Proof of Eleanor Roosevelt's "Keepers of Democracy," 1939

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Eleanor Roosevelt contributed this essay, “Keepers of Democracy,” to VQR’s Winter 1939 issue, at the tail end of the Great Depression and on the brink of World War II. Roosevelt points to mentalities of paranoia and fear, to some Americans’ default to calling those they disagreed with “Communists” and “radicals,” and calls for a return to moral courage and democratic ideals. The essay’s message resonates with her long career as First Lady and after, promoting human rights and democracy. In this proof for the printed issue, VQR editors have crossed out the essay’s original byline—“Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt”—to replace it with her own name, Eleanor Roosevelt.