Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Inauguration
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and President Herbert Hoover on their way to the U.S. Capitol Building for FDR's inauguration.
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt had to wear leg braces and use a cane & braces or a wheelchair (due to having contracted polio as an adult - or perhaps, it is now thought, Guillain-Barre syndrome ), I think they have a blanket over their laps not because of the cold but because it covered FDR's legs and braces.
Throughout his presidency, FDR was never publicly photographed, or seen, in his wheelchair or braces. Because of the Depression and WW II, which both occurred during his presidency, it was considered a public boost to see him as "virile". Such were the times.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt had to wear leg braces and use a cane & braces or a wheelchair (due to having contracted polio as an adult - or perhaps, it is now thought, Guillain-Barre syndrome ), I think they have a blanket over their laps not because of the cold but because it covered FDR's legs and braces.
Throughout his presidency, FDR was never publicly photographed, or seen, in his wheelchair or braces. Because of the Depression and WW II, which both occurred during his presidency, it was considered a public boost to see him as "virile". Such were the times.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Date & Place:
in Washington DC, District Of Columbia USA