AllMovie

Part of the Biography television series from A&E, this documentary reviews the career and personal life of Eleanor Roosevelt. Her tremendous participation in twentieth century politics, as a high-profile first lady, impacted widespread issues, including feminism and civil rights, public policy and social work, and international peace relationships with the United States. Eleanor's father was the younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1905 she married Franklin Roosevelt. She joined the Red Cross during World War I and visited wounded veterans in the hospital, a morale-boosting practice she continued throughout her life. In 1920, Eleanor joined the League of Women Voters, an organization devoted to the advancement of women's political initiatives, and for which Eleanor made her first public speeches. In 1922, she joined the Women's Trade Union League and the Women's Division of the Democratic State Committee, where she befriended numerous leading activists. Among the issues she pursued were expanding the role of women in politics, denouncing anti-segregation policy in the South and creating anti-lynching legislature in cooperation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Following Franklin's death in 1945, and at the request of President Harry S. Truman, Eleanor became a U.S. delegate for the United Nations. She remained devoted to improving awareness and international policies towards civil and human rights issues.