RELUCTANT FIRST LADY

Eleanor campaigned for Franklin and supported him as a devoted wife and political partner. After Franklin won the Presidential campaign, however, some of Eleanor's friends noticed her melancholy mood. She did not want to be First Lady. First Ladies, before Eleanor, hosted White House gatherings, fostered beautification efforts and other projects, which involved little or no politics. Americans expected the wife of the President to remain in the background, in the role of silent supporter. Eleanor knew that some First Ladies had faded in the face of this difficult role, subject to public scrutiny. They fell ill, or became reclusive. Eleanor, who had recently developed her own political activities and agenda, did not want to become another silent First Lady.

Eleanor's state of melancholy quickly dissipated as she met this challenge. From the moment she moved into the White House, she astounded the White House employees with her lack of deference to outmoded protocol. She demonstrated that she could hold and act on her own opinions. In doing so, she set a new standard, and created a new freedom, for future First Ladies.