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Franklin D. Roosevelt: A President's Disability

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A President’s Disability Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) is an important person in the history of America. He was elected as the thirty-second President of the United States and did so while having polio (Gregory 5). When he was thirty-nine years old, he got polio and became paralyzed from the chest down. Although the disease forced him to be in a wheelchair or to wear leg braces, he did not let this disability stop him. Franklin D. Roosevelt became a respected president who raised money and awareness to help stop the spread of polio. Polio was a contagious disease spreading fast in the 1900s. In 1921 FDR took a cold swim in Bay of Fundy and developed chills and knee malfunctions. Two days later he was paralyzed from the chest down (Degregorio …show more content…

Roosevelt was a famous man who achieved many things throughout his life. Before becoming president, he was the assistant secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920 (Degregorio 486). He was elected governor of New York in 1929 and was elected president in 1932 (Gregory 10). FDR was a well respected president who served for four terms. While in office, he started a program called The New Deal which provided federal relief to help get the country out of the depression (Degregorio 498). The person who influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt the most was his wife Eleanor. Eleanor helped him in many different ways. Although she was very shy, she made public appearances and gave speeches for FDR when he was having problems with his polio (Degregorio 485). She always traveled with her husband and nursed him back to health when he was ill (486). She was always FDR’s biggest supporter and pushed him to live an active life (487). Franklin D. Roosevelt helped many polio patients by raising money and increasing awareness of the disease. One of his most important contributions was creating the Warm Springs Foundation which provided a place for children to relieve muscle pain by soaking in the hot spring water (Orr 20). On January 30, 1934 on his birthday he sponsored a Birthday Ball to raise money for polio. The first Birthday Ball raised more than one million dollars that went towards supporting the Warm Springs Foundation (22). These Birthday Balls took place every year until his death

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