Tamora Hareven, one of many biographers of Eleanor Roosevelt, writes in An American Conscience, that the former first lady, as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, aggressively argued for a strong, precise definition of human rights, while "trying to bridge the gaps between different members and reconcile different points of view deriving from different cultures." Many scholars of the Universal Declaration suggest that were it not for Eleanor Roosevelt's leadership, the effort might not have succeeded.

That is the view of Molly Bruce, who attended many of the early meetings of the commission and watched Roosevelt in action. "She was particularly skillful in negotiating," she recalled in an interview, "a very independent lady." Bruce, who was with the UN Secretariat at the time and later became head of the women's program there, also recalled that Roosevelt "had a way of winning points and forging progress without antagonizing those who disagreed with her."





Ann Cottrell (right), then a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, shown interviewing Eleanor Roosevelt.




"There is no question about it; the success of the effort owes much to Eleanor Roosevelt, who doggedly participated in many of the meetings personally," remembers Ann Cottrell, a reporter who covered the story for the New York Herald Tribune.

In a recent interview, Cottrell paid tribute to Roosevelt's "eloquence and determination" in getting the job done. "She was particularly concerned with women's rights and the rights of minorities, but really she fought for the rights of everyone."

Issues of Democracy
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, October 1998