Publication Date

9-1981

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Edward Kearny, Faye Carroll, John Parker

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

A biographical study of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt was undertaken to explore the various obstacles she was required to overcome as she grew to become an influential figure in the world of liberal politics. During the New Deal years her influence was most visible as she traveled across the country and relayed to her husband the concerns of the average man. As a delegate to the United Nations, after the death of her husband, Eleanor's devotion toward attaining a United Nations which would keep peace among all nations and her ability to carry out tasks in a patient and persistent manner, gained for her the respect of all other United Nations delegates. Even later, in the area of Democratic party politics, Eleanor continued to be a living example of the humanitarian ideas for which she and the Democratic Party stood; as such, her symbolic influence served to strengthen the humanitarian image of the Democratic Party and its leaders. Though her influence was little more than a symbolic one, Eleanor Roosevelt stood as proof that politics is more than campaign tactics and party organization; that symbolism and idealism do, in fact, play a large role in determining the popularity and success of a political party.

Disciplines

American Politics | Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | History | Political History | Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social History | United States History | Women's History | Women's Studies

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