The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: The Human Rights Years, 1945-1948

by Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Rodham Clinton (Foreword), Allida Black (Editor)

Human rights. Global relations. The role of women. U.S. politics. Eleanor Roosevelt was a trailblazer in many areas. Her writings are essential to the understanding of American politics and diplomacy and the international struggle to implement democracy in the twentieth century. Chronicling ERs development as diplomat, journalist, and political strategist in the years 1945 to 1948, The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers: The Human Rights Years, Volume 1 is filled with original writings and speeches that have been thoughtfully annotated and made easily accessible through a comprehensive index. This unique collection was developed by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project as the first of a five-volume set covering the years 1945 through 1962. Foreword by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1200 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2006

About the author

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political leader who used her influence as an active First Lady from 1933 to 1945 to promote the New Deal policies of her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as taking a prominent role as an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to be an internationally prominent author and speaker for the New Deal coalition. She was a suffragist who worked to enhance the status of working women, although she opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because she believed it would adversely affect women. In the 1940s, she was one of the co-founders of Freedom House and supported the formation of the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt founded the UN Association of the United States in 1943 to advance support for the formation of the UN. She was a delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1945 and 1952, a job for which she was appointed by President Harry S. Truman and confirmed by the United States Congress. During her time at the United Nations chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.
She was one of the most admired persons of the 20th century, according to Gallup's List of Widely Admired People.