Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson in Japan, May 22, 1953
(Fourteen years after then-First Lady Roosevelt’s historic resignation letter in support of Anderson.)
Source: research.archives.gov
Draft of letter from Harry S. Truman to Eleanor Roosevelt, 05/17/1948
Truman explains his general low regard for most conscientious objectors in this draft to Eleanor Roosevelt. However he makes special mention of one, more than likely Desmond Doss, featured earlier this week. (Although Doss was an Army medic, not a Navy Corpsman.)
Source: research.archives.gov
While we may think of them as First Ladies, their kids know them as “mom.” In celebration of Mother’s Day this weekend, we’ve combed the archives for family photos of First Ladies with their children. It’s our way of saying thank you to all the moms out there for…well, everything!
Up first, Eleanor Roosevelt and her daughter Anna. 1906.
Source: research.archives.gov
Harry S. Truman taking the oath of office at the White House after the death of President Roosevelt. 4/12/1945
Offering his consolation to the widowed Eleanor Roosevelt, Vice President Truman asked the now-former First Lady, “Is there anything that I can do for you?”
ER responded, “Is there anything that we can do for you? For you are the one who in trouble now.”
-from the Truman Library
Source: trumanlibrary.org
75,000 People Gather on the National Mall to Hear Marian Anderson Sing
On this day, April 9, 1939, Marian Anderson performs from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
When Howard University invited her to perform in Washington, they approached the Daughters of the American Revolution about the use of their auditorium, Constitution Hall. The DAR’s rejection on the basis of Ms. Anderson’s skin color prompted First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to publicly resign from the organization.
More on the story behind this concert, here.
-from the FDR Library
Source: research.archives.gov
134 Years and Still Rolling
President Rutherford Hayes hosted the first White House Easter Egg roll in 1878. Since then, it has become an annual tradition hosted by the First Family. The Egg Rolls were cancelled from 1917-1920 during World War I, and again from 1943-1945 during WWII. In recent years, family participants are drawn from a random lottery. The festivities begin when the President blows a whistle and the children roll eggs across the South Lawn.
Easter celebration at the Hoover White House in 1931. The handwritten caption from the photo album reads: Dainty Folk Dances Charm Children at the White House Egg Rolling.
Eleanor Roosevelt at Easter on south steps of White House. April 11, 1939.
Children on the south lawn of the White House after an Easter Egg Roll hosted by the Eisenhower family. April 6, 1953.
Easter Egg Roll history at whitehouse.gov
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were married on St. Patrick’s Day in 1905 in New York City. The wedding took place at the home of Eleanor’s aunt, Mrs. Henry Parrish Jr. The bride was given away by her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt.
The newlyweds took their honeymoon over the summer and visited England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland and Switzerland.
Here, Eleanor wears her wedding dress in a portrait from 1/20/05.
Source: fdrlibrary.wordpress.com
Happy Birthday Marian Anderson!
Eleanor Roosevelt first met African American opera singer Marian Anderson in 1935 when the singer was invited to perform at the White House.
Four years later, in January of 1939, Howard University invited Marian Anderson to perform in Washington, DC for an Easter concert. Anticipating large crowds for the acclaimed singer, the University asked the Daughters of the American Revolution if they could use their auditorium, Constitution Hall in downtown Washington. The DAR refused the request. As part of the original funding arrangements for Constitution Hall, major donors had insisted that only whites could perform on stage.
On February 26, 1939, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt submitted her letter of resignation to the DAR president, declaring that the organization had “set an example which seems to me unfortunate” and that the DAR had “an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way” but had “failed to do so.”
Mrs. Roosevelt’s resignation thrust the Marian Anderson concert, the DAR, and the subject of racism to the center of national attention. As word of her resignation spread, Mrs. Roosevelt and others quietly worked behind the scenes promoting the idea for an outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial, just blocks away from Constitution Hall.
On April 9th, seventy-five thousand people, including dignitaries and average citizens, attended the outdoor concert. It was as diverse a crowd as anyone had seen—black, white, old, and young—dressed in their Sunday finest. Hundreds of thousands more heard the concert over the radio. Ms. Anderson opened her concert with America. The operatic first half of the program concluded with Ave Maria. After a short intermission, she then sang a selection of spirituals familiar to the African American members of her audience. And with tears in her eyes, Marian Anderson closed the concert with an encore, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.
Source: fdrlibrary.marist.edu
awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:
Eleanor Roosevelt and Shirley Temple, 1938
Source: awesomepeoplehangingouttogether
