Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dutch for field of roses) is the only president in the USA who's re-elected 3 times until he died on April12 1945, just before the end of the second World War.Last night I saw a movie named Warm Springs. A movie about an illness he contracted 'Paralytic illness' also named polio.
But Roosevelt refused to accept that he was permanently paralyzed. He tried a wide range of therapies, including hydrotherapy, and, in 1926, he purchased a resort at Warm Springs, Georgia, where he founded a hydrotherapy center for the treatment of polio patients which still operates as the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. After he became President, he helped to found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now known as the March of Dimes). His leadership in this organization is one reason he is commemorated on the dime.
At the time, when the private lives of public figures were subject to less scrutiny than they are today, Roosevelt was able to convince many people that he was in fact getting better, which he believed was essential if he was to run for public office again. Fitting his hips and legs with iron braces, he laboriously taught himself to walk a short distance by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane. In private, he used a wheelchair, but he was careful never to be seen in it in public. He usually appeared in public standing upright, supported on one side by an aide or one of his sons.
This movie is about the treatment he undergo in Warm Springs, Georgia. And shows why he was such a 'warm' president.
5 comments:
Hans,
Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of our most inspiring presidents. He and his wife Eleanor both had big hearts.
He was called "The Poor Man's Friend." He started many social programs during the Great Depression to help the people. African-Americans who had children during his presidency often named their sons Roosevelt in honor of him.
The book Eleanor and Frankin by Joseph Lash is a must read. It won the Puliter Prize, the highest literary prize in my country. It is a massive book, but I devoured it when I read it in high school.
Eleanor did all she could to educate herself and her husband about the plight of African-Americans, but because of the time they lived in they knew they could not impliment a lot of reforms. America was ready for it.
Roosevelt is my favorite president. I have yet to visit Warm Springs though where "The Little White House" is located. It was left much as it was on the day he passed away down there. I hope to visit there eventually.
Thanks for presenting this.
I have started two new blogs. One is secular: http://averyfineromance.blogspot.com
And a religious blog:
http://theichthys.blogspot.com
With both of these I wanted to attempt do a little something different than what I was doing before:)
dear sincere
did you watched thee movie?
will add your b;og as soon i am able too
kindest
Bothe are of Dutch heritage!
Like the Bush's and Kennedy's!
I have not seen it, but a mini-series was made of Eleanor and Franklin back in the 80s. I will have to see if Warm Springs is on DVD. Eleanor and Franklin was very well done. The part when President Roosevelt's body was being transported back to Washington from Warm Springs was so moving with one of Antonin Dvorak's pieces playing in the background. (Dvorak music was influenced by old black spiritual music, but that is another story.)
I told mom about your entry here this morning and she was surprised and delighted. She said also that black people were crazy about President Roosevelt. They adored him. With Lincoln and Clinton, Roosevelt is tops among many African-Americans.
President Roosevelt could have easily given in to his disability. He was a part of American aristocracy. He had led a very pampered life. His mother was overly protective. After he developed infantile paralysis or polio, his mother tried to keep him bedridden. She was shocked when one day she found him out of bed crawling around on the floor trying anyway he could to be mobile. He was determined to keep moving. His wife Eleanor encouraged him too. She stood by him for the rest of his days even though he had a mistress which he told AFTER his bout of polio. It hurt her and she accepted his infidelity silently, but I doubt if there was anything sexual between Roosevelt and the woman. I think he just wanted a companion who was more physically attractive than Eleanor and one who was not so strong.
Sincerae,
This movie is only about his fight with his disease between 1921-1927...
kindest
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