The FDR Memorial

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was stricken with polio at a young age and spent much of his life in a wheelchair. The author points out that, when the vast FDR Memorial was opened in 1997, the only hint of FDR's disability was in a statue, which shows him sitting in a chair behind a desk with two tiny wheels barely visible at the bottom of the statue. The paper relates that the public and disability activist groups felt that this nod to FDR's disability was not enough. The author describes a 2001 addition to the memorial, which is a life-sized statue of FDR sitting in a wheelchair and a wall inscription quoting Eleanor Roosevelt that his illness gave him strength and courage he had not had before. The paper concludes that FDR's disability should not be the main focus of the memorial because he should be remembered for his many achievements and not his disability.

From the Paper:

"CNN, USA Today, and Gallop did a survey of 1,003 American adults on April 18th through the 20th, 1997. To the question, "Should the F.D.R. Memorial show him in a wheelchair?" 35% said yes and 60% said no. Respondents were then asked to "Rate F.D.R. as President." 32% said outstanding, 36% said above average, 22% said average and 2% said below average. The general perception of FDR gathered from this poll is a good one. Yet over half the people surveyed did want to show FDR in a wheelchair. Possibilities for this are that people didn't want his disability to be the focus of the memorial. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nation Park Service. "Facts." Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Viewed 05/06/04. http://www.nps.gov/frde/pphtml/facts.html.
• CNN. "Most Say No To Wheelchair In F.D.R. Memorial." All Politics. 04/24/1997. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/04/24/poll/.
• Switzer, Jacqueline Vaughn. "Disabled Rights: American Disability Policy and the Fight for Equality." Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003, Page 42.
• Clinton, Bill. "Remarks by the President at Unveiling of Statue at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial." U.S. Department of State. 10/10/2001. http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/able/fdr01.htm.
• National Organization on Disability "Celebrating FDR's Source of Strength - His Disability." NOD.org. 01/11/2001. http://www.nod.org/content.cfm?id=161.

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