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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)
The Dying President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States,
was elected to an unprecedented third term in 1940. It was during
the end of this term that FDR's health began to decline. The strain
of leading the country through World War II had begun to take its
toll. Exhausted from a summit in Teheran with Winston Churchill
and Josef Stalin at the end of 1943, FDR's health began to deteriorate
rapidly after his return. Months passed and the President did not
bounce back. He lost weight, his face thinned, and he suffered shortness
of breath. At first, FDR's personal physician, Vice Admiral Ross
T. McIntire diagnosed the President's problem as the "flu" and bronchitis.
Not satisfied with the diagnosis, FDR's family wanted a second
opinion. Dr. McIntire arranged to have the President examined at
Bethesda naval Hospital in March 1944 by Dr. Howard G. Bruenn. Dr.
Bruenn, a cardiologist, found that FDR was suffering from hypertension,
heart disease, left ventricular cardiac failure, and bronchitis.
He recommended that FDR be given digitalis, put on a diet, and have
bed rest. No one told the President of his serious condition, and
he never asked.
FDR decided to run for a fourth term in 1944. No one made a serious
attempt to persuade the President not to run or inform him of his
health problems. While those who saw the President were shocked
at his appearance, FDR's spokesmen assured them that there was nothing
to be concerned about. Less than a month before the election, Dr.
McIntire claimed that FDR's health was "perfectly OK." FDR was re-elected
in 1944, and soon thereafter attended a summit in Yalta with Churchill
and Stalin. It was a strenuous trip for the ailing FDR, but he appeared
to be alert.
Franklin D. Roosevelt at Hyde Park in a Wheelchair
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This is one of only two known photographs
of FDR in a wheelchair. FDR contracted polio in 1921. Few
Americans were ever aware of FDR's disability. This was due
in large part to the cooperation of members of the press,
who almost always photographed him from the waist up. FDR
insisted on this policy when he re-entered politics after
his bout with polio, and it was continued during his presidency.
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When he ran for a fourth term in 1944, FDR chose Senator Harry
Truman of Missouri as his Vice President. Their lunch gave the two
men a chance to meet and discuss the presidential campaign. Truman
was deeply concerned about FDR's unhealthy appearance.
FDR's blood pressure during 1944 reached dangerously high levels.
In the wake of the President's examination at Bethesda Naval Hospital
in March of that year, FDR's blood pressure was monitored closely.
This chart shows that his blood pressure remained very high for
the month of April 1944.
One of Dr. Bruenn's 1944 recommendations for FDR's health was bed
rest. Here we see that FDR was supposed to take brief naps during
the day and get 10 hours of sleep each night. When Dr. Bruenn recommended
this regimen FDR's physician, Dr. McIntire, replied "You can't do
that. He's the President of the United States."
As the result of polio, FDR could neither stand nor walk without
leg braces. When he did walk, FDR had to be supported by another
person, usually one of his sons. When he reported to Congress on
the Yalta conference on 1 march 1945, FDR made what was perhaps
his only public reference to his braces. Apologizing for sitting
down during his address, FDR stated that he was carrying around
10 pounds of steel.
Americans did not realize that they had re-elected a dying president.
Dr. McIntire was selected as Roosevelt's personal physician at the
recommendation of Dr. Cary D. Grayson, who had been President Woodrow
Wilson's personal doctor. An eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist,
Dr. McIntire appeared to have been chosen because FDR suffered from
chronic sinus trouble. Shortly after FDR's death, Dr. McIntire wrote
(contrary to fact) that FDR's blood pressure and heart signs had
been normal. Dr. McIntire has been accused by historians of destroying
FDR's medical records to hide his misdiagnosis and mismanagement
of the President's case.
FDR Working at Warm Springs, GA
March 30
- April 12, 1945
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To escape the pressure of Washington, FDR
often vacationed at the "Little White House", a cottage in
Warm Springs, Georgia. FDR went to the cottage on 29 March
1945 for a brief stay. This picture was taken shortly before
his death. |
FDR at Warm Springs, GA, the Day Before His
Death
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This was the last photograph taken of FDR.
The next day the President, while working at his desk, complained
of a "terrific pain" in the back of his head. The pain was
a stroke. FDR died at 3:35 p.m. |
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