Roosevelt is a president in a wheelchair. Roosevelt Franklin: biography, nationality, activities. President Roosevelt and women

In 1920, the Democratic couple Cox and Roosevelt failed to enter the White House. FDR took time out, settling in New York, doing all sorts of things and contemplating his next political moves. In 1921, having unsuccessfully bathed, Roosevelt fell ill, the temperature jumped to the ceiling, and his body refused to obey to the waist. Poliomyelitis, according to the doctors. It is now believed that it was a different disease, but for the prospects of the future president, the details of the syndrome did not change.

Oh, now it would be possible to go to the people in a beautiful wheelchair, and someone would dare to doubt the politician's capacity. Of course, right now candidates are throwing medical histories at each other, but hardly anyone will dare to offend a courageous disabled person. And then...

If the stroller, then - a weak old man, who is worth taking care of only in order to receive a piece of the inheritance. For an enlightened public, this is the first owner of wheelchair furniture, the decrepit bloody tyrant of the 16th century, Philip II of Spain, this is Couton, the sinister chairman of the revolutionary Convention, who rode around in a chair with wheels and two rotary handles, by the way, requisitioned from royal family. Of his contemporaries - paralyzed Lenin in Gorki, but no one saw him like that.

And Franklin Roosevelt decided to hide everything. At first, he demonstrated a successful recovery. With the help of a complex and heavy system of orthopedic fetters and levers, he could, leaning on a cane, go out for short walks. It was very difficult, but the voters calmed down. No photos with crutches or in a wheelchair.

Of course, it was not possible to completely hide from the people that FDR cannot walk. Actor Gregory Peck recalled how in his youth he ran to the port to meet his beloved politician. It was impossible to hide Roosevelt's infirmity when leaving the ship. Naturally, a cordon, a security service, some trucks with gravel in all the aisles come to mind ... But no. Franklin Roosevelt was carried out. Gregory Peck sobbed in horror. However, a second later, the politician was already sitting in an armchair, inserting a cigarette into the mouthpiece with a chic gesture, lighting it up. On the face - a cheerful, natural smile, the hand holding the match rose in a cordial greeting. The frozen crowd cheered, and young Peck thought: “If he himself feels this way about his injury, why should we worry?”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt made America and the world deeply indifferent to whether he could walk or not. He was elected president four times, by hook or by crook he led the country out of the Great Depression, not being able to directly fight Nazism, he came up with lend-lease to support the allies, and then managed to convince his compatriots to fight not only with the attacking Japanese in pacific ocean but also with the Germans in Europe.

... I really like one frame from a generally not very good movie"Pearl Harbor". Hardly persuading his employees that war must be declared without delay, he slowly, with the strength of his arms alone, rises from his chair and stands up to his full height.

ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN DO

(b. 1882 - d. 1945)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is perhaps one of the most famous politicians of the 20th century. He was not just the President of the United States. He was a man who, by his example, proved the effectiveness of the American dream. He brought the country out of the greatest economic crisis in its history, gave work and hope for the future to millions of people. He overcame the isolationist sentiments of the United States and brought them to the foreign policy arena (however, the events of subsequent decades showed that this state has rather specific ideas about foreign policy).

Roosevelt still stands out from the line of politicians today, just as he once stood out from the "American nation" with its amazing collectivism, which is the other side of an equally amazing individualism. Perhaps he became the president of America precisely because he was her true son. America needed a person who would revive her blood circulation, help to abandon the stereotypes that have been ingrained in her mind over the past centuries.

Roosevelt was an American by birth, but not by spirit. Born into a family that traces its roots back to the early settlers who arrived on the Mayflower, he lived from childhood in a European rather than an American culture. Franklin, as a boy, often traveled around Europe, which he knew better than the United States, and even managed to study in Germany. He spoke English with a thick British accent, one of the many factors that separated him from the world of "ordinary Americans." He exuded aristocracy, which was considered a manifestation of unacceptable arrogance in the country of farmers, factory workers, and sailors.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. Already by right of birth, he was a darling of fate, for his family was part of the elite of New England society. Franklin was the only child in the family of 54-year-old James Roosevelt and his wife Sarah, who by that time was only 28 years old. This was James' second marriage, and his wife was a profitable match - Sarah brought her husband a million dollars as a dowry. Franklin's father led the measured life of a farmer associated with the high society of the country. He was a farmer, a businessman, a socialite, a theatergoer, and a travel lover (he constantly traveled to Europe, which at that time was the prerogative of only very wealthy people).

In general, a brilliant future for Franklin was ensured, because he inherited from his parents a high social position and significant capital. In addition, James and Sarah gave their only and dearly beloved son a versatile education, careful and caring upbringing. Reliable rear, measured family life, care and love of parents influenced Franklin, laying the foundation for his unshakable self-confidence and fearlessness in front of the outside world. This confidence, coupled with the highest self-discipline, did him no small favor when, in 1921, he had been ill with polio and became an invalid.

Acute epidemic poliomyelitis is an acute viral disease that affects the central nervous system and can lead to paralysis of the limbs with muscle atrophy and lack of sensation. Poliomyelitis refers to "children's" infections, and therefore adults endure it extremely hard (as, indeed, other "children's" diseases - measles, chickenpox, rubella) and the risk of complications increases many times over. Until the end of the 1950s, when a vaccine appeared, poliomyelitis was a formidable disease, the epidemics of which in different countries claimed thousands of lives: of those who fell ill, about 10% died, and another 40% became disabled.

In Roosevelt's time there was no vaccine for polio, and he was one of the many casualties of the disease epidemic that swept the United States in the early 1920s. It is not known how or when Roosevelt contracted polio. But there is a version that he did not get sick at all: A. Goldman claims that future president became a victim of Guillain-Barré syndrome, although the presence of loads before the disease, fever at the onset of the disease and subsequent paralysis fit into the polio clinic.

The researcher points out that Roosevelt fell ill at the age of 39, and poliomyelitis is a predominantly childhood disease. In addition, the pain that tormented the patient indicates rather that the true cause of Roosevelt's disease was still the Guillain-Barré syndrome. This disease is considered unique, and not so much because of its rarity (2:100,000 of the population), but because of the possibility of complete rehabilitation of the patient, despite the fact that sometimes the patient’s not only motor, but also sensory functions are impaired, up to complete loss of tendon reflexes. In severe cases, a person appears before the doctor, lying motionless in bed, who cannot breathe at all, swallow, and even open his eyes, although the activity of the cerebral cortex is not disturbed. Moreover, the disease is reversible. However, as A. Goldman notes, a correct diagnosis would change little. methods effective treatment Guillain-Barré syndrome did not exist at that time, so it would not have been possible to help the future president avoid paralysis.

Dr. Goldman's sensational statement was greeted with skepticism by his colleagues, who point out that adults rarely get polio, but such cases are by no means unique. In addition, the diagnosis was made in the midst of a polio epidemic and it is hard to imagine that the doctors, who faced the disease constantly, misdiagnosed - it could cost them their jobs.

So, at the age of 39, Franklin Delano Roosevelt fell ill with polio and, despite many years of trying to defeat the disease, remained confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Franklin Delano must have grumbled at the fate that sent him such a painful test, but appearance it was impossible to guess his suffering. He always radiated zest for life, once and for all pulling on his face a mask of confidence in himself and his abilities. He forbade himself to complain about life and feel sorry for himself. He demanded the same from those around him - in the end, no one perceived Franklin as a cripple. He was a strong politician, a real leader with a bit of authoritarianism.

By the way, Franklin Roosevelt, by his example, confirmed the well-known truth that a person becomes disabled largely thanks to those around him. It is their fearful and pitiful looks, attempts to protect from “excessive” and “harmful” loads (with the best of intentions, of course), whispering behind their backs that largely form the idea of ​​their own inferiority, limitations compared to people who do not have physical limitations. And perhaps it was thanks to his illness that Franklin Roosevelt, after becoming the President of the United States, paid so much attention to social problems, to people (however, mostly whites), who, for various reasons, were "on the sidelines" - after all, he own experience I learned how thin the line that separates a successful politician from a helpless cripple is. And he also showed how to overcome this line, becoming the only - and to this day - head of state with serious physical limitations.

Roosevelt's illness changed not only himself, but also his wife Eleanor, and their entire family life. Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt, his distant cousin and niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, back in 1905. Their first daughter was born in 1906, and then within 10 years, Eleanor gave birth to five more sons. A busy family schedule, the need to raise six children, and run a house gave her a great chance to fulfill her leadership ambitions and gradually turned Eleanor from an inconspicuous housewife into a role model for many generations of women in the United States and around the world. Eleanor Roosevelt is still an unattainable ideal for many "First Ladies" of the United States, who are constantly compared with her.

Eleanor concentrated her efforts not only on the family, she led social activities: spoke out in defense of the oppressed and poor people of the United States, wrote articles, was an excellent speaker and organizer. In 1922–1928 she actually became Roosevelt's deputy, who no longer left his wheelchair. Their marriage developed into a political community in which, guided by Christian morality and socialist convictions, Eleanor was Roosevelt's conscience.

For Eleanor, the role change meant more than entering the political arena as a public figure. She let her escape from loneliness - back in the First world war Roosevelt started an affair "on the side", and this killed her love, the marriage only seemed ideal on the outside. However, when Franklin Delano became President of the United States in 1933, Eleanor realized that she - despite all her talents and efforts - could never become an equal and trusted partner of her husband. The brilliant and witty Roosevelt attracted people like a magnet, and then used them, demanding absolute loyalty to himself from his environment, but he never revealed his innermost feelings to anyone. Even to the wife.

Having graduated from an elite private school in his time, as befits the offspring of a "noble family", Roosevelt entered Harvard, where he studied until 1904. Then he became a law student at Columbia University, but did not graduate, preferring to pass the exam for the right to practice law and become an intern at the New York Bar Association. However, Roosevelt was little interested in the details of economic law - he was sufficiently well off and had a stable position in society so as not to worry about making money. Under these conditions, only political activity could become the object of his ambitious plans. And he went into politics - especially since before his eyes was the example of Theodore Roosevelt, his distant relative. Anyway, Franklin visited the Oval Office at the age of five, when his father introduced him to President Cleveland.

Franklin Roosevelt has a clear timetable for moving up: in a favorable year for the Democrats, he will become a member of Congress from the State of New York. And then his career would follow the path trodden by Theodore Roosevelt: Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York State, President.

In November 1910, Franklin became a senator from the state of New York, tied his fate with the "progressive" Democrats. In March 1913, he received the coveted position of Assistant Minister of the Navy in the government and spent seven years in this position. In 1920, the Democratic Party nominated him as a candidate for vice president, but a year later the Democrats were defeated, and Franklin himself suffered from polio.

We usually think of the President's famous wheelchair as a nuisance to his career. Like, how much he could do if, in addition to all his other virtues, he also had good health. It seems that in reality everything was different - if there were no chair, Roosevelt's life and career would have turned out differently, he would not have become such a strong and revered president. The disease overtook a tall, strong and energetic man on the eve of his fortieth birthday. She fell like a bolt from the blue just when he finally decided on his future career and took part in the political campaign as a candidate for vice president. Roosevelt was faced with the question of what his whole future life would be like. Will it become the realization of plans that have matured over four decades, or will he be left with only memories, regrets and lamentations about the variability of fortune?

And he made his choice, linking his recovery with a return to big politics. From that moment on, weakness no longer had a place in his life. In 1928, Roosevelt became Governor of New York. He traveled all over the state, sometimes climbing fire escapes on his hands, since his legs could not carry him up the usual steps. And on November 8, 1932, after a fierce pre-election struggle with the then President Herbert Hoover, he was elected President of the United States. Of these events, Hoover later wrote: “This election campaign was more than a rivalry between two men. It was more than a clash of two parties. It was a struggle between two points of view on the purpose and tasks of the government.”

The deep antagonism between Roosevelt and Hoover was a consequence of their opposite views on the functions of the state. While Hoover appealed to the classic American virtues of individualism and free will, warning against the tyranny of the state, Roosevelt advocated the widest possible intervention of the state apparatus in the planning of American life. This came as a shock to society: not a single politician has yet advocated such a powerful introduction of the state into all spheres of economic and social life in peacetime.

While still governor, in the spring of 1930, Roosevelt wrote: “It is beyond my doubt that the country must change radically in the lifetime of this generation. History teaches that nations that experience such a shake-up from time to time are spared from revolutions. He saw it as his mission to be both a guardian of American traditions and an innovator, a supporter of social progress. He did not even think of questioning the basic foundations of the well-being of US citizens: individualism and competition, private property, focus on increasing one's own income, separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But if the American system cannot serve the common good, then the state must intervene. This requires common sense and human decency.

Despite his sharp attacks on the greedy at the top of the social pyramid, he was not an ideologue of the class struggle, because this deeply contradicted his conviction that the president is primarily a defender of public interests. When asked about his political beliefs, Roosevelt answered with disarming simplicity that he was a Christian and a Democrat - and that says it all.

The ideology proposed by Roosevelt turned out to be close to ordinary Americans, tormented by the economic crisis that went down in history as the Great Depression. They voted not so much for Franklin Roosevelt as a person, but for the confidence in the future that he promised them.

The White House has become a source of new ideas, a driving force for trade, an engine of social transformation, thus embodying concern for the common good. For Americans who are accustomed to relying only on themselves, the federal government and the president have become an integral part of Everyday life, an institution to which one could and should have appealed. Roosevelt raised the importance of the institution of the presidency in the United States, the strength of which is not in doubt. This became possible due to the fact that Roosevelt led the country out of the Great Depression and drew serious political and economic dividends from the US participation in World War II.

Roosevelt constantly teetered on the line that the US Constitution establishes the powers of the president. He was a real artist from politics - he expanded the legislative function of the institution of presidents, broke all records for using the right of veto (in total, he vetoed 635 times). Roosevelt, of course, could not make a decision on his own, and therefore negotiated with significant political figures and even, if necessary, put pressure on Congress using public opinion.

This use of public opinion became something of a trademark of Roosevelt's reign. He became the first president to actively use the "fourth power" - the press and radio. His name did not leave the newspaper pages, not least due to the policy of "open doors" in relation to journalists accredited in Washington. From year to year, the semi-paralyzed president twice a week collected round table journalists who could ask him any question. These conferences have become a model of how a politician can communicate with the press. Roosevelt was the first to conduct “radio conversations by the fireplace” (fire-side chats), which won over a million people, and dialogue with the people was not a way for him to manipulate public opinion.

However, Roosevelt, being a strong leader, was not a good administrator - during his reign, the staff of ministries swelled (in 1933, 600,000 people were employed in the federal government, and in 1940 - already 1.5 million people, after Roosevelt the number of government officials never fell below 2 million). federal services duplicated each other, Congressional control of the government weakened, wide opportunities for abuse and corruption. However, the intersection of duties and areas of competence of government structures corresponded to the principle of "divide and conquer", so close to Roosevelt, who reserved the right to make final decisions based on information from various sources.

Roosevelt - a seriously ill man - appeared on the national stage after the 1932 elections and left it on the day of his own death - April 12, 1945. He served four terms as President of the United States - he was re-elected three times in 1936, 1940 and 1944. When Roosevelt took over, the United States was in an unprecedented crisis: in a country suffering from an overproduction of food, there were cases of starvation of people who had nothing to buy these products.

The Roosevelt government immediately set about solving the problem of unemployment, which had reached incredible proportions. Direct payments became means of temporary improvement of the situation social benefits, as well as the general state employment program, which, beginning in March 1933, ended only with the entry of the United States into World War II.

Roosevelt's idea was simple: to remove from the street the able-bodied unemployed who did not find a place in the private sector of the economy, to save them from impoverishment. People got temporary work, fulfilling a state order that was not related to the production of new products, mainly at construction sites. As a result of Roosevelt's policies, 122,000 public buildings, 664,000 miles of new roads, 77,000 bridges and 285 airports. Even teachers, artists, and writers got jobs, earning Roosevelt the support of opinion makers. All in all, the policy of temporary employment has eased the situation of 25-30 million people, including family members of the unemployed.

At the same time, a large-scale intervention of the state in the affairs of Agriculture and industrial sectors, which were most affected by the crisis of overproduction during the Great Depression. For the first time in US history, employees were given the right to negotiate wage rates, working hours and a minimum wage were set, and the work of children under 16 was completely banned. The decisive step was the Social Security Act of 1935, which introduced unemployment insurance and an old-age pension, although sickness insurance was introduced much later.

Until now, historians and economists argue how successful Roosevelt's New Deal was, since full employment and a surge in production became possible only thanks to the Second World War. Analysts argue that the New Deal would have faltered without it. Outside the framework of the "new course" remained national and racial minorities, people who did not have US citizenship. " New Deal"could not change the income structure and reduce the gap between the earnings of the richest and poorest segments of society - it remained huge. The influence of monopolies and concerns weakened, but did not disappear.

One way or another, Roosevelt went down in history as the man who defeated the Great Depression. At the same time, the successes of the "new course" are considered the merit of Roosevelt, and his failures are attributed to the insurmountable barriers that the political, economic and bureaucratic system of the United States put before the president. The failure of the reorganization of the Supreme Court and the unsuccessful attempt to get rid of the conservative opposition in one's own party after winning the 1936 elections are the most striking examples. These attempts, which were supposed to intensify the implementation of the New Deal policy, failed, as Roosevelt overestimated his ability and degree of influence on events.

Roosevelt's main achievement was that he breathed new strength and faith into a nation that had lost heart, lost hope and did not have reliable guidelines. The only thing that people now had to be afraid of was their own fear.

Roosevelt was probably the first globalist - the interdependence of all the states of the world was the cornerstone of his foreign policy. The US should not have closed in on itself, since the security and common good of the country were inextricably linked with the fate of Europe and Asia. True, in order to remain president and not lose the support of voters, Roosevelt was forced to succumb to isolationist sentiments. Citizens of the United States, naturally, wanted to isolate themselves from Europe, where the war was going on.

The American Congress, by passing the Neutrality Act, did what Hitler tried in vain in 1940 with the Three Power Pact, the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 and an alliance with Japan, namely to keep America away from Europe. Military operations intensified in Eurasia, and the Congress added to the list of foreign policy activities prohibited during the period of war and crisis. Roosevelt's powers under acts passed by Congress and supported by public opinion were minimal.

At the same time, Roosevelt understood that the war would end sooner or later and the spheres of political influence would be redistributed. The United States could not stand aside from the division if it wanted to remain the great power that it was in the minds of American citizens. Roosevelt was aware that if he wanted to have a free hand in foreign policy, he must change the "sense of threat", the ideas of the American people about the potential of National Socialist Germany. He must demonstrate to his people that the belief in the possibility of isolation in the fortress "America" ​​is a dangerous illusion. Readiness for war - industrial, economic and psychological - was until 1941 the most important goal of his foreign policy.

Roosevelt acted very skillfully. In order not to fall under suspicion of disseminating his views with the help of "administrative resources", he relied on the creation of so-called "information departments", the sole purpose of which was supposedly to inform the American people about the international situation. Hollywood joined the government, documentary film studios, radio stations, newspapers and magazines worked to destroy the illusion of US security.

Roosevelt disseminated in society his global vision and views on the future role of the United States in the world. He shared the view of Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan that the balance of power in Europe was vital to the US. He believed that only a free world economy could contribute to the maintenance of a sustainable world. Hitler threatened everything: the balance of power in Europe and the world, a free economy. Roosevelt insisted maniacally: the right of peoples to self-determination and the subordination of states to the principles of international law are inseparable. Violence and aggression as a means of changing the status quo are illegal.

He understood war as a battle between aggressors and peaceful nations, between liberal democracy and barbarism, between citizens and criminals, between good and evil. Roosevelt ruled out the possibility of concluding peace treaties with the "forces of evil", while knowing that the United States must enter the war. Two days before Pearl Harbor, he ended a traditional fireside radio chat with the phrase: "We will win the war, and we will win the peace."

At the same time, Roosevelt had to take into account public opinion and pretend to believe that US aid to its allies would save the country from war. The gap between Roosevelt's own understanding of foreign policy and public opinion became increasingly visible and reached a critical level. And then the Japanese made an air raid on Pearl Harbor, and Hitler declared war on the United States. The country entered the war.

The contradiction between Roosevelt's beliefs and his actions gave rise to the myth that he allegedly knew in advance about the Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet, but deliberately did not take any action. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but the fact is obvious - the raid on Pearl Harbor made it easier for Roosevelt to solve foreign policy problems.

When the US entered the war, the 61-year-old Roosevelt faced new challenges. The transition to a war economy, the functions of the commander in chief, negotiations with allies, "conference diplomacy", the opening of a second front, the division of post-war spheres of influence - all this physical and psychological stress sapped the president's strength to such an extent that by 1944 his weakness was obvious to everyone.

Roosevelt was forced to solve the tasks facing him, constantly justified by public opinion, which, not giving him freedom of action in the war, reserved the right to constant criticism. In addition, Roosevelt had to keep the Congress and the 1944 elections constantly in mind. In this respect, the American president was much less mobile than Winston Churchill, not to mention Stalin and Hitler.

Roosevelt was relentless and ruthless in everything that concerned the interests of the American people - he had to win the war with the maximum possible use of technology and minimum human losses. He needed the Soviet Union (Roosevelt's policy towards the USSR was often criticized after 1945). More precisely, not so much in the Union as in the state, but in Russian soldiers - it is estimated that for every American who died in that war, there are 15 lives of German and 53 Soviet soldiers. Already in 1942, Roosevelt knew "that the Russian army would kill more enemies and destroy more military equipment" than the armies of all the member states of the League of Nations.

From this followed the inevitable conclusion that the influence of the Soviet Union after a joint victory would be incomparably greater than in 1939. No one can prevent the fact that after the victory of the USSR it will become a powerful Eurasian power, and world politics will depend on cooperation with the Soviet Union. It was impossible to get away from this logic of power; Roosevelt and Churchill saw it very clearly.

However, Roosevelt believed that cooperation between the USSR and the Atlantic Alliance could be achieved on American terms. Roosevelt was already preparing to run the post-war world order. In his imagination, old boundaries were erased and new ones were drawn. Germany was divided into small states, as if a single country was a product of Hitler. East Prussia went to Poland, the Baltics were left to Stalin, since the USSR occupied an important place in the plans for the post-war reorganization of the world. But the main product of Roosevelt's geopolitical thinking was Wallonia, a state that never existed in history, which was supposed to become a buffer between Germany and France. Most of Wallonia was formed at the expense of France (not surprisingly, the French still dislike the United States).

According to Roosevelt, control over the post-war world was assigned to four world "policemen" - the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and China. There were no special hopes for democracy in the states entrusted to police supervision: nuclear bombardments became a means of punishing aggressors. Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened already under Truman, but they were prepared by Roosevelt.

Three more important events that completed the formation of the new world took place after the death of Roosevelt: the creation of NATO; implementation of the Marshall Plan; Suez Crisis.

Roosevelt himself did not live to see the beginning of the reorganization of the post-war world for three weeks. He planned a new world and was forced to leave it without even seeing it. The sources do not answer the question whether Roosevelt continued to believe in the common goals of the Allies in the last months of his life. The objective reality is this: after the death of Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, which came from a cerebral hemorrhage, everything that he began to build collapsed - from political cooperation with the Soviet Union to a new world, tailored according to the patterns of the United States.

From the book Conversations by the Fireplace author Roosevelt Franklin

The main dates of the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Childhood and adolescence Born on January 30, 1882 in a wealthy family: father - James Roosevelt, mother - Sarah Delano. He spent his childhood years in Hyde Park, the estate of his parents, a picturesque area on the banks of the Hudson River, halfway

From Benjamin Franklin. His life, social and scientific activities author Abramov Yakov Vasilievich

Chapter V. Franklin the Scientist Franklin's penchant for scientific pursuits. — His ingenuity. Franklin stove. - Doctor of Arts. - The physics office of Dr. Spence. - Franklin's studies in electricity. – The original fate of his discoveries. – Recognition of scientific merit

From the book Personal Assistants to the Manager author Babaev Maarif Arzulla

Franklin Benjamin Assistant to George Washington, who served as President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Benjamin Franklin became an adviser to George Washington shortly after the War of Independence (1775-1783) of the American colonies from the English crown. He became one of

From the book 100 great politicians author Sokolov Boris Vadimovich

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States (1882–1945) The greatest US president and the only one to be elected four times to this post, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 at Hyde Park Manor, New York. He belonged to a wealthy family descended from the first

From the book 50 famous lovers author Vasilyeva Elena Konstantinovna

Franklin Benjamin (b. 1706 - d. 1790) American philosopher, scientist, politician, who devoted a lot of energy not only to science, but also to love interests. According to a long historical tradition, some American biographers of one of the "founding fathers" United States of America

From the book Great Americans. one hundred outstanding stories and fate author Gusarov Andrey Yurievich

New Deal creator Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882, Hyde Park - April 12, 1945, Warm Springs) Looking back and evaluating the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, the famous scientist Albert Einstein observed: what an impact

From the book of 50 famous patients author Kochemirovskaya Elena

ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN DELANO (b. 1882 - d. 1945) Franklin Delano Roosevelt is perhaps one of the most famous political figures of the 20th century. He was not just the President of the United States. He was a man who, by his example, proved the effectiveness of the American dream. He brought out

From the book Great Men of the 20th Century author Vulf Vitaly Yakovlevich

Franklin Delano Roosevelt The man who changed the world Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of those people about whom they say: “There were none like that before. And there won't be any more." The only US president in history to have been elected to this post four times. The politician who pulled the country out of

From the book 100 Famous Americans author Tabolkin Dmitry Vladimirovich

FRANKLIN BENJAMIN (b. 1706 - d. 1790) Prominent US politician, scientist, educator, journalist and newspaper publisher. One of the authors of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution (1787) of the United States. The luckiest of all American

From the book Further - noise. Listening to the 20th century author Ross Alex

Music in America by Frank Delano Roosevelt In 1934, Arnold Schoenberg moved to California, bought a Ford sedan and declared: "I was banished to paradise." In the early 1940s, when the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and their dependent states ruled Europe from Madrid to Warsaw,

From the book Lessons of happiness from those who know how to live no matter what author Mishanenkova Ekaterina Alexandrovna

Franklin Delano Roosevelt I sympathize more with our country and the whole world than with myself… Reply of Franklin Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, to condolences on his death Not so long ago I read Ilf and Petrov's book One-Story America. And I was shocked to the core

From the book American Scientists and Inventors by Wilson Mitchell

Benjamin Franklin Personality In the deep autumn of 1732, an old man was born on a sheet of paper. The author who called the old man out of oblivion was a slender young man with a flexible frame and the shoulders of a swimmer. The expression of detachment and calm that appeared on Franklin's face in minutes

From the book My Father Joachim von Ribbentrop. "Never against Russia!" author Ribbentrop Rudolf

Franklin the Scholar Twelve or fourteen years after Franklin opened the printing press, he was so successful that he could retire from business with an annual income of a thousand pounds. He was forty years old at the time. His income was equal to his salary

From the book Diary of a Youth Pastor author Romanov Alexey Viktorovich

But Franklin was sometimes wrong When Franklin was still very young, smallpox epidemic broke out in Boston. Cotton Mather, known in history as one of the first "witch hunters", was then an ardent supporter of vaccinations. Mather first heard about vaccinations from

From the author's book

Roosevelt After the successful completion of the campaigns in Poland and France, the question arose for the leadership of the Reich, with what strategic goals should the war now be continued after British government led by Churchill showed no readiness to negotiate on

From the author's book

Kirk Franklin One of the best gospel music performers. Music, which, perhaps, is not very clear and popular in our country. But if you talk to any musician and talk about Kirk Franklin, everyone knows him. Because he

- I heard about the March of Dimes, what is it?

- That was the name of the US campaign to collect donations to fight polio.

- Who organized it and why?

The United States has been hit the hardest by polio. After all, after the First World War, the sanitary condition there was better than in European countries. And the initiator of the collection of money was US President Roosevelt, whom polio made disabled.

In the summer of 1921, a widespread polio epidemic spread throughout the United States, affecting the population of many large cities in the east of the country. It caused panic among the inhabitants of New York, where two thousand people died within three months, and seven thousand patients remained paralyzed for life.

People fled the city, and the police set up special barriers on the roads, detained residents and returned them back so that they would not spread the infection throughout the country. The fear of the disease was so great that hospitals in New York refused to accept patients with polio and the police forcefully delivered the sick to city clinics. The police were forced to break into apartments to take dead children from distraught mothers and bury them. It seemed that nothing could suppress the aggression of the virus. Quarantines with strict isolation of patients and thorough disinfection of the premises where the sick person was located did not help.

On September 14, 1921, a large motorboat slowly moved along the waves of the Bay of Fundy from Campobello Island to Eastport, located on the Atlantic coast of the USA, near New York. On board her, tormented by pain, lay F. Roosevelt, or, as he was abbreviated in newspapers and magazines, F. D. R. At that time he was already a well-known political figure. He played a lot of sports, was athletic, had a good appearance and was going to run for vice president of the United States in the near future.

When the polio epidemic broke out in New York, F. Roosevelt sent his wife and two small children to his ranch, located off the northern coast of the United States on Campobello Island. After spending a month in the city, he went on vacation on a friend's yacht. On the way, they often stopped and swam in the still cold ocean, and when they arrived on the island, F. Roosevelt, along with his children, had fun with physical exercises, and then, to warm up after swimming, ran about three miles around the island. Perhaps that is exactly what it is. caused an exacerbation of the disease.

The very next day, Roosevelt felt weakness in his legs and malaise, which he first associated with a cold after bathing. However, a day later he could not stand on his feet, and the visiting doctor - a specialist in poliomyelitis - diagnosed this disease. And now the patient was being transported to New York.

Treatment continued until the end of October, but there was no improvement in Roosevelt's health.

Already at home, he continues to courageously fight with his illness. He cannot get up in bed without assistance. Without ropes hanging from the ceiling, Roosevelt is unable to sit on his own in a wheelchair.

At that time, none of his relatives could even imagine that this severely disabled person would become President of the United States of America in a few years. That it was his Americans who would be elected three times to this post, that he would lead the United States out of the deep economic crisis of the 1930s and be able to lead the state during the most difficult World War II, during which he would establish the closest cooperation between the USA and the USSR.

F. Roosevelt's disability played a significant role in the fight against polio. In 1925, he spent considerable time at a small godforsaken resort in the state of Georgia. There was a source of hot mineral water, which was said to help cure polio. Indeed, after swimming for a long time in a warm pool, Roosevelt felt much better and, after a few months, was able to move around, standing in the pool, and then stand on his own without support on land.

In 1926, F. Roosevelt invested almost all his savings in the purchase and improvement of this resort, where people affected by polio began to come. The purchase of a resort for the treatment of patients with polio was followed by the establishment of a fund to combat infantile paralysis, which collected donations for the disabled crippled by polio. This led to an increase in the financial capabilities of the organization and to an increase in the popularity of F. Roosevelt.

When Roosevelt became president in 1932, he directed the fund's money not only to treat patients affected by polio, but also to organize a number of laboratories and institutes to study the causes of poliomyelitis and find ways to combat the viruses that cause this disease.

In those years, a huge campaign was carried out in the United States to organize the celebration of the president's birthday. Anyone wishing to help the polio cause was invited to donate any amount of money available to him, even ten cents. At a MGM fundraiser in Los Angeles with several movie stars, a reporter, weary of commenting, threw a random phrase into a microphone asking people to send money directly to the president at the White House.

With this phrase, in fact, the "march of dimes" began. It turned out that many were flattered to send a letter to "the president himself" and put ten cents into it. Trucks loaded with mailbags began to enter the gates of the White House. On the first day, 30,000 letters were received. The next day - 50 thousand, the third - 150 thousand. The president's staff did not have time to open the envelopes. In a few months, US residents sent 2,680,000 letters with coins invested there. This amounted to approx. 300 thousand dollars. That was the end of the first year. And for the celebration of the president's birthday in 1934, they managed to raise more than one million dollars.

In subsequent years, donations from the population became more and more significant. In 1937, with their help, the National Foundation was created - an organization for the study of infantile paralysis. Since the annual donations exceeded one million dollars, this made it possible to finance research work in many institutes in the country.

Already in the mid-1930s, two attempts were made in America to create inactivated vaccines against polio and test them on significant contingents of children. Unfortunately, vaccine technology was then in its infancy. As a result, some of the vaccinated children developed paralysis, and five people died. This frightened many researchers and slowed down the development of new vaccine preparations for a long time.

Meanwhile, the march of dimes continued. The fight against a common enemy rallied people, and the largest donations were given by the US population to the National Foundation for the Fight against Infantile Paralysis during the Second World War. In 1942 almost 5 million dollars were collected, in 1943 - 6.5 million, in 1944 - 12, and in 1945 - 18 million dollars. On April 12, 1945, President F. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage. However, the foundation he organized continued to exist, helping scientists find and develop means to protect people from polio.

A decisive turning point occurred in 1949, when the famous American virologists D. Enders, F. Robbins and T. Weller from Harvard University invented the method of single-layer tissue cultures and proposed the use of living cells multiplying on the surface of glass vessels to study the causes of poliomyelitis. These researchers showed that materials taken from the intestines of people with polio contained a virus that multiplied in tissue cultures and caused changes in cells that died and gradually collapsed, which was clearly visible under a microscope.

In the same year, another American virologist, D. Bodian, proved that there is not one, but three various types polio viruses and against each of them in the body of infected people produce their own antibodies. These experiments explained the reason for the failure in testing the sera of patients as a therapeutic drug. It turned out that the serum against the polio virus of the first type does not act on the viruses of the second and third types, and vice versa.

The strain of polio virus type 1 was named "Brunnhilda", after the sick chimpanzee monkey from which it was first isolated. The second type of virus was named "Lansing" - that was the name american city where the virus was found. The third type of virus was named "Leon" after the name of the boy - the "master" of this pathogen.

From 1947 to 1953, more than 200,000 people were ill with paralytic poliomyelitis in the United States. The virus has mutilated more than 50 thousand children and adults, making them completely disabled, and 20 thousand of the sick died.

In 1956, over 300,000 polio patients were registered in the United States. Since paralysis develops in only one in a hundred or a thousand of those infected, it can be assumed that by that time the entire population of America had been infected with polio.

In the early 1950s, poliomyelitis first caused a major epidemic in the USSR. In Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkov, hundreds and thousands of cases of poliomyelitis were observed. There were especially many diseases in the western regions of the country - in the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. As a rule, outbreaks of polio in our country began after similar epidemics were reported in Eastern European countries. This made it possible to think that every time polio was imported across the border.

Observing the spread of the disease, Soviet scientists isolated many viruses and confirmed the conclusions of the Americans: it is precisely "healthy" people who carry the virus that pose the main danger of the spread of infection. They have millions of potentially dangerous viral particles in their intestines.

The 32nd President of the United States was the favorite of the people. Despite the fact that he was confined to a wheelchair from the age of 3, he managed to achieve a lot. He was chained to the wheelchair by a "childhood" disease - poliomyelitis. Life decreed that he spent up to 63 - for 24 years.

Franklin disease

The politician fell ill by a stupid accident, when he unsuccessfully bought himself in a pond. He had a very high temperature, and the body below the waist refused to obey. Doctors diagnosed poliomyelitis. On the this moment some researchers believe that he had a different disease, but it no longer changes the essence of the matter.

The 32nd President of the United States was the favorite of the people // Photo: commarts.com

In those days, people were incorrect and angry. Absolutely no one treated the disabled with respect, they were immediately “stigmatized”. Therefore, after Roosevelt got into a wheelchair, he had very few prospects. Everyone expected him to retire from political affairs. However, to everyone's surprise, he did something completely different.

Today you can safely go out in front of the public in a wheelchair and be sure that no one will question your legal capacity. Today, some politicians even demonstratively hurl stories of their illnesses. At the same time, people automatically attributed any disabled person to the infirm. It was believed that all that could be done with him was to provide such care in order to receive a good inheritance.

Interesting! The first famous disabled person who developed active activities can be called a bloody tyrant of the 16th century. Philip II of Spain. He was the chairman of the revolutionary party, who famously dissected on a two-wheeled chair with swing arms. This chair was given to him by the royal family itself.

First period of illness

F. Roosevelt decided to hide everything from those close to him and the public. At first he pretended to be on the mend. With the help of a whole system of levers and orthopedic devices, as well as an ordinary cane, he went outside for short walks. It was extremely difficult for him, but it reassured the public. He tried not to take photos with crutches or in a wheelchair.

He was chained to the chair by a “childhood” disease - poliomyelitis // Photo: 24smi.org

Life magazine, popular at that time, once published a photo with wheelchair, but it did not become a sensation. It is worth noting that media workers at that time were not chasing injuries to public figures. They did not do this during the election campaigns either. For journalists, only their professional activities mattered.

Of course, the politician failed to hide his illness until the end of his life. So, even the popular actor Gregory Peck once recalled how he ran to meet his favorite politician in the port. Then he saw the current situation, the weakness of the man was simply impossible not to notice. It was not an ordinary car that helped Roosevelt get off the ship, he was carried in his arms. Everything that comes to mind at a time like this ordinary person looking at a disabled person for the first time: numbness and confusion. So Peck, was in complete bewilderment. A few seconds later, Roosevelt was already in the carriage and greeted the audience with a smile on his face. She roared with delight. The actor thought

If the disabled person himself treats his illness with such ease, then why should everyone else worry?

Roosevelt managed to make people stop noticing disability, but only saw a sane person. Thanks to this, he was elected to the presidency 4 times. He managed to bring the country out of the protracted Great Depression. During the Second World War, not being able to fight or even meet with the Nazis, he developed ingenious battle plans.

F. Roosevelt's personal life

The head of American society said goodbye to loneliness for another last year study. He married the daughter of the brother of the 26th President of the United States - Eleanor Roosevelt. He had incredible respect for his great relative, Theodore Roosevelt, he repeatedly consulted with him, his words were often decisive for Franklin in making important decisions.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt // Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

In marriage, he had 6 children: one daughter and sons, one of whom died before he even lived a year. Eleanor was smart woman. She led an active public and public life. She was an independent and independent person and almost never found herself in the shadow of her husband. In addition, she considered it her duty to promote the interests of her husband in every possible way, as a result, she played a significant role in Franklin's career as president. The first lady regularly took part in election campaigns, political debates, gave interviews to journalists, in which she fully supported all her husband's undertakings. She systematically held meetings with publicists, was a visitor to prisons, and actively supported the women's movement in the country.

In 1974, some secrets of the couple's family life were revealed. The curtain was lifted by their own son, Elliot. He reported that his mother was absolutely cold towards his father sexually. This incited Franklin to betray. His mistresses at one time were Margaret Le Hand, Lucy Page Macer. Both worked as secretaries in the White House. There were rumors that the president cheated on his wife even with Margaret Suckley (his own relative).

The first lady died at the age of 78 in 1962.

Roosevelt's final years

Each victory of Roosevelt in the presidential election was a triumph. But the year 1936 stood out in particular. Then 28 million American citizens voted for him, including 5 million Republicans (the main opponents). In his second term of service, Franklin worked on the stabilization of economic activity, state regulation. He tried to keep the country in a position of neutrality.

Franklin Roosevelt and his family // Photo: flickr.com

In 1940 he decided to leave his political career. He announced his decision to his own party, but she categorically disagreed and nominated him as a presidential candidate for a 3rd term. As a result, Roosevelt again became president. This time around, he stepped off the New Deal path and focused on winning the world war.

In 1944, he no longer tried to leave politics, considering it simply impossible. He took part in the next elections and again turned out to be the leader. Each of the historians has always noted his significant contribution to the stabilization of the post-war situation. Roosevelt was one of those who proposed the creation of the UN at the Yalta conference.

In April 1945, Franklin, in view of his poor health, decided to take a vacation in Warm Springs. There, at one time, he was treated for polio. At the resort, he worked on an upcoming speech in San Francisco. However, he did not live up to this event. A week before the performance, he had a stroke. At his own request, he was buried in the place where he spent his entire childhood - Hyde Park.

I am sure that similar topics have flashed in the headlines of magazines / newspapers before me, I am writing about it, because. I am interested in both politics and medicine. Due to the lack of material, it is impossible to write a serious work, but, albeit superficially, I will describe the main provisions. I will write a series of short articles, where I will analyze the political figures of interest to me personally and the impact of their health status on the political course of the country. You should not rely on them as officially confirmed material, they contain a lot of my own assumptions / conclusions. The reasons for writing are motives in the political world, because often a serious illness serves as a kind of compromising evidence and having knowledge about the state of health, we get a chance to manipulate people with varying degrees of intensity, depending on the disease. But manipulation will be touched upon only in those destinies where it took place and is confirmed by historical sources.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States (1932-1945).

In 1921, he fell ill with polio, which he tried to defeat in various ways, but despite attempts to overcome the disease, nothing came of it. Roosevelt was paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair.

Poliomyelitis is an acute infectious disease caused by damage to the gray matter of the spinal cord by poliovirus and is characterized mainly by pathology. nervous system. (c) Wikipedia

Vaccines that prevent poliomyelitis and often lead to a complete cure were developed only in the 50s. XX century. Franklin did not have a chance to recover from the disease.

I suppose that during the years of illness Roosevelt had to undergo many health procedures, in particular, traditional ones for the treatment of polio: heat treatment, taking sedatives, painkillers, bed rest, sanatorium treatment. He could only stand on crutches and moved slowly.

The feeling of inferiority - intense or not very - is something that occurs in every disabled person. He reproached fate for a terrible illness, but overcame himself, put on a cold mask of confidence. To his entourage, he forbade all gestures of pity towards his person (illness weakened physical qualities, but tempered the spirit, because “everything that does not kill us makes us stronger”).

It can be concluded that the hard life of a wheelchair-bound patient to a large extent influenced the formation of an already strong character of a leader. It was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was the hope of the democrats of Western civilization in 1940-1941. So, through a combination of strength, tactics, nerves of steel [which were largely shaped by the events described above], he prevented the US from isolating itself in the Western Hemisphere. He played a significant role in World War II. Thanks to him, in 1945, after his death, on the ground prepared for this, the United States becomes a superpower.

Current Music: Sneaker Pimps