Eleanor blazed her own trail on the way to securing a greater level of world peace.

In her quest for greater world peace and social justice, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, known simply today as Eleanor Roosevelt, has obtained an enduring place in American and international history. Her advocacy for the human rights of every individual, her lasting contributions to both the civil rights and womens movements, and her widespread travels to the farthest corners of the globe have earned Eleanor the nickname First Woman of the World. But, the voyage of Eleanor Roosevelt was not an easy one; rather, she often took the road less traveled and, in fact, many times Eleanor blazed her own trail on the way to securing a greater level of world peace.

Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884. As a child, she was extremely shy and full of fears. Looking back, Eleanor recalled that she was afraid of almost everything. In addition, she often felt that she could not measure up to the standard of beautiful women in her family, but this all changed with the special friendship she forged with Mlle. Souvestre, the headmistress at Allenswood, the school she attended in England. During her years at Allenswood, Eleanor revealed a brightness and compassion that drew others to her.

On March 17, 1905, Eleanor married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was to become a president of the US. Together they had six children. In 1921, President Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down with polio. It was through this unfortunate experience that Eleanor's public role greatly changed. She became her husband's eyes and ears and in so doing, a new door of opportunity was opened to her --- because of what she saw and heard, Eleanor developed her own understanding and opinion of the political issues she witnessed.

Eleanor became a great advocate of civil rights. The information she gathered was on a first hand basis. When she traveled to the South to inspect the New Deal programs of her husband's presidential administration, Eleanor witnessed discrimination directed at blacks every step along the way. When she went home, she found statistics to back up all the things she had seen. Then, she went to Franklin with her case, determined to make him listen to what she had to say even if it meant proposing issues to him over dinner, interrupting his cocktail parties, or giving him memos to read. Eleanor's direct approach produced immediate results such as the signing of executive orders prohibiting discrimination in various New Deal projects.

From this moment on, Eleanor's circle of concern broadened and she began to understand the important role she could play in putting discrimination to a stop. In 1938, Eleanor attended the Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama. In Alabama, there was a segregation ordinance that required whites to sit in the white section and blacks to sit in the black section of an auditorium. But Eleanor had a different idea. By refusing to abide by this ordinance and sitting with her black friends, Eleanor showed where she truly stood on the issue of civil rights. To Eleanor, separate was wrong and equal was not enough.

Eleanor also fought passionately for the cause of women. She challenged not only institutions that refused or restricted women, but also women themselves to expand their horizons and she set them an example of action. She became the first woman to speak at a national political convention, hold regular press conferences sharing her political views, and express her views on humanity in a syndicated newspaper column. During World War II, when Eleanor encouraged women to work in factories and open new doors of opportunity, many women answered her call. When the war ended and the women were promptly fired, Eleanor argued for their cause saying that anyone who wanted to work should have the right to be productive.

During the next years, Eleanor broadened her scope of concerns once more and directed her energies at lobbying for human rights worldwide. As a United Nations delegate, she greatly contributed to the UN position on human rights and was held in great esteem as an advocate of global peace. She recognized the threat that nuclear weapons posed and understood the importance of nuclear containment. In addition, Eleanor served as the chair on the Commission on Human Rights, which brought about the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, accepted on December 10, 1948.

Eleanor Roosevelt prevailed despite the many obstacles that stood in her path. She remains a lasting inspiration to the each generation. The message she shared was simple: Eleanor Roosevelt wanted humankind to move away from regarding a man or woman from the point of view of religion, color, or sex and, instead, to respect the individual within each human being.