The Controversy
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Franklin D. Roosevelt with Fala and little Ruthie Bie at Top Cottage. February, 1941.

One aspect of Roosevelt's life that the sculptures do not reveal is that he could not walk or stand unaided. The omission of FDR's wheelchair, cane, and braces has provoked fierce debate. The leaders of people with disabilities, and many columnists and editorial writers have called for the redesign of one of the planned sculptures or the addition of a new one showing FDR in a wheelchair or using a cane. This debate has raised questions about whose wishes and needs should be observed in the making of memorials and what constitutes historical accuracy: Would Roosevelt be upset if the disability which he worked so hard to conceal was depicted in his memorial? Does it matter what FDR would think? Does it matter what his family wants? Would we be forcing present-day attitudes toward disability on the past--"rewriting history"--if FDR's disability were depicted in the memorial? Are the memorials for the living or the dead? Should they reflect the concerns of the generation which builds them or the concerns of the generation which they honor?