Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—Speech
People give speeches to share their thoughts and experiences with an audience. Often they try to persuade listeners to change their ideas. Historic speeches help us understand what issues were important when the person was speaking. In the speech below, Eleanor Roosevelt described her views on where human rights begin.
Eleanor Roosevelt confers with John Foster Dulles and George Marshall at the United Nations, Sept. 9, 1941. Credit: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum.
Primary Source
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works.
Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Excerpt from a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt at the presentation of “IN YOUR HANDS: A Guide for Community Action for the Tenth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Thursday, March 27, 1958. United Nations, New York.
Background
The government of the United States is based on a plan described in the Constitution. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights explain U.S. citizens' rights, such as free speech and freedom of religion. In 1948, members of the United Nations met to create a document listing the rights that all people around the world should have. This document is called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt worked with other leaders to help write this declaration. She believed that universal human rights are very important for all people.
Web Resource
UDHR50—The History of the Declaration—Frames Version
Explore the History and Profiles sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' Web site to find additional information about this important document and the people who helped write it, as well as this and additional quotations by Eleanor Roosevelt.
http://www.udhr.org/history/
