significant issues and figures. The collection highlights four main themes: social welfare and depression relief; race relations; women in American politics; and youth activities.
Collection Historical Note
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884. Her father was Elliott Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's younger brother and her mother was Anna Hall, a descendent of the Livingstons, a distinguished New York family. Both her parents died when she was a child, her mother in 1892, and her father in 1894. After her mother's death, Eleanor lived with her grandmother, Mrs. Valentine G. Hall, in Tivoli, New York. She was educated by private tutors until age 15, when she was sent to Allenswood, a school for girls in England, whose headmistress, Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre, had a great influence on her education and thinking. At age 18, Eleanor Roosevelt returned to New York where she resided with cousins. During that time she became involved in social service work, joined the Junior League and taught at the Rivington street Settlement House.
On March 17, 1905, she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and between 1906 and 1916, they became the parents of six children, all of whom are deceased -- Anna Eleanor (1906-1975), James (1907-1991), the first Franklin Delano, Jr. (1909-1909), Elliott (1910-1990), the second Franklin Delano, Jr. (1914-1988),and John Aspinwall (1916-1981). During this period her public activities gave way to family concerns and her husband's political career. However, with American entry in World War I, she became active in the American Red Cross and in volunteer work in Navy hospitals. After Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921, Mrs. Roosevelt became increasingly active in politics both to help him maintain his interests and to assert her own personality and goals. She participated in the League of Women Voters, joined the Women's Trade Union League, and worked for the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Committee. She helped to found Val-Kill Industries, a nonprofit furniture factory in Hyde Park, New York, and taught at the Todhunter School, a private girls' school in New York City.
During Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt was an active First Lady who traveled extensively around the nation, visiting relief projects, surveying working and living conditions, and then reporting her observations to the President. She also exercised her own political and social influence; she became an advocate of the rights and needs of the poor, of minorities, and of the disadvantaged. In World War II, she visited England and the South Pacific to foster good will among the Allies and boost the morale of US servicemen overseas.
After President Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, Mrs. Roosevelt continued public life. She was appointed by President Truman to the United States Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, a position she held until 1953. She was chairman of the Human Rights Commission during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
In 1953, Mrs. Roosevelt resigned from the United States Delegation to the United Nations and volunteered her services to the American Association for the United Nations. She was an American representative to the World Federation of the United Nations Associations, and later became the chairman of the Associations' Board of Directors. She was reappointed to the United States Delegation to the United Nations by President Kennedy in 1961. Kennedy also appointed her as a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corps and chairman of the President's Commission on the Status of Women. Mrs. Roosevelt received many awards for her humanitarian efforts.
Eleanor Roosevelt was in real demand as a speaker and lecturer, both in person and through the media of radio and television. She was a prolific writer with many articles and books to her credit including a multi-volume autobiography. In late 1935, she began a syndicated column, "My Day," which she continued until shortly before her death. She also wrote monthly question and answer columns for the Ladies Home Journal (1941-49) and McCalls (1949-62).
In her later years, Mrs. Roosevelt lived at Val-kill in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York. She also maintained an apartment in New York City where she died on November 7, 1962. She is buried alongside her husband in the rose garden of their estate at Hyde Park, now a national historic site.
Administrative Information
Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Access Restrictions: None
Use Restrictions: The unpublished writings of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt contained in this collection are in the public domain. The papers contain material restricted in accordance with Executive Order 12958, and material which might constitute invasion of privacy of living persons has been closed.
Related Materials: Anna Roosevelt Papers; Franklin D. Roosevelt Papers as President; Roosevelt Family Papers Donated by the Children
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Selected Digitized Correspondence],
[All]
-
Series 1: Selected Digitized Correspondence -
Alexander, Will W., 1936-1944 - View Online
-
Alsop, Joseph and Corrine, 1933-1943 - View Online
-
Anderson, Mary, 1934-1944 - View Online
-
Baruch, Bernard M. (1), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Baruch, Bernard M. (2), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Baruch, Bernard M. (3), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Berle, Adolf A., Jr., 1934-1944 - View Online
-
Bernstein, Carola Schaeffer, 1936-1939 - View Online
-
Bethune, Mary McLeod (1), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Bethune, Mary McLeod (2), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Biddle, Francis B. and Katherine, 1940-1943 - View Online
-
Bird, Remsen (1), 1940-1944 - View Online
-
Bird, Remsen (2), 1940-1944 - View Online
-
Bird, Remsen (3), 1940-1944 - View Online
-
Black, Ruby (1), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Black, Ruby (2), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Black, Ruby (3), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Black, Ruby (4), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Bruce, Edward, 1934-1941 - View Online
-
Bugbee, Emma, 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Cadden, Joseph (1), 1934-1941 - View Online
-
Cadden, Joseph (2), 1934-1941 - View Online
-
Cadden, Joseph (3), 1934-1941 - View Online
-
Catt, Carrie Chapman, 1933-1943 - View Online
-
Clapp, Elsie (1), 1934-1943 - View Online
-
Clapp, Elsie (2), 1934-1943 - View Online
-
Cook, Nancy (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Cook, Nancy (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Cook, Nancy (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Craig, Elizabeth May, 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Daniels, Jonathan, 1938-1945 - View Online
-
Daniels, Josephus (1), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Daniels, Josephus (2), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Davis, Jerome (1), 1936-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Jerome (2), 1936-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (1), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (2), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (3), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (4), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (5), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Davis, Norman H. (6), 1937-1944 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (4), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (5), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (6), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (7), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dewson, Mary (Molly) (8), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dickerman, Marion (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dickerman, Marion (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dickerman, Marion (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Douglas, Helen Gahagan, 1940-1945 - View Online
-
Douglas, Melvyn, 1941-1942 - View Online
-
Dreier, Mary, 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Dreiser, Theodore, 1941-1942 - View Online
-
Earhart, Amelia, 1933-1936 - View Online
-
Early, Stephen, 1934-1944 - View Online
-
Elliott, Harriet, 1940-1944 - View Online
-
Ernst, Morris (1), 1936-1945 - View Online
-
Ernst, Morris (2), 1936-1945 - View Online
-
Evans, May Thompson, 1937-1941 - View Online
-
Farley, James A. (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Farley, James A. (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Fauset, Crystal Bird, 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Fisher, Dorothy Canfield, 1934-1942 - View Online
-
Flanagan, Hallie, 1935 - View Online
-
Fleeson, Doris, 1937-1945 - View Online
-
Furman, Bess (Armstrong) (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Furman, Bess (Armstrong) (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Furman, Bess (Armstrong) (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Gellhorn, Martha (Hemingway) (1), 1935-1944 - View Online
-
Gellhorn, Martha (Hemingway) (2), 1935-1944 - View Online
-
Gellhorn, Martha (Hemingway) (3), 1935-1944 - View Online
-
Graham, Frank Porter, 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Greenway, Isabella (King), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Hickok, Lorena, 1934-1944 - View Online
-
Hillman, Sidney, 1938-1944 - View Online
-
Honeyman, Nan Wood, 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Hoover, J. Edgar, 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Hopkins, Harry, 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Ickes, Harold, 1933-1941 - View Online
-
Ilma, Viola (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Ilma, Viola (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Ilma, Viola (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Ilma, Viola (4), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Ilma, Viola (5), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Kellogg, Paul U. (1), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Kellogg, Paul U. (2), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Kerr, Florence, 1939-1942 - View Online
-
La Guardia, Fiorello (1), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
La Guardia, Fiorello (2), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Lape, Esther (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Lape, Esther (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Lape, Esther (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Lape, Esther (4), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Lash, Joseph P., 1936-1945 - View Online
-
Lash, Trude (Pratt), 1940-1945 - View Online
-
Lasker, Mary (Mrs. Albert D.), 1941-1945 - View Online
-
Lehman, Herbert and Edith, 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Lenroot, Katherine, 1935-1942 - View Online
-
Mason, Lucy Randolph, 1937-1943 - View Online
-
McCloy, John J., 1943 - View Online
-
McNutt, Paul, 1934-1941 - View Online
-
Miller, Emma Guffey, 1939-1945 - View Online
-
Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., and Elinor (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., and Elinor (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Murray, Pauli, 1938-1944 - View Online
-
Myer, Dillon S., 1943-1944 - View Online
-
O'Day, Caroline (1), 1933-1942 - View Online
-
O'Day, Caroline (2), 1933-1942 - View Online
-
Perkins, Frances, 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Pinchot, Cornelia Bryce, 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Randolph, A. Philip, 1938-1943 - View Online
-
Read, Elizabeth, 1934-1940 - View Online
-
Reading, Lady Stella, 1936-1945 - View Online
-
Reuther, Walter, 1943-1944 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (1), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (2), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (3), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (4), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (5), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (6), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Eleanor (7), 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1), 1942-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (2), 1942-1945 - View Online
-
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (3), 1942-1945 - View Online
-
Roosenberg, Anna, 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Schneiderman, Rose (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Schneiderman, Rose (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Schneiderman, Rose (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Schneiderman, Rose (4), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Simkhovitch, Mary Kingsbury (1), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Simkhovitch, Mary Kingsbury (2), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Sinclair, Upton, 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Smith, Hilda Worthington (1), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Smith, Hilda Worthington (2), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Smith, Hilda Worthington (3), 1933-1945 - View Online
-
Stimson, Henry, 1941-1945 - View Online
-
Strong, Anna Louise, 1935-1942 - View Online
-
Taussig, Charles, 1935-1944 - View Online
-
Tobias, Channing, 1942-1944 - View Online
-
Tugwell, Rexford G., 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Wald, Lillian, 1933-1939 - View Online
-
Wallace, Henry, 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (1), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (2), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (3), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (4), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (5), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (6), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
White, Walter (7), 1934-1945 - View Online
-
Wilkins, Roy, 1937-1945 - View Online
-
Williams, Aubrey, 1935-1945 - View Online
-
Williams, Charl O. (1), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Williams, Charl O. (2), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Williams, Charl O. (3), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Williams, Charl O. (4), 1933-1944 - View Online
-
Wise, Stephen, 1941-1945 - View Online
-
Wolfe, Carolyn, 1935-1936 - View Online
-
Woodward, Ellen S. (1), 1934-1939 - View Online
-
Woodward, Ellen S. (2), 1934-1939 - View Online
-
Yard, Molly, 1940-1944 - View Online
-
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Selected Digitized Correspondence],
[All]