Eleanor Roosevelt's Press Conferences

With the pressures of the Great Depression looming over the nation, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began working even before taking the oath of office to find solutions to the economic disaster. FDR’s first 100 days in the White House were transformative as he sought to implement the beginnings of what came to be known as the "New Deal." First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt also wasted no time, and used her newly found White House position to communicate with the American public. At the suggestion of her friend Lorena Hickock, she decided to hold a press conference. This decision set an important precedent for first ladies to come.

Eleanor Roosevelt held her first press conference on March 6th, 1933 in the Red Room of the East Wing. Press conferences may seem routine today, but this action was transformative in several ways. Due to the traditionally private nature of the role of First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt’s predecessors typically closed themselves off from the press. Thus, not only was ER the first presidential wife to hold a press conference, but she also was among the first to even speak openly with the press. At ER's request, every one of the thirty reporters in attendance was a woman. At the time women made up a very small proportion of working journalists, but news agencies had to hire women if they wanted to cover ER.

Over her twelve years as First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt held 348 press conferences. Most of these were in the White House, giving physical access to that space to female reporters for the first time. At that first press conference, ER told the female reporters in attendance that they were going to be the “interpreters to the women of the country as to what goes on politically in the legislative national life, and also what the social and personal life is at the White House.” ER sought to make women a part of the national political audience and inspired many women to stay informed and get involved. ER wrote in her book This I Remember that by covering these conferences, female reporters would be able to provide information that was “of special interest and value to the women of the country.” The audience of these female journalists was certainly not limited to women; men and women alike were drawn to ER’s interpretation of the news, such as the rising threat of Hitler in Europe or the challenges of social welfare institutions. Most First Ladies since Eleanor Roosevelt have followed her example and used their role to communicate with the American populace about issues that they believe are important, creating a more public role for first ladies in the White House.