Franklin D. Roosevelt: the record and the legends

FDR. The 32nd president, 1933-1945, from New York. Every story here is tagged Record, meaning it’s documented, or Legend, meaning it gets told a lot and doesn’t hold up. Each one links to its source.

President: 32nd
In office: 1933-1945
Home state: New York
Party: Democratic
Height: 6'2"

The record

RecordRoosevelt couldn't find a wheelchair he liked, so he made his own. He had kitchen chairs cut down and fitted with small wheels, with no arms, light enough to move himself. Eleanor called it Franklin's own invention.Source: National Park Service, A Fresh Look at FDR's Wheelchairs
RecordIn 1938 Roosevelt started a foundation to fight polio. The entertainer Eddie Cantor asked Americans to mail their dimes to the White House, and it became the March of Dimes. Its money later helped pay for Jonas Salk's polio vaccine research.Source: FDR Library, March of Dimes
RecordFranklin married Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. They set the date so her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, could be there to give her away.Source: FDR Presidential Library, Marriage and Family
RecordAt Harvard, Roosevelt rowed crew and played polo and tennis. He sailed, fished and hunted his whole life.Source: FDR Presidential Library, Facts and Figures

The legends

LegendYou'll hear that the public never knew Roosevelt used a wheelchair. That's too strong. What's documented is that photographers agreed not to shoot him in it, and the Secret Service sometimes took cameras and exposed the film. They even had code names for his ramps and chairs.Source: National Park Service, The Secret Is Out: Code Names for FDR's Mobility Aids

What he cared about

Pulling the country out of the Great Depression. The New Deal started with a burst of laws in his first hundred days.
A permanent safety net. He signed the Social Security Act in 1935.
Winning World War II, from arming Britain with Lend-Lease to planning the peace at Yalta.

The full record

In 1942 he signed Executive Order 9066, which was used to force about 112,000 Japanese Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, into camps. None were charged with a crime.

How he fights in POTUS KO

Swimmer's shoulders, fighting from his own chair

Roosevelt rebuilt his upper body after polio, swimming and pulling himself hand over hand, and he stayed steady through the Depression and a world war. In the ring he fights from his chair, patient, with real power in his hands.

See POTUS KO

Questions about Franklin D. Roosevelt

Did people know FDR used a wheelchair?

You'll hear that the public never knew Roosevelt used a wheelchair. That's too strong. What's documented is that photographers agreed not to shoot him in it, and the Secret Service sometimes took cameras and exposed the film. They even had code names for his ramps and chairs.

Who designed FDR's wheelchair?

Roosevelt couldn't find a wheelchair he liked, so he made his own. He had kitchen chairs cut down and fitted with small wheels, with no arms, light enough to move himself. Eleanor called it Franklin's own invention.

How was FDR related to Eleanor Roosevelt?

Franklin married Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. They set the date so her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, could be there to give her away.