Eleanor Roosevelt.

Eleanor Roosevelt is a woman, who was one of the most active First Ladies in history, who worked for political, racial and social justice.

At the age of 20, Eleanor married Franklin Roosevelt and they had 6 children. While her husband made his political career, young lady was raising her family during these years. Moreover, Eleanor volunteered with the American Red Cross and in Navy hospitals during the World War I.

In the 1920s, she became active in Democratic Party politics and was also involved with such activist organizations as the Women’s Union Trade League and the League of Women Voters.

Roosevelt encouraged her husband to appoint more women to federal positions, and she held hundreds of press conferences for female reporters only at a time when women were typically barred from White House press conferences.

In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Eleanor encouraged her husband to return to politics, and in 1928 he was elected governor of New York. Six years later, Roosevelt was elected to the White House.

In addition, early on their marriage, Eleanor discovered her husband was having an affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer . Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce; however, he chose to stay in the marriage for various reasons, including the fact that divorce carried a social stigma and would have hurt his political career.

• Whose lives did she impact the most?

Eleanor was a legendary woman that left an epic and essential impact on history concerning women and civil rights. The most significant achievement is that women could vote and participate in White House press conferences.

• What surprised you about her life, background, or family?

The most surprising fact is that her husband is her cousin.