Eleanor Roosevelt on Human Rights

Historical Context/ Citation

Eleanor Roosevelt's speaks about human rights for the anniversary of Human Rights Day. Film ID 01-1.

Central Issue

Mrs. Roosevelt was a tireless advocate for the United Nations and the role it was taking in the promotion and protection of Human Rights. She believed that all people needed to be made aware of the operations of the United Nations and the work it does to promote Human Rights as a way of safe guarding, expanding, and improving them.

Social Studies Themes Addressed in this Clip

1. Individual Development and Cultural Identity
2. Development, Movement and Cultural Interaction
3. Developmental and Transformation of Social Structures
4. Power, Authority, and Governance
5. Global Connections and Exchange

Enduring Understandings

1. The Charter of the United Nations outlines the importance of human rights and freedoms.
2. Respecting human rights is a foundation stone on which to build an atmosphere of peace in the world.
3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists a set of essential rights for all people to have throughout the world.
4. For Human Rights to truly be respected they should be written into the laws of every country.
5. Upheaval and war create conditions where human rights are quickly forgotten and easily abused.

Essential Questions

1. What is Mrs. Roosevelt’s reason for making this speech?
2. What issue(s) is she trying to bring to attention to?
3. Who is her intended audience?
4. What action(s) is Mrs. Roosevelt urging the audience to take?
5. What makes Mrs. Roosevelt qualified to speak to this issue?

Transcript of the Speech

Read a transcript of Mrs. Roosevelt's address.

Activities for Analyzing and Understanding the Speech

Distribute the transcript of Mrs. Roosevelt’s address and ask your students to review the speech. You may want to have the class do ‘share reading’ or to work in groups on these activities.