Found in the Archives

We thought this would be a great photo to share in celebration of International Women’s Day:

Eleanor Roosevelt and Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Eleanor Roosevelt displays a Spanish language version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lake Success, NY, November 1949.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948 in the midst of an especially bitter phase of the Cold War. Many people contributed to this remarkable achievement, but most observers believe that the UN Commission on Human Rights, which drafted the declaration, would not have succeeded in reaching agreement without the leadership of the Commission’s chair: Eleanor Roosevelt. ER herself regarded her role in drafting and securing adoption of the Declaration as her greatest achievement.

Read the whole story of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

3 thoughts on “Found in the Archives

  1. Eleanor Roosevelt was an amazing and remarkable woman who did more to aid the disadvantaged people in America than any other First Lady in our history.

    But, I would bet few Americans could tell you what she actually did that made her years as First Lady so memorable. They know she did important things, but for the most part they do not know what she did.

    And, I would bet that not one in ten thousand Americans, today, is aware of the important work she did at the UN in chairing the committee that wrote and passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  2. Is it now forbidden, at the FDR Library, to express respect and praise for Eleanor Roosevelt?

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