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AH-LettertoEleanorRooseveltAskingforBabyClothes1935-Document-GaleInContext_U.S.History.pdf

Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes (1935) Date: 1999 From: Women in America Publisher: Primary Source Media Series: American Journey Document Type: Letter Length: 619 words Content Level: (Level 4) Lexile Measure: 1150L

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Commentary on Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes

During the Great Depression women had such faith in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt that one woman wrote to her asking for a list of baby clothes and diapers. She painfully urged Mrs. Roosevelt to send these items privately, for "I would rather no one knew about it."

After 1933, women in the workforce benefited from Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt's political alliance with the unions. Also, the Roosevelt Administration's New Deal introduced social security and unemployment insurance to the nation for the first time. Eleanor Roosevelt, who had felt like an "outsider" ever since she was a little girl, had great sympathy for minorities, the unemployed, and "new" women who were attempting to forge careers in the professions against stiff discrimination. (This group suffered setbacks during the Depression, although women working in white-collar office and sales jobs, and occupations in the emerging service economy were more likely to hold onto their jobs.) The First Lady also convinced her husband to add more women to his administration.

Woman's Letter To Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes

Troy, N.Y. Jan. 2, 1935.

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,

About a month ago I wrote you asking if you would buy some baby clothes for me with the understanding that I was to repay you as soon as my husband got enough work. Several weeks later I received a reply to apply to a Welfare Association so I might receive the aid I needed. Do you remember?

Please Mrs. Roosevelt, I do not want charity, only a chance from someone who will trust me until we can get enough money to repay the amount spent for the things I need. As a proof that I really am sincere. I am sending you two of my dearest possessions to keep as security, a ring my husband gave me before we were married, and a ring my mother used to wear. Perhaps the actual value of them is not high, but they are worth a lot to me. If you will consider buying the baby clothes, please keep them (rings) until I send you the money you spent. It is very hard to face bearing a baby we cannot afford to have, and the fact that it is due to arrive soon, and still there is no money for the hospital or clothing, does not make it any easier. I Have decided to stay home, keeping my 7 year old daughter from school to help with the smaller children when my husband has work. The oldest little girl is sick now, and has never been strong, so I would not depend on her. The 7 year old one is a good willing little worker and somehow we must manage—but without charity.

7/14/24, 6:26 AM Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes (1935) - Document - Gale In Context: U.S. History

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If you still feel you cannot trust me, it is allright and I can only say I do not blame you, but if you decide my word is worth anything with so small a security, here is a list of what I will need—but I will need it very soon.

2 shirts, silk and wool, size 2 3 pr. stockings, silk and wool, 4 1/2 or 4 3 straight flannel bands 2 slips—outing flannel 2 muslim dresses 1 sweater 1 wool bonnet 2 pr. wool booties 2 doz. diapers 30 x 30—or 27 x 27 1 large blanket (baby) about 45(inches) or 50(inches) 3 outing flannel nightgowns

If you will get these for me I would rather no one knew about it. I promise to repay the cost of the layette as soon as possible. We will all be very grateful to you, and I will be more than happy.

Sincerely yours, Mrs. H. E. C. Source Citation (APA 7th Edition) Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes (1935). (1999). In American Journey. Women in

America. Primary Source Media. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2161000281/UHIC? u=mill30389&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=5dfafc26

Gale Document Number: GALE|EJ2161000281

7/14/24, 6:26 AM Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Asking for Baby Clothes (1935) - Document - Gale In Context: U.S. History

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Ltr.toERAssignment.docx

Letter to ER

In this week's module, there is a link entitled A Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Primary Source. After reading that document, please complete the following writing assignment.

Post your response to the following questions about the letter sent to Eleanor Roosevelt.

1. Analyze the letter for its relationship to the economic crisis that was going on in the United States at that time. In other words, how does a letter and request such as this fit within the historical time-frame being studied?

2. What might you be able to infer about the woman just from reading her letter? Economic status? Educational status? Pride? Provide examples from the letter to validate your answer. Also, in your response, tell me what infer means and why your response is an inference.

3. Evaluate the impact that this letter has obviously had on historians trying to relay the hardships families faced in the Great Depression. What strikes you as the most compelling point in the letter that would illustrate that?

4. Why is this considered a primary source? To answer this, define and explain what a primary source is and then relate this source as an example of it.

5. Using the institution databases, provide another primary source from this historical era that is similar to this. Provide the link to that source in your response and then explain why you chose that example.

The guidelines for this assignment are:

1. Your response must be three well-developed paragraphs of a minimum of five sentences each.

2. Your complete word count on this assignment must be at least 250 words.

3. You must use at least three credible sources. (Please see all 4 references attached)

4. You must cite all direct quotes and paraphrased material with proper APA in-text citations in the paragraphs.

5. At the bottom of your submission (right below the paragraphs), you must include an APA-style bibliography of all the sources you used.

6. Your submission should be free of grammar, content, and style errors.

HIS-122 Writing Assignment Rubric

1. W6 Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt Writing Assignment

Criteria	28 points
Content	Information clearly relates to the question/topic. Response includes many details.
Criteria	20 points
Clarity	Information presented in a clear, logical manner that illustrates understanding of the question.
Criteria	16 points
Mechanics	Demonstrates a mastery of proper grammar and mechanics. Syntax and flow are good.
Criteria	12 points
Citation	Response includes proper citations in APA style.
Criteria	24 points
Sources	Responses included the use of scholarly sources.

FraysorwomanletterfromER.pdf

FRAYSER WOMAN FINDS ELEANOR ROOSEVELT LETTER: [FINAL EDITION] Wayne Risher The Commercial Appeal

ProQuest document link

ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) Grayson, 57, a University of Memphis graduate student and Frayser resident, recently came across a letter from Roosevelt after the recent death of Grayson's mother. Grayson thought the letter had been lost, but her mother, Mattie Mae Grayson, saved it after moving from the family home in South Memphis into apartments. Also found was a copy of a poem Grayson wrote and sent to Roosevelt, who died in 1962. Grayson's mother and father, Herman Grayson, sent her to Los Angeles after high school to attend Los Angeles City College in the fall of 1960. Grayson took a gift-wrapping job at The Broadway department store that Christmas season to earn spending money. FULL TEXT FRAYSER Jo Evelyn Grayson was fresh out of Booker T. Washington High School and had never really known a white person when she had a brush with greatness involving one of the century's most famous women, Eleanor Roosevelt. For a couple of weeks in 1960-1961, the 18-year-old Memphis native proudly referred to herself as "pen pals" with the former first lady, then 76 and living in New York. Grayson, 57, a University of Memphis graduate student and Frayser resident, recently came across a letter from Roosevelt after the recent death of Grayson's mother. Mark Stansbury, assistant to the president of U of M, said the letter is unusual because it appears to have been signed personally by Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and delegate to the United Nations. While correspondence from presidents or first ladies isn't particularly rare, most of it is signed by machines, said Stansbury, who graduated from BTW with Grayson. Grayson thought the letter had been lost, but her mother, Mattie Mae Grayson, saved it after moving from the family home in South Memphis into apartments. Also found was a copy of a poem Grayson wrote and sent to Roosevelt, who died in 1962. Mattie Mae Grayson died Oct. 2 at age 82, and Grayson found the letter and poem among her mother's personal effects in her apartment at the Rivermark. "I was surprised, because I thought they had all been lost years ago," said Grayson. Grayson's mother and father, Herman Grayson, sent her to Los Angeles after high school to attend Los Angeles City College in the fall of 1960. Grayson took a gift-wrapping job at The Broadway department store that Christmas season to earn spending money. "I reached for the next gift to wrap and said, `Hey, this is going to Eleanor Roosevelt.' Somebody out in Beverly Hills had bought her a gift - some monogrammed towels, very pretty, some monogrammed sheets and pillow cases. I remember looking at it, because I had never seen satin bed sheets. "I decided to write a letter to her and put it in the package," said Grayson. "They (co-workers) said I would get in trouble. I said I couldn't get in trouble for wishing somebody a Merry Christmas." She placed her note "inside the box in the tissue, where she couldn't miss it."

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She did not copy her original letter, but "I'm sure I told her I was honored and a little nervous about wrapping a gift for her. I told her I was from Memphis and I was out in California going to school." A couple of days later she received a typewritten, hand-signed note from Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 55 East 74th Street, New York City 21, N.Y. "Dear Miss Grayson, "How very kind of you to write me such a nice note! You should not have been nervous about the package and you did a wonderful job. "Many, many thanks for your note and for your good wishes. "I hope Christmas and the New Year will be full of happiness for you and yours. "Very sincerely yours, "Eleanor Roosevelt." It was addressed to Miss Jo Evelyn Grayson, Wrapping Clerk, 1415 Manhattan Place, Los Angeles, Calif. "Forty years ago, I was from segregated Memphis, and I didn't know any white people," Grayson said. "For her to respond to me, I was very impressed." Grayson subsequently wrote a poem about the letter that said in part: "I took the letter home with me "And it made my mother so proud "To have her daughter hear from you "That she boasted to her friends out loud "I'll always consider you the greatest "For people like you are few "You didn't have to answer my note "But you did . . . Mrs. Roosevelt, Thank You." Grayson recalled that she also received a personal response to the poem in which Roosevelt urged her to get an education and pursue her dreams. She wound up coming home to Memphis to attend the old LeMoyne College in 1962, but she didn't finish her degree at that time. She went back to school in 1989 and earned a bachelor's degree in 1994. She's currently working toward a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling and hopes to finish next year. Although she did not immediately follow Roosevelt's advice, Grayson didn't ignore it. She has written articles for Memphis magazine, the Memphis Times, Tri-State Defender and Mid-South Tribune. She covered Roots author Alex Haley's funeral for the Defender in 1992. "I've always liked to write," said Grayson. "I saw a letter I wrote to my aunt when I was 7 years old, and it was full of news." Illustration photo (2); ; Caption: By Mark Adams (Color) Jo Evelyn Grayson, a graduate student at the University of Memphis, recently found letters from 39 years ago when she corresponded with Eleanor Roosevelt. Light passing through a stained-glass window in the home of Jo Evelyn Grayson illuminates a letter she received from Eleanor Roosevelt. (GC6) DETAILS

People: Grayson, Mattie Mae

Publication title: The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn.

Pages: NT1

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LINKS Linking Service

Number of pages: 0

Publication year: 1999

Publication date: Nov 4, 1999

Section: Neighbors

Publisher: Gannett Media Corp

Place of publication: Memphis, Tenn.

Country of publication: United States, Memphis, Tenn.

Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States

ISSN: 07454856

Source type: Newspaper

Language of publication: English

Document type: NEWSPAPER

ProQuest document ID: 393860526

Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/frayser-woman-finds-eleanor-roosevelt- letter/docview/393860526/se-2?accountid=11033

Copyright: Copyright Memphis Publishing Company Nov 4, 1999

Last updated: 2011-12-14

Database: Global Newsstream,ProQuest Central

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