Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day

Posted: December 2nd, 2013

Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day

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Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day

My Day, written by Eleanor Roosevelt, was a newspaper column that was regularly published from 1935 onwards to 1962. At that time, the column was authored six days in a week, the only exception accruing from the death of Eleanor Roosevelt’s husband, which caused the article to be on halt for four consecutive days. The column discussed many prevailing issues such as religion, women, race, and other notable events such as the Pearl Harbor, the H-Bomb, prohibition and her final days at the White House.

The July 5 document sought to air Eleanor Roosevelt’s views on religion in the United States pertaining to the freedom curtailed in the First Article of the Constitution. The prayer, which was the subject of the debate between the country’s governors and the Supreme Court, was written and supported by the state government. Additionally, the prayer was supposed to be used in schools under state direction. However, the Supreme Court declared such a law unconstitutional because, under the constitution, no individual can be coerced by the government to adhere to a certain religion or to conform to a certain religious procedure. Eleanor agrees with the Supreme Court saying that religion should be defined by people’s actions making it possible for people to practice their individual religions.

Eleanor also wrote an article based on prohibition on July 14 1939. She was addressing the effects of such a law on the American people. She asserted that the law did not prevent people from engaging in immoral activities such as excessive alcohol consumption. Instead, the prohibition only created more violators and criminals who did not consent to the law; after all, laws are followed with a person’s consent. The law produced hypocrites and law perpetrators among many people. She concludes that repealing the law did not produce any desired effect among the people whether young or old.

On December 8 1941, Eleanor focused on the Pearl Harbor. In the article, she noted the various wars and conflicts occurring in many parts of the world that resulted in the deaths of many Americans. Regarding the suspense attack on the Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Kamikaze, she asserts that the experience served as a revelation to Americans. It was important for Americans to engage in their own activities, concentrate on those activities and mobilize every community to create protection strategies form enemy attacks. Furthermore, she asserted that creating efficient community services would enable the American people to feel secure and unite to conquer weakness, uncertainty and insecurity.

On April 21 1945, Eleanor focused on her final days in the White House. In the article, she reveals her personal emotions towards leaving the White House after staying in it for 12 years. She asserts that her final days in the house were spent reliving her past moments with a staff and very member of the house. There were memorable occurrences that she experienced while living in the house such as President Truman’s visit and the death of her husband, Franklin Roosevelt. She also reflects on the transition between the administrations. She notes that the American people took the change positively, accruing the response to President Truman, the cabinet, the Congress and the people.

Eleanor also reflected on the H-Bomb in her article on April 16 1954. The creation of the weapon presented many questions speculating on the dangers of the bomb. The discovery of the weapon caused outlawing of the use of atomic bombs. However, Eleanor focuses on the law, asserting that if outlawing the use of the atomic bomb prevented destruction then every country in the world should agree on total disarmament of weapons. She alludes that it is important to rely on weapons that can help the country defend it rather than weapons that destroy innocent people. This is because such an outcome will lead to condemnation by enemies and the people’s conscience.

Eleanor also wrote a number of articles based on women issues. Such issues focused on the status of women in relation to employment, war, politics, work and employment. Most of the issues faced by women were centered on the role of women in the society, which according to Eleanor was repressed. Additionally, she focused on the laws created by the government, which sought to repress women’s positions in the government but actually influenced every person regardless of gender. She also notes on the social nature of women asserting that men should know more about women before writing about them in tabloids and magazines. She also addresses women vying for political positions challenging all women that they should vote for credible women who will uplift and represent women in the community. She also focused on the need for equal privileges between all sexes and advocated for women to be selected for the army: both articles asserted that women could participate as equally as men could.

Eleanor also addressed the issue of race, which was prevailing at the time. She reflected on the discrimination of the Jews, Christians and other minorities by the German government. She also poised on race riots that were characteristic of the country advocating for love to solve the problem rather than hate. She also reflects on the Navajo Indians in America at a time where a bill regarding the Indians, if passed, would destroy the Indian culture. She also focused on desegregation and the plight of African American children regarding education. She asserted that rules could not be based on what individuals do with their lives since that hinders certain people from participating. She also focused on the apartheid and the Civil Rights policies, which delved on the equality of all races especially the Africans and Dutch in South Africa and the African Americans in America.

Through the columns, Eleanor Roosevelt was able to inspire millions of Americans who found her articles relevant, philosophical and real. Focusing on real life issues, Eleanor was able to connect with every person who read the columns. Eleanor Roosevelt proved to be a great leader through her columns as the First lady by inspiring hope into the lives of women and men in America.