Harry Truman was now president. He had been FDR’s vice president for a little over a year. But now he was in charge. His family would live in the White House. His wife, Bess, was now the first lady.
Eleanor left the White House and Washington, D.C. She went home to her cottage at Hyde Park. She played with her grandchildren. She bought books to read. She planned on starting a garden. But that was not to be. Although she was no longer the first lady, President Truman still needed her.
President Truman wanted Eleanor to represent the United States at the United Nations. The new UN was a worldwide group of nations whose goal was to bring peace to all parts of the world. The first meeting was to be held in London, England. Eleanor accepted the job. Now she truly was “the First Lady of the World,” as President Truman called her.
At the United Nations, Eleanor was on a committee that worked on education and human rights. Once again, she spoke out for the rights of children and women. The members from other countries listened to Eleanor. She did her homework. When it came time for her to vote or speak, she knew what she was doing. Eleanor was fair. She was able to make other delegates listen to one another. She worked for the United Nations from 1945 until 1952. She was almost seventy by then. But Eleanor did not really retire when she stopped working for the United Nations.
Eleanor still traveled all around the world, meeting with world leaders. Everywhere she went, she made news. She visited Russia. She went to Japan. She went to India. In all the countries that she visited, Eleanor talked with the leaders about how their people could be helped, women and children most of all.
In the United States, she kept her hand in politics. She campaigned for Adlai Stevenson in the 1950s. A Democrat, he ran for president twice. He lost each time, but he counted on Eleanor to help him win votes. Then, in 1960, a young senator from Massachusetts asked to meet with her. His name was John F. Kennedy. He wanted to run for president, and he needed Eleanor Roosevelt’s support. He got it, and John Kennedy won, becoming the first Catholic president. Many people felt that Eleanor had helped him win.
On November 7, 1962, Eleanor Roosevelt died. She was seventy-eight years old. Leaders from around the world came to her funeral. So many people wanted to say good-bye to this wonderful woman who was laid to rest next to her husband. Adlai Stevenson summed up Eleanor Roosevelt when he said these words, “She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.” |