World War and the Growth of Global Power 273al news when she took a flight with the school’s chief flight instructor Charles
“Chief” Alfred Anderson.
Eleanor’s sense of justice and equality persisted despite the December 7th,
1941 attack at Pearl Harbor. She advised the United States against a “great
hysteria against minority groups.” ER opposed her husband’s decision to
intern Japanese-Americans at concentration camps on the U.S. West coast [see
below]. Unable to convince leaders to stop the interment program, Eleanor
did what she could do to promise that families would not be split during
internment. She was also deeply involved in movements to allow greater
immigration of European refugees, but was unable to convince her husband
or the administration to ease immigration policy. She even lobbied FDR to
increase immigration of Jews persecuted by Nazis. FDR, however, did the
opposite of what his wife suggested and actually restricted immigration after
leaders in the State Department pressured him to do so. In any case, Eleanor
raised public attention to the atrocities of the Holocaust and participated in
speaking tours across America. She also lobbied Congress for the passage of
the Child Refugee Bill to allow 10,000 more refugee kids from Germany to
enter the United States each year. The bill never passed.
Eleanor set yet another precedent by taking a job, the first time that a first
lady worked. Although she did not receive any pay for her work, Eleanor was
the assistant director of the Office of Civilian Defense [OCD] beginning
September 22nd, 1941. She worked under OCD Director Fiorello LaGuardia,
the mayor of New York. Eleanor organized a national civilian volunteer force
for war preparations programs. However, LaGuardia and Roosevelt clashed
early on because the First Lady wanted to use the OCD to tackle larger and
long term social issues such as childcare, housing, and health. She also faced
criticism from the Congress when they found out that two of Eleanor’s friends
appointed to the committee were receiving larger than normal salaries. ER
also hired a third friend, dancer Mayris Chaney, who designed calisthenics
programs for kids in the event that they would be cramped into bomb shelters
for long periods of times. Chaney also provided dance lessons for the OCD
staff. Members of the public and Congress criticized the First Lady about her
well-paid friends and her “fan dancer.” Rather than threaten the reputation of
the OCD, Eleanor thought it best to resign her position with the organization.
In October of 1942, Eleanor accepted the Queen of England’s invitation
and made a trip to the country, marking the first time a first lady travelled