From the Museum – Infantile Paralysis Wishing Well

Infantile Paralysis Wishing Well (MO 1943.161.5) In 1921, at the age of 39, Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. For the rest of his life, FDR was committed to finding a way to rehabilitate himself as well as others afflicted with infantile paralysis. In 1934, Roosevelt began using the occasion … Continue reading From the Museum – Infantile Paralysis Wishing Well

From the Museum

Civilian Conservation Corps Ring (MO 1969.141) Franklin Roosevelt was deeply troubled by high unemployment rates among America’s youth during the Great Depression. Shortly after taking office in 1933, he personally devised the idea for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program to put young men aged 17-24 —many from urban areas—to work on conservation projects … Continue reading From the Museum

From the Museum

1933 Repeal of Prohibition Footed Glass Bowl  (MO 2009.19.6)   During his 1932 presidential campaign, FDR promised to end Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1921, prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors within the United States. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, a constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition was already making … Continue reading From the Museum