Living in Washington during the first 100 days of the Obama administration and studying the modern presidency, students in the Program in Washington have considered various comparisons with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On April 8, the legacy of FDR came to life with a visit to the FDR Memorial.
According to the National Park Service, the site "is a memorial not only to FDR, but also to the era he represents. The memorial traces 12 years of American History through a sequence of four outdoor rooms -- each one devoted to one of FDR's terms of office. Sculptures inspired by photographs depict the 32nd President: A 10-foot statue shows him in a wheeled chair; a bas-relief depicts him riding in a car during his first inaugural. At the very beginning of the memorial in a prologue room there is a statue with FDR seated in a wheelchair much like the one he actually used."
According to the National Park Service, the site "is a memorial not only to FDR, but also to the era he represents. The memorial traces 12 years of American History through a sequence of four outdoor rooms -- each one devoted to one of FDR's terms of office. Sculptures inspired by photographs depict the 32nd President: A 10-foot statue shows him in a wheeled chair; a bas-relief depicts him riding in a car during his first inaugural. At the very beginning of the memorial in a prologue room there is a statue with FDR seated in a wheelchair much like the one he actually used."
