«Poverty is an expensive luxury. We cannot afford it»: Eleanor Roosevelt e l’America della Great Depression

The essay would like to emphasize the role played by Eleanor Roosevelt in the effort to solve the economic crisis following the collapse of Wall Street Stock Exchange in 1929. More specifically, Eleanor Roosevelt challenged the administration in order to focus relief on women and children as well as on African-Americans, especially those living in rural counties. Starting with the organization of the White House Conference on the Emergency Needs of Women, in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt constantly underlined the strong connections between the struggle to solve poverty and economic emergency on the one hand, and the need to promote citizenship rights and women’s rights. According to her, in fact, any reaffirmation of the value of democracy could only be based on racial and social justices.