My father was by definition a quadraplegic due to polio as a toddler. He was the most critical case according to many doctors but he had the advantage of being a child and had parents who did not put limitations in his path. He walked on crutches most of his life even though he had no control over his left arm or either leg. He lived independently till age 40. He graduated from college with honors and worked for a publishing company to support his family. He never accepted charity as a matter of principle.
FDR, an amazing man , as strong willed man you'd ever find, I'm English and have massive respect for this man. Most people would have shrivelled up & died quietly in a corner, if suffering the way he did everyday. A brilliant man ..
No man lives without sin...no man. FDR gave the full measure of his devotion to this nation. The war wore on him, the young men of his nation were at war, the greatest war in the history of man. I have no doubt that in fighting polio he learned to lead the nation to victory through trial and tribulation. I also feel that the hand of Gods providence watched and guided him. The right men at the right time in the history of man to fight the greatest evil we had yet faced.
A world leader; the fate of millions in his hand, but couldn't walk down his own street. Damn, but ironic that by losing his personal power, fdr gained greatness.
Eleanor once siad something along the lines of "As America rose, he declined." To do what he did. Bring America out of the worst depression, the worst war in history and leave the US with an economy 2.5X larger than when he took over is nothing short of monumental. He succeeded. He suffered immensely. He knew what would happen if he failed, The world would enter a new dark age. He left this world a much better place. Cometh the hour cometh the man.
A very well produced documentary with high production value. What really gets me is the underlying score by Rich Farnsworth. It really adds the subtext to Prof. David Reynolds' presentation onscreen. 10/10
I had a history teacher like David Reynolds, he made every class interesting and always said human feelings and how they affect leaders are at the core of every historical decision.
My dad was Chicago police when he came into Chicago. During the war. He said that there was a freight car full of medical supplies and things Roosevelt needed showing how I'll he was yet he carried on with the burdens the country was under from depression and also ww2 were overwhelming He was a better president than those in better shape. God bless and let him rest in peace he saved our country. In time of horrible trouble
See how President James A. Garfield was treated by the great Dr. Bliss after he was shot. Sure, it was 1881, but compared to Garfield, FDR got world-class, cutting edge medical treatment.
FDR was a beloved president. I recall my parents having lived through the depression, believed FDR was a vision who would help the poor, working class and indeed he did. In 2019 the only man who comes even close to FDR is Bernie Sanders. Like FDR who was a man for and of the people, so is Sanders. The GOP has become a party of corruption, corporate control over the people, and will do and say anything to stop the public from electing Sanders. One problem is the Demoratic Party of 2019 are just as embedded with corporate American they are doing everything possible to hold on to power FOR the corporations, who Sanders and the progressive movement in this country. Trump has turned this country towards fascism...panicking people causing them to fear whether our country will remain democratic or go full own fasicsm the 2020 election outcome will determine the future.
Having that much anxiety on top of the other health issues , but still showed up to your intense maddeningly high stress job. That’s very admirable and brave .
I never really knew abt how deep hardship was. I almost cried n I felt what would I do at age 39. I'm 40 n I don't knw what I would have done. But it opened my eyes to finding all this out. I have no excuses for me not being able to do something. I'm so glad to hear this true story...
Very different time.. No matter who was in the white house the office of the Presidency was always to be respected. That is until Richard Nixon f*cked it all up...
history is written by the winners....said Napoleon......FDR actually made thr Great Depression worse than it should have been.by sucking gold out of the U.S. economy !!
RIP Mrs. E.R. You have made America a better place as well, not just through your husband, but in your own right. May your name be an inspiration to marginalized people all over the world.
I was seven years old when I heard the news of fdr's death on the radio. After that. They played the song "home on the range," because they said it was fdr's favorite song. It played over and over all day.
Home on the range. Favorite song? Might sound sort of corny. But this country despite being involved in a war must of been a nice place to be When the local Goverment's all the way to the Federal Government. Still had respect for OUR CONSTITUTIONAL BIRTHRIGHT'S.
@@Dodo-ym8cc Not gonna read all your jargon because common sense says that nothing you wrote says a psychopath has the right to kill 50 million innocent people. What side were you on anyway?
@@Dodo-ym8cc Would someone please update this BOTs software? And, maybe even add some be 'key words' to his database? Notice no questions are answered here, only more jargon, right or wrong, is spouted... And it will continue ...
My grandfather contracted polio when he was a child and must have been lucky because he only needed a leg brace to keep him walking. It was the polio that kept him from being drafted into ww2 service but he, like all other guys at the time wasn't going to be left out of the war and joined the merchant marines. He was lucky as he saw a few other merchant marine ships get taken out my German uboats, but his ship was unscathed.
He was attacked as a communist sympathizer. Check out what the “America First Committee” & John Birch Society was saying about FDR and American Jews. The John Birch Society was even accusing Eisenhower of being a secret communist.
FDR was branded "a traitor to his class". Despite his wealthy background & position in high society, he fought for the common man. He condemned child labor, monopolies, dangerous working conditions, union busting, & unmitigated greed. Industrial & banking magnates plotted a coup to overthrow his presidency. Read up on "The Business Plot." Their scheme was thwarted & exposed thanks to the patriotism & honor of Marine Major General Smedley Butler, an admirable man in his own right.
Its rather astounding, the airplane was created in the late 19th early 20th century, yet ONLY 20 years later It became weaponised. With great efficiency at that.
I am deeply touched that the BBC of all so carefully and sensitively detailed this portion of american history. I am profoundly grateful. It is a special relationship as well.
An excellent documentary. I have always had great respect for FDR and ER. Each one made the other's life possible. They complimented and respected each other even though they were emotionally and philosophically opposed. Both were outstandingly strong as they endured pain and suffering of completely different kinds. Viewed for a long time as a lightweight 'playboy' FDR did care deeply about the peace and welfare of the US and the world. Perhaps FDR's only conceptual fault was his, correctly, negative views of old style European imperialism while utterly ignoring US imperialism across the Pacific and South East Asia. He died before his 'war-ending' atomic project. Before his demise he misread Stalin and had no way of knowing that the nuclear bomb would destroy his hopes for a more inclusive, 'softer', version of communism. FDR was up there with Washington and Lincoln. Now, I believe the office and the prestige of POTUS has been so seriously damaged it could be generations before a president of FDR's merit is seen again. Thank you for the video. Cheers, BH.
Bill Halliwell I carry a photo of himself on my wallet at all times. But im not American at all. Im a European who never visited the U.S. Roosevelt’s achievements deserve to be praised, anywhere on the planet.
Roosevelt was so focus on terminating the British empire that he went to irrational lengths to not consider the Soviet Union as an empire. Everyone knew that the USSR was just as bad as the British empire. I don’t if FDR was fooling Churchill or fooling himself! FDR gave Stalin so much leeway, that Stalin annexed sovereign nation after sovereign nation... up to including POLAND... the biggest catalyst of the war. Was FDR naive?! Or was he simply being seduced by Stalin’s fake “charm”? What happened??? Roosevelt could’ve stamped on Stalin, forcing him to be more considerate towards small defenseless nations. If FDR had “tamed” Stalin, maybe we could’ve avoided the entire cold war. Since he didn’t, when Truman came along, he stepped on the Soviets, only too hard and too harshly. No one is perfect. I think that FDR intended to soften Stalin after the end of the war. But sadly, FDR died at the worst possible moment.
My main youtube account is “Leo Arc”. I would love to discuss this topic with you in greater detail. I’ll send you a message from my main account once I get home and can therefore use it.
Thanks for posting this! Excellent documentary! I really enjoy David Kennedy's knowledge and perspective of history. He pulls facts and details together very well and delivers them in significant locations. Other ones he made about WW1, and WWII, including Stalin and Churchill are also very good. Again, thanks!
this is the most impressive documentary that I have ever seen about modern-day politics and in particular about President FD Roosevelt. The free world owes everything to him
Anno Zijlstra Not everything. He is my favorite president. However, in order to go against the British empire, he was too lenient towards Stalin. As a result, Stalin took full advantage of it and expanded his own, even more brutal empire. This was Roosevelt’s greatest failure: not recognizing the full nature of Stalinism.
He was so ill and so brave and courageous led America through the depression and most of ww2. We need leaders like him now. He made wise decisions in a time of great crisis
FDR was going to let Russia take almost half of Japan at the end of the war foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/05/stalin_japan_hiroshima_occupation_hokkaido/ Thankfully FDR died and Truman scraped the deal.
Every president ages significantly during their time in office. The stress is unimaginable. FDR sacrificed his life, literally, to see out the end of the war.
I disagree, he spent considerable time and effort to not go to war. Lend/lease was a way to fight the war through Britain and the Soviet Union. He only entered into war with Japan when we were attacked and Germany when Hitler declared war on the United States. He was frail and mentally unfit for office by his 4th term and he knew it. He refused to cede power.
Proff in South Africa we will say kudus for such a brilliant well narrated documentary, I have thought I would listen just for few minutes. Only to be hooked
@@robinmc123 Interstellar I've seen ONCE. Deep Impact I've seen at least a hundred times and I used to play the James Horner soundtrack while driving. I've heard DI music on other PBS docs pretty often, too; maybe his estate donated the rights?
..." I've a terrible headache ".. Was his last words. He was a great man the world has ever seen along with Winston Churchill. His debilitating polio seems to have had no effect on his mind & will.
That is right, all those years struggling with no legs- it may have helped his attitude toward humility, and helped him focus on ideal of helping those in need, and freedom for the world.
FDR's polio made him human. He discovered empathy and the meaning of the latin phrase "momento mori". This documentarian described FDR with "hubris" late in the film. Nothing could be further from the truth. Roosevelt wanted to pass the Second Bill of Rights. He wanted to make sure the New Deal benefitted the common working people long after his departure. We are now at the threshold of the destruction of what little remains of the New Deal. The GOP and the neoliberal corporate Democrats will cut Social Security.
@@edbenti5007 They cannot cut Social Security without starting another civil war. The color of the senior citizen's skin won't be an issue, because we seniors will ALL stand together on this. But, the ability to feed ourselves and live an independent life safe from poverty will be the issue! Before throwing the seniors of this country under the bus is to be considered, and if the government wants to save money, then the matter of supporting, feeding and medical benefits for the ILLEGAL aliens and Godless foreigners will have to be stopped...completely! How can our government ever consider supporting the lawless and godless, who contributed nothing to social security, before it's citizens? NEVER!
A phenomenal & truly moving documentary. I highly recommend the book "Franklin & Winston" by noted American historian Jon Meacham. The Audible version is fantastic. The HBO film "Warm Springs" depicts FDR's initial struggle with polio & subsequent therapeutic treatments in Warm Springs, GA. Beautifully acted & shot on location.
My former father in law, dead now, knew Roosevelt as FDR was an honorary member of every volunteer fire company in the Hudson Valley. My ex FIL was fireman and later chief of Poughkeepsie, New York from 1938 to 1981 and so knew him through that. He never voted for him but did like him personally and he loved FDR's "Fala" speech.
Something that always confuses me is the people who decry America for dropping the A-bombs on Japan, the fact is that if America hadn’t dropped them more people on all sides would have died bringing the war to an end than were killed by both bombs. It was a very brave and hard decision, but in the end the right one, and if FDR had still been alive he would have given the order to deploy them.
Dj Phantom ....I agree. If the allies had invaded, Japanese civilians would have died. At least as many by the bombs. However, Truman was the president of the US. His job was to help the American people, not the people that started the war. Only one bomb needed to dropped. The US asked the Japanese to surrender or another bomb would be dropped. They refused. That second bomb was on them. When threatened with a third bomb, they also refused until told the target was Tokyo. Then, they surrendered. Yes, the bomb was awful but so was Dresden, Pearl Harbor, the Blitz etc. It was a terrible war and it had to end. At least the Japanese saved the people of Tokyo (which was the seat of government so the leaders really were just saving themselves). The bomb is complicated and is not just “that was an awful thing to do”. Yes it was but there were only a few options. The bomb would actually cost fewer casualties (on both sides) than an invasion. Those were really the only options. The bomb was designed for Germany but the war ended before it was needed. So, it went to use in the Pacific.
Yes, Roosevelt was tuly a great leader & He was very determined to make this country a great country to be proud of & This documentary helps us remember our history to not forget our soldiers & families that have lost ones... God bless America !!!
Stunningly beautiful video document in terms of visual quality and robust content. F D R was a leader in every sense of the word, a leader for the ages.
@@dknowles60 So who won the war? What country came out of this stupidity as a superpower? Whose side were you on? Are you another BOT? I'll be glad when BOTS are totally exposed so we can have the option of 'blocking all BOTS' from the web responses.
@@dknowles60 BOT city ... Good night John-Boy. And don't worry about answering any of my questions, your programmer-boy-code-writer, is not capable of writing code that allows you to do anything more than spitting back simple sentences with bad grammar.
There is no denying Pres. & Mrs. Roosevelt were both strong, determined & devoted leaders during a time when these qualities were desperately needed. We can only pray for that kind of leadership in all government offices. However, the only one responsible for FDR's "loneliness" was FDR.
You can't help but compare a great president, who led through the throws of a great depression and a terrible world war, to what we have now... and just die a little inside
Sure I can. One was a socialist who cared about nothing other than keeping power, and our current President like him or not ran only because he believed the country needed leadership. Trump didn’t need to be President, we needed him. But don’t worry snowflakes, we’ll drag you kicking and screaming with us into the record breaking prosperity.
Peter Webb unlikely the US has only a singular reason on how it got out. The New deal was not meant for complete recovery just pragmatic moves keeping the nation from going to flames. On that it succeeded but I argue it setup the nation for success, though later in his presidency FOR abandoned pragmatism in domestic affairs and went full taxocrat for the coming war. Also the post war boom with the New Deal regulations insured the post-war years were the greatest economic era in US history.
Empires decay from within, to test an empire that can still fight will reinvigorate it. To find it when it is weak, you’ve got a rare and tasty opportunity
nice history video showing how much Mr President was Clever and his attitudes were in correct times for economic & political useful for future of USA before every other considers
buck teeth can be fixed. FDR had both a strong mother and a strong wife to back him, as well as mistresses. As his sons grew into adults, he leaned on them when walking. With venom, he refused secret service protection for President Hoover while taking Hoover’s recovery plans as his own, denied promotion to General “Hap” Arnold and access to the air force program for Charles Lindbergh, yet fell prey to Stalin’s flattery. We won WWII - and he gave it away at Yalta. He took this country into socialism when he started his “social and economic experiments.” The Supreme Court denounced his National Industrial Recovery Act as unconstitutional. Only as he replaced the members of the court was he able to create the huge government we still have today.
There is no doubting that FDR was the true power in the “big threes “ role as wartime leaders, but I bet if you asked any British person who knows anything about WWII who the best leader was they will undoubtedly say Churchill, as would any American say FDR, but I wonder what a Russian would say, Stalin? In my opinion I think there would be quite a few who wouldn’t, given the way “uncle Joe” purged his military and scientific elite, add in the way the communists, on Stalins orders, just used their military as cannon fodder, I don’t think he is held in any great esteem by today’s average Russian. If anything I think both FDR and Churchill had to be the consummate politicians just to keep Stalin in check. No matter what we all should respect the wartime allied leaders for the statesmanship they showed in keeping the war going in the right direction. In my opinion the only “mistake” FDR made was his handling of the dispute between Churchill and Stalin over the division of Europe after the war, Churchill knew that Stalin, given an inch would take a mile, as was proved in the Cold War years. FDR perhaps gave Stalin to much leeway, but with the stakes so high he did the best he could. Not to be flippant,but America seems to have a bad habit of loosing their best presidents at the wrong time, Lincoln, Kennedy and FDR, it’s a pity the same can’t be said of the bad ones. A really interesting and informative film, thanks for sharing. 👍.
At the end of FDR’s first term, he had a firm grasp on his intentions to shape the country’s social and economic future. His Secretary of the Treasury. Carter Glass resigned in protest the Supreme Court declared his NIRA unConstitutional. FDR fought back, determined to raise the number of justices to 15, as appointed by him. Congress refused to approve. FDR’s New deal programs resulted in the massive federal bureaucracy we have today. He was a dying man by the meeting at Yalta. We won the war and lost the peace.
Is there an option to watch with subtitles in english? My father is 87 and would need some help to catch every word, because every word is important! Thank you for uploading, and thanks to youtube for all of us who have no pay-TV!
Even though he was in a wheel chair he accomplished what no other president has so far. and through all this years stills FDR is the most famous president of the USA.
To Francesca Sakellardi, Go settings on RU-vid, originally in english. may have to fiddle a bit if you are in a non english speaking country, but should be able to. Only time have not been able to was a few times when a non english movie but a lot are auto generated.
Rosevelt was elected four consecutive times. After him the law changed and permits each USA president to be elected only for two consecutive times. This law was adopted by the Russia too after the fall of Soviet Union. However Putin changed the duration of presidency from four years to six. That it is not rare. France until Sarkozy was electing presidents every seven years. Also the duration of presidency in UK was recently changed from four to five years. The Greek president is elected for five years too but he is powerless in comparison to the Greek prime minister who is elected every four years.
It is interesting to consider, in general, how many momentous decisions have been made throughout history by old, ailing men, and all the effects those decisions have had upon our world today.
What a great story... Almost unbelievable a man could overcome this disability and lead the world to a better place. He is one of our top 3 presidents of all time for sure... FDR, a great man, needed at low point in American and world times, and he delivered. Like it or not but this man greatly shaped the world we live in today.
@@yao052 True, his administrator broke several laws in the Iran Contra affair. Plus he died of altimizers shortly after leaving office and if you know anything on this disease, he was clueless about each previous day he was in office.
That is what a lot of daughter's do,look after their father's. We Dad's respect,and ❤ our daughter, and they will always be there for us. This was a wonderful story
FDR would not have appreciated being called "the wheelchair president". He preferred not to discuss or draw attention to his disability. I realize that now some people admire him for achieving so much while dealing with a severe disability. I certainly admire him for that. But mostly I admire him for the great work he did for the American people and for the people of the whole world. I believe that is how he would prefer to be remembered, not as a "wheelchair president".
omg I'm such an idiot. 1:14 I thought they were driving past the soldiers in the back and that they were on some platform connected to the car, having an introduction with the president as they were driving lol XD
Madam; period protocol; side boards were mounted for the secret service agents to stand, as shields, to protect the Principle. A side note, this protocol was waived which enabled the assassination of Kennedy. Thank-you for the comment. :-)
He wasn't dressed in girl's clothes, all little boys in upper class families were dressed in skirts. My Great Grandmother was born at the end of the 19th century and her baby brother wore skirts when he was small as well. They would wear skirts as until around five or six years, then short pants (shorts basically) until they were nearly hitting puberty, then they would switch to pants. It was the way it was done.
Jen Nelson ...I think they wore dresses or skirts until they were toilet trained and a bit after. Then went into shorts or short pants (depending on the weather) or knickers (knee breeches) and then into long pants around the time of puberty. If you look at the pictures of the funeral of Bobby Franks in Chicago, some boys are in traditional long pants and some smaller boys are in knickers (knee pants). I thought this must be about the time boys switched to traditional men’s clothing and some boys parents thought they were not ready to wear long pants while others thought they were.
FDR might have been a Socialist but he knew how to lead. I don’t agree with many of his policies but he is definitely one of the very few politicians that actually cared about the American people and did what he thought was in their best interest. We had a chance in 2016 to elect another politician like that. Just because Jeb’s last name was Bush he had no chance. He is nothing like W and is very intelligent. I lived in Florida when he was Governor and he did what he thought was best for the people. Not what a bunch of lobbyists told him to. He didn’t always make the right choice but he made the choice he thought would be best for the most people. I wish he was in the White House today. Instead we have a bumbling buffoon who says he is a Republican that couldn’t lead a Girl Scout troop’s cookie sale at the local Walmart. The Democrats are making the same mistake running all those candidates. The good ones are going to split the majority vote and Bernie Sanders is going to win the nomination because all of the crackpots will band together and vote for him. Then we will be forced to choose between a lying buffoon or a socialist that will finally bankrupt America. Ugh we are doomed.
Firstly, Bernie Sanders is the closest person to FDR we've had run in a long time. Secondly, if you seriously considered Jeb to be fit for president even after all of his gaffs and mishaps, I have to question your intelligence. Please clap....
it is a part of the president's duty to meet greet and salute soldiers especially in wartime. F D Roosevelt often would visit returning wounded soldiers in hospital; he did this all nonchalant in his regular wheel chair; on their same level eye to eye. People knew if they wanted to know, alas that was a different America. When he died and they show the crowds in mourning the faces are male & female, young & old, black & white, dapper & shabby...
There were many Americans who realized Roosevelt couldn't walk. Also, eleanor roosevelt was not frail. She was a tough woman. As a person with a disability, I find this English historian's phrase America's wheelchair president -- to be insulting.
