Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way - Essay Example

?Eleanor Roosevelt While Franklin Roosevelt received most of the political acclaim, his wife Eleanor Roosevelt also made a significant number of political and human rights contributions to the 20th century. Born in 1884, Eleanor Roosevelt would go on to marry Franklin Roosevelt in 1905 at age twenty-three. She would serve as First Lady of the United States from 1933-1945. While many would argue that she operated in the shadow of her husband President Franklin Roosevelt, it’s clear that she made significant contributions in her own right. During her husband’s presidency she supported his New Deal policies, and became an ardent promoter of civil rights. This support continued after Franklin Roosevelt’s death in 1945, as Eleanor would go on to support and form a number of human rights organizations that would make substantial contributions to 20th century human rights. This essay considers Eleanor Roosevelt’s contributions to the establishment of the Freedom House, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While Eleanor Roosevelt became involved in a number of human rights organizations after her husband’s death in 1945, one of the most significant contributions she made was to the establishment of the Freedom House. Today Freedom House functions as a powerful international human rights organization. The organization develops research and pro-active human rights measures in the areas of democracy and freedom (‘Freedom House: A History’). However, during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency the organization did not exist. During Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency the idea for Freedom House grew out of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s increasing interests in human rights (‘Freedom House: A History’). Eventually Freedom House was formed in 1941. Eleanor Roosevelt was involved in the formation of the organization from the very beginning. Indeed, the history of Freedom House dates back to two groups in New York City of the 1940s (‘Freedom House: A History’). These groups, which had functioned two demonstrate support for World War II during the previous era, were both created through the encouragement of Eleanor Roosevelt. Even as the period they formed the United States had outwardly embraced an isolationist foreign policy, these groups sought to promote democracy, freedom, and human rights on an international scale. As this group worked in the face of these trends, it would mark an important theme in Eleanor Roosevelt’s life where she stood in the face of challenges and ensured the spread of civil and overall human rights. After the United States abandoned its isolationist political policy and became fully engaged in World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt increasingly became engaged in Freedom House operations. As Eleanor Roosevelt became more engaged in Freedom House, the organization took on a firmer stance in promoting democracy as a response to the Nazi world threat (‘Freedom House: A History’). Even as the organization emerged during the later periods of Eleanor Roosevelt’s position as First Lady of the United States, she ensured that the organization was composed of significant bipartisan character. In these regards, Roosevelt began by developing a board of trustees that would run the organization. The First Lady established that the board would be composed of important Americans with both liberal and conservative interests. For instance, one of the most prominent board members Roosevelt appointed was Wendell Wilkie. Wilkie, who was appointed in 1941, was a prominent conservative leader and a Republican presidential candidate in 1940 (‘Freedom House: A History’). While Roosevelt acted as founding member, she also served as the organization’s honorary chairman during the formative years. During this period, the organization worked toward halting the threat of Nazism. After the fall of Nazi Germany, the organization then turned its energies towards the dissolution of Communism and other such totalitarian threats and ideologies. In these regards, the key uniting elements of Freedom House became the promotion and establishment of ‘freedom’ and democratic principles internationally, and increased civil and human rights domestically. It’s no surprise that in its later years, Freedom House would provide substantial support to the establishment of such democratic organizations as NATO and the Marshall Plan (‘Freedom House: A History’). Ultimately, the crucial role Eleanor Roosevelt played in establishing Freedom House, and running it in these early formative years, would play an essential role in effecting human and civil rights throughout the globe. While Eleanor Roosevelt made essential contributions to the establishment of Freedom House, it’s arguable that she made even greater human rights contributions in her work with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, a number of historians and scholars have argued that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights constitutes Eleanor Roosevelt’s most significant accomplishment (Gerber 2003). This declaration was developed in the late 1940s and, indeed, represents perhaps the pinnacle of Roosevelt’s human rights contributions. The declaration itself was an element of the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission. During the time of the declaration’s establishment, Roosevelt was the most prominent member of this committee. While Roosevelt oftentimes indicated that she did not have the same education and legal background as the individuals she worked with on the United Nations commission, she is recognized as having a strong passion and innate conviction regarding human rights that played a crucial role in the construction of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her position as a sort of intellectual outsider also resulted in her positioning herself as a sort of conduit to the common man and woman. In these regards, Roosevelt once stated, “I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me understand something, it would be clear to all other people in the country, and perhaps that will be my real value on this drafting commission" (Gerber 2003). It’s clear how Eleanor Roosevelt extended this approach to the American political spectrum to make significant contributions to the development of the Universal Human Rights Declaration. The declaration itself is a direct reflection of the human rights abuses that Eleanor Roosevelt came to recognize that occurred during the Second World War. The declaration consists of thirty articles that are meant stand for what is believed to do the universal principles of human rights that should be recognized throughout the globe. Indeed, the nature of universalism was a key feature that Roosevelt had sought to promote within the declaration. It was Eleanor’s vision that the declaration would be adopted by all nations across the globe and function as a sort of world metric for human rights elements and treatment of individuals. Roosevelt would state, “We wanted as many nations as possible to accept the fact that men, for one reason or another, were born free and equal in dignity and rights, that they were endowed with reason and conscience, and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood. The way to do that was to find words that everyone would accept” (Gerber 2003). In large part, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be adopted by nations throughout the world as a standard of human rights; although it has been criticized by Middle Eastern states as not considering their cultural perspectives. Ultimately, the declaration and its substantial impact on the international community would make it one of the Eleanor Roosevelt’s most significant contributions to human rights. In conclusion, this essay has considered Eleanor Roosevelt’s contributions in establishing the Freedom House and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In these considerations it has demonstrated the significant contributions Roosevelt made to domestic and international human rights progress. It argues that in-addition to her role as First Lady, Roosevelt made significant contributions on her own right. Ultimately, she is clearly one of the substantial individuals in promoting human rights in the 20th century. References ‘Freedom House: A History’ Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=249 Gerber, Robin. (2003) Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage. New York: Portfolio Trade. Read More