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By Victoria Allen, Class of 2016
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| Victoria Allen |
Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the most iconic figures in American political history and cultural memory. Mrs. Roosevelt was not only the traveling face of the Roosevelt administration, but through her work as an ambassador, champion of equal rights, and First Lady she has become the quintessential representation of what it means to truly be a woman. Earlier this year the McConnell Center was lucky enough to host one of Mrs. Roosevelt’s official biographers, Robin Gerber, who gave a lecture on leadership, “The Eleanor Way.” There is much that has been written and said about Eleanor Roosevelt, but perhaps her greatest legacy is the timeless example she has left for women of all ages.
Roosevelt was not born for leadership, nor to be particularly outspoken; instead she was thrust into the role and rose magnificently to the challenge. Eleanor Roosevelt’s life provides a beautiful illustration of what it means to embrace the unexpected. There are many reasons that both men and women study her, but her true power does not only lie in her grace, compassion, and work ethic, but in her ability to adapt. When she married into a prominent American political family she could have very easily chosen the life of a society wife, and when FDR was paralyzed she could have chosen to shrink from the public, but she didn’t—she took the hardest and most unpredictable route possible.
It was not in the nature of Eleanor to be extroverted or aggressive; for most of her life and marriage she was acquiescent to her domineering relatives. FDR’s illness forced her to make a choice, and by choosing the more difficult path, she set the standard for generations of women to come, feminist and non-feminist. Eleanor Roosevelt is an extraordinary historical figure because of her versatility, making her the quintessential mold for women leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt embodies incredible leadership qualities that should be used to inspire all women to lead in everyday life. The lecture that Gerber gave at the University highlighted several of Roosevelt’s achievements, but also the qualities that she possessed that allowed her to achieve so highly. Through the elegance of her flexibility, Eleanor Roosevelt became and remains the epitome of what it means to be an American woman, and a feminist in the truest sense of the word.
Victoria Allen is a sophomore McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is pursuing majors in History and Political Science and a minor in Social Change.