Read The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt Online
Authors: Eleanor Roosevelt
And after the election—back to work. There is so much to do, so many engrossing challenges, so many heartbreaking and pressing needs, so much in every day that is profoundly interesting.
But, I suppose, I must slow down.
MY GRANDMOTHER
would be elated, but not surprised, by the revolution in the status of women that has taken place during the past fifty years. She might wonder what took so long, but since she dedicated her life to both the women’s movement and the civil rights movement, she would be pleased.
Eleanor Roosevelt understood political power and how to use it. She developed her own unique leadership style and grew to become a highly skilled negotiator and conflict mediator. As a leader of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1947 to 1952, she not only played a key role in defining human rights, but she also held the UN and the U.S. accountable for the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She remained unafraid to tackle controversy, and she championed the causes of those who were unable to speak for themselves. She was beloved and despised.
Determined to be accessible to the public, she gave more than fifty speeches a year for more than thirty years and had a monthly question-and-answer column, “If You Ask Me.” She developed a clear but kind communication style that helped people feel that they knew her and that she not only understood their lives, but also cared about them. She saw them as individuals, and many of them saw her as a friend.
Given her international fame and the enormous demands on her time, what I find fascinating about my grandmother was her ability to maintain her personal life: the “softer,” emotional parts of our lives that often get short shrift when time is limited and we are overextended.
She had a large capacity for friendship, and she had many close friends from all walks of life. She enjoyed working with people, as part of a team, on all her various projects. She loved being surrounded by family and friends, and she would occasionally throw a head of state or two into the mix if they wanted an audience with her over a holiday. When I was a young girl, I didn’t know who the visiting dignitaries were or why they so wanted to talk to my grandmother. What I do know is that she always listened to us children, no matter who else was in the room. I remember how she loved Christmas, and would shop for us as she traveled around the globe. I remember family birthday parties, New Year’s Eve parties, and grand summers at the pool.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a world leader and human rights activist, but to me, she was my grandmother. She made me feel loved and respected. That was the wonderful gift she gave her family and friends.
—Nancy Roosevelt Ireland
Nancy Roosevelt Ireland is the daughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., and the granddaughter of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. She serves on the board of the Roosevelt Institute.
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Adamic, Louis, 232
Adamic, Mrs. Louis, 232
Adams, Henry, 84
Alassio, 30-31
Albany, N.Y., 64, 65-66, 146
Albert I of Belgium, 105
Allahabad, India, 332-333
“Allenswood,” 20
Allison, John M., 337
All Pakistan Women’s Association,
327, 329
American Association for the United Nations, 290, 294, 323, 324, 333, 418, 428
American Construction Council, 124
American Friends Service Committee, 136-137, 254
American Legion, 124
American Youth Congress, 193, 208-209
Anderson, Judith, 259-260
Anderson, Marian, 334
Aquinas, Thomas, 317
Arab refugees, 326
Atlantic Charter, 134, 222-223
Augusta
, 222
Austin, Sen., 316, 323
Australia, 257
Austrian Tyrol, 28
Axel, Prince of Denmark, 96
Balfour, Mr., 87-88
Bali, 361-362, 363-364
Bankhead, William B., 203, 216
bank holiday, 164
Barker, Mrs., 93
Baruch, Bernard, 158, 179, 188, 268, 277
Beardall, Adm., 227
Beatrice, Princess of the Netherlands, 418-419
Beaufort, Duchess of, 243
Beaufort, Duke of, 243
Beirut, 325
Belafonte, Harry, 390
Bellamy, Ralph, 411
Belmont, Mrs. August, 69
Benes, Eduard, 252
Benham, Miss, 101
Bennett, Dr., 78, 115, 116
Berle, Adolf, 159
Berlin, 310, 321
Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands, 221
Bertaux family, 25, 29
Bilbo, Theodore G., 300
Bingham, Robert, 131
Black, Van Lear, 114, 120
Black Crook, The
, 237
Blair House, 173-174
Bleak House
, 16
Boer War, 26
Bok, Cary, 249
Bok Foundation, 141
Bolívar, Simón, 308
Bonner, Daisy, 276
bonus march, 175-176
Borisov, Alexander, 312
Bourjaily, Monte, 197
Bowery Mission, 13
Bowles, Chester, 324, 329, 330-331, 406
Bowles, Mrs. Chester, 329
Boy-Ed, Capt., 86
Boy Scout Foundation, 124
Brandeis University, 405
Brett, Gen., 265
Brown, Lathrop, 42, 49
Brown, Mrs. Raymond, 123
Bruenn, Dr., 276
Brussels Exposition, 390-391
Bryan, William Jennings, 69, 82
Bryan, Mrs. William Jennings, 69, 82
Bryson Day Nursery, 113
Buckingham Palace, 239, 240-241
Buckley, Margaret, 275, 276
Bullitt, William C., 178, 200
Butler, Paul, 356
Butler, Smedley, 98-99
Bye, George, 198
Byrnes, James, 69, 303
Byrnes, Mrs. James, 69
Caffrey, Ambassador, 264, 266
Caffrey, Mrs., 264
Calder, Capt., 115
Campobello, 44, 57, 59, 67, 85-86, 114-116, 290
Carmellier, Mr., 108
Carter, Ledyard and Milburn, 63, 141
Casablanca, 247-248, 365, 366
Castro, Fidel, 432, 435
Catt, Carrie Chapman, 123
Cermak, Anton J., 248
Chamberlain, Neville, 211
Chang, P. C., 316-317
Charlotte of Luxembourg, 221
Chequers, 241-242
Chiang Kai-shek, 262, 343
Chiang Kai-shek, Mme, 249-250, 262, 287, 343
Chichibu, Princess of Japan, 334, 335, 337
Children’s Aid Society, 12
China, 398, 417
Christmas, 189-190, 231
Christmas Carol, The
, 190
Churchill, Winston, 213, 256
and Adamic, 232
and Atlantic Charter, 134, 222, 223
in Cairo, 262
at Chequers, 241-242
and de Gaulle, 248
and FDR, 223
and The Game, 296-297
as leader, 233, 235-236, 237
and Mohammed V, 275
in Quebec, 270, 271
and Spain, 245
in Teheran, 262
at White House, 231-232, 254
Churchill, Mrs. Winston, 242, 245, 270
Civilian Conservation Corps, 181, 193, 203-204
Civil Works Administration, 182
Clark, “Champ,” 69
Clarkson family, 3
Clay, Lucius, 321
Clayton, Will, 315
Clement, Frank, 356
collective farm, 373-374
College of Music, 374-375
Collier, Mrs. Price, 45
Collins, LeRoy, 427
Columbia University, 334
Commager, Henry, 422
Commission for Refugees, 418
Committee for Cultural Exchange, 334
Committee of Soviet Women, 379
Committee Three, 301-303, 307, 308, 320, 322
Communism
in India, 332-333
in Japan, 335-336
and Khrushchev, 383
in Poland, 430
and Tito, 351
in USA, 208-210
Congo, 400, 432, 435
Consumers League, 40
convent, 6-7
Cook, Nancy, 121, 122, 124, 143, 144-145, 146, 148
Coolidge, Calvin, 102
Coolidge, Mrs. Calvin, 102
Corr, Maureen, 290, 291, 325, 342, 343, 349, 370, 372
Cowles, William Sheffield, 43-44, 72
Cowles, Mrs. William Sheffield
See
Roosevelt, Anna Auntie Bye
Cowles, William Sheffield, Jr., 43-44
Cracow, 429
Curtis, Prime Minister of Australia, 268
Curtis, Mrs., 268
Daniels, Josephus, 76, 88, 103, 107
Daniels, Mrs. Josephus, 76, 87, 88, 103
Davis, John W., 125
Davis, Norman, 254
De Gaulle, Charles, 248, 269
Delano, Frederic, 45-46, 115
Delano, Mrs. Frederic, 45
Delano, Laura, 275, 276
Delano, Lyman, 38
Delano, Warren I (Capt.), 44, 45
Delano, Warren II, 44
Delano, Mrs. Warren II, 44, 45
(Catherine Lyman)
Delano, Warren III, 45
Dember, Prince Ras Desta, 174
Democratic Citizens Committee of N.Y., 436
Democratic National Committee, 148, 149, 160, 216
Democratic State Committee, 121, 122, 123, 124, 148, 152, 156
DePeyster family, 3
depression, 173
De Sapio, Carmine, 422
De Somoza, President of Nicaragua, 199
De Somoza, Señora, 199
Dewey, Thomas, 271
Dick, William Reid, 297
Dickens, Charles, 16, 190
Dickerman, Marion, 120, 121, 122, 124, 143, 144, 145-146
Dies Committee, 209-210
Dinner at the White House
, 232
disarmament, 382
Dodsworth, Mr., 17
Dolphin
, 81, 86
Dornbush, Adrian, 264
Douglas, Helen Gahagan, 305
Draper, George, 117, 120
Dubinsky, David, 234
Dulles, John Foster, 295, 308, 316, 357-358
Duse, Eleonora, 18
Dyer
, 95
Early, Stephen, 193, 227, 275, 276
Eastman, Misses, 73
Edward VII of England, 34
Edward VIII of England, 105-106
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 271, 287, 353-354, 357, 359
Eisenhower, Mrs. Dwight D., 287
Elizabeth, Queen of Belgium, 391
Elizabeth, Queen of England, 200-207, 238, 239, 240, 241, 296
Elizabeth II of England, 243, 245, 297
Ellender, Allen J., 374
Elliott, Mrs. Edward P., 277
Elmhirst, Mrs. Leonard, 179
Emmet, Grenville, 111
Emmet, Marvin and Roosevelt, 111
Emmett, Bay, 38
emotionally disturbed children, 391-393, 396-397
Evans, Maurice, 259, 260
Fabry, Col., 88
Fairhaven house, 44-45, 46
Fala, 157, 269, 271-272, 287-288
Farley, James, 158, 196, 215-217, 218
FBI, 209-210
Ferguson, Robert (Munro-), 8, 37, 38, 50, 53
Ferguson, Mrs. Robert, 49, 53 (Isabella Selmes)
Ferguson, Ronald (Munro-) (Lord Novar), 8, 54, 55, 70
Ferguson, Mrs. Ronald (Helen), 54-55
Ferguson family, 53-54
Fidelity and Deposit Co., 120
Fiji Islands, 256
Finletter, Thomas, 422
Fish, Hamilton, 136
Florence, 31-32
flu epidemic, 96-97
Flynn, Edward J., 132, 148, 158, 196, 217
Foch, Marshal, 97
Foljambe, Mr., 52-53
Foljambe, Mrs., 52-53
Forbes, Paul, 45
Forbes, Mrs. Paul, 45, 52, 99, 285
(Aunt Dora Roosevelt)
Ford Foundation, 329
Francis, Ambassador, 101
Franklin D. Roosevelt
, 188
Fraser, Peter, 307
Frederika, Queen of Greece, 344-345
French language, 6, 10, 21, 23, 25, 51
Fuchs, Dr., 405
Gandy, Kitty, 52
General Assembly, 310-313, 432
George Washington
, 101
George II of Greece, 235
George V of England, 243
George VI of England, 200, 207, 240, 241, 296, 297
Gerard, James W., 79
Ghana, 406-407
Gibson, Harvey, 242-243
Girls’ Service League, 136
Glass, Carter, 181
Golden, John, 237-238, 286-287
golf, 61-62
Golunsky, Prof., 433
Gould, Bruce, 198
Gould, Mrs. Bruce, 198
Gowrie, Lady, 257
Gowrie, Lord, 257
Gracie, James King, 42
Gracie, Mrs. James King (Auntie Gracie), 12, 13-14, 42
Grady, Tom, 66
Grantham, Gov. Gen., 342
Grasty, Mr., 101
Gray, Maude, 245-246
Grayson, Dr., 101
Grey, Edward, 106
Grimes, Bushrod, 178
Gromyko, Andrei, 287, 435
Guadalcanal, 258-259
Guatemala, 266
Gurewitsch, David, 343, 349, 365, 370, 381, 390
Gurewitsch, Mrs. David (Edna), 390
Gurewitsch, Grania, 365
Haile Selassie, 294-295
Half Moon
, 57, 90
Hall, Eddie (uncle), 11-12, 15, 36, 46
Hall, Mrs. Eddie, 36
(Josie Zabriskie)
Hall, Elizabeth, Aunt Tissie,
See
Mortimer, Mrs. Stanley
Hall, Grandfather, 3-4, 14, 16
Hall, Grandmother (Mrs. V. G.)
and charity, 12, 18
death of, 104
and education, 10
and ER’s marriage, 41
as grandmother, 13, 14, 17, 38
influence of, 104-105
life with, 9
and money, 29, 47
as mother, 3, 11-12
Sundays with, 16