It's March 6, 1933, in the White House in Washington, D.C., two days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office.

America's new First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt,

descends the stairs from her private quarters and walks down a long hallway. She's about to

do something unprecedented, something many consider shocking or even scandalous, but she's

determined to see it through. At the end of the hall, an usher opens the door to the

red room, a parlor typically used

for entertaining.

Today, though, the red room is packed with reporters, 35 of them in all, and every one of them

is a woman.

This is the first time a first lady has ever called her own press conference, and Eleanor

has made the controversial decision to only include

female journalists. A hush falls over the room as the reporter spot Eleanor standing in the doorway.

There aren't enough chairs in the cramp space, so many of them sit on the carpet or lean against

the walls. Producing a box of candied fruit from a pocket in her dress,

Eleanor asked the woman nearest her to pass it around before moving into the center of the room.

Cameras flash as she collects her thoughts, and then Eleanor begins to speak.

The reporter scribble on their notepads, hanging on her every word.

Calmly, Eleanor explains why she's called this press conference

and why she has excluded men from it.

She says that for too long, women have lacked a voice in America.

But from now on, she intends to use these meetings to speak to women directly,

and she promises to be their representative and advocate in her husband's new administration.

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