No doubt, Eleanor Roosevelt was not only the greatest first lady ever, but she was also the longest-serving first lady, as well. There are a multitude of attributes to admire about Eleanor Roosevelt, of which the first is the fact that she made it her point and principle to have her say, and did not permit the conservatism or orthodoxy of the day to negatively influence her beliefs or viewpoints, for she knew what she stood for, and thereby not only made her stand, but also pressed forward as to why what she believed in and fought for, was the right course for the good of America.
In an era in which women were typically seen but seldom heard, Eleanor Roosevelt held her own press conferences during her husband’s Presidency, while also writing a newspaper column that expressed her opinions and viewpoints on vital subjects of the day. So too, back in those days, when segregation was common throughout a significant portion of America, Mrs. Roosevelt made it clear that she was against that segregation, and made it a point to connect with black people in a way and manner that had not previously been done by any other first lady. Mrs. Roosevelt believed firmly that this nation could not fairly consider itself to be a democracy when so many minorities were essentially precluded from having the vote, and were typically discriminated against in just about every way possible.
Mrs. Roosevelt strongly believed in social justice, and her words and actions consistently demonstrated this conviction. Indeed, for the first lady to stand strong for those who were so often dismissed and un-championed, was to her immense credit for it could be said, that her voice, because of her position, had a great deal of influence in the subsequent actions of legislation submitted and passed, along with also influencing the Truman administration, because of her outspokenness in the defense that America could not consider itself to be a land of liberty and of equality of opportunity, when it so often denied those very things to its own citizens, because of the color of their skin or previous national origin.
So too, Mrs. Roosevelt made it her principle to support the oppressed of all types and that this government of, for, and by the people had an inherent responsibility to the least amongst its citizens, to see that they were provided with a fair chance to become something of merit. In all things big and small, Mrs. Roosevelt stood strong and was not afraid to take public positions that her husband was either reluctant to take or believed that he could not take, because of his concern that it would not be countenanced by those who helped to empower him into the Presidency.
A first lady with the gumption and strength of Mrs. Roosevelt did not previously exist, so that she was a true trailblazer, signifying to those of her gender that women should not be trivialized or ignored, but were entitled to have their say, and further to the point, that women, as well as all minorities, were entitled to no less than equal status with those historically favored, and thus deserving of their own life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.