The Roosevelts entered the White House during one of the darkest times in American history-The Great Depression. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Congress began initiating a new series of recovery initiative plans known as the "New Deal". However, change did not happen over night, and many American people were struggling to just stay alive during this crisis. FDR realized that the people needed reassurance that things were going to be okay. It was then that First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, took it upon herself to travel across the country as the eyes and ears for her husband.
Eleanor Roosevelt spent her time traveling the country speaking for the civil rights of African Americans, American Workers, the poor, and women in particular. Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged women to help pull the country through the economic crisis: "The women know that life must go on and that the needs of life must be met and it is their courage and determination which, time and again, have pulled us through worse crises than the present one." Eleanor Roosevelt held hundred of press conferences for female reporters only in a time when female reporters were typically barred from White House press conferences.
Through this, she encouraged women to make do by substituting things that had previously been bought with cash with their own labor. They would have to make petty economic decisions like buying day-old bread and heating dishes in the oven to save gas. Eleanor's speeches and her sense of caring gave hope to women in America during this difficult time. Through Eleanor Roosevelt's help, many families were able to survive the depression and remain hopeful that life would improve.
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