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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

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Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

F.D.R. As He Truly Was?

From 1933 to 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the U.S. from a time of economic crisis to a new era of hope. Many Americans never knew the take-charge President was crippled. Stricken by a disease called polio in 1921, he needed metal braces to stand and often used a wheelchair. In that pre-TV era, the public rarely saw the President, so he could hide his disability.

This week an F.D.R. memorial will be unveiled in Washington. But F.D.R. is not in a wheelchair in any of its main artworks. Disabled Americans have been protesting this for months. Many were thrilled when President Bill Clinton proposed a law last week to add to the memorial an image of Roosevelt in his wheelchair.

But some planned to protest the May 2 unveiling anyway. They fear the legislation will not pass. "Americans with disabilities will not rest," said activist James Dickson, "until there is a statue of F.D.R. in a wheelchair in the memorial."

Next: Freedom At Last