A memorial honors the memory of an exceptional person. Architect Halprin Lawrence has designed an impressive landscape which denotes the life achievements of President Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a very popular presidential memorial found in Washington D.C. Franklin Delano was the united state's 32nd president who occupied the office during the worst time ever in the history of United States. He successfully steered the nation out of World War II and the great depression. During World War II, Franklin Delano was the chief commander in spite of the nation's economic ruin. He was in office for twelve years from 1933 to 1945. No other US president has ever served such a long term. His memorial is a mark of respect to all Americans especially those who suffered, and eventually succeeded during that period (Kinderkall 839).
It is found near the national mall along the cherry tree walk that is very famous. After visiting the memorial, I got very surprised since it is totally unlike other memorials. This is because it extends to the tidal basin and has four outdoor rooms that represent each term of President Roosevelt in office. The rooms are connected together by hallways made of granite and have waterfalls and pools. Moreover, designed pictures and sculptures are seen as well as bronze sculptures. Many inspirational quotes are found in this monument and they mark the significance of this period.
Each of the rooms has a waterfall that gets bigger and bigger as one makes progress. This strongly symbolizes the manner in which stress and depression increased throughout Roosevelt's tenure. The waterfalls depict: a collision between the economy and the great depression, the Second World War and the death of Roosevelt. In the first room there is a quote that says "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people" (Braeman 77). This message deeply portrays Roosevelt's undying patriotism. He was confident and hopeful in assisting the American citizens because there were so many problems during that period. They included unemployment and a drought that led to famine. In spite of all these trying situations, he never relented in strength and he actively devised plans to turn the economy around.
The second room has a quote that says "the only thing that we have to fear, is fear itself" (Braeman 77). This quote shows a contrast between hardships and persistence. Hope has been demonstrated with a statue of a man paying attention to FDR's fire-side chats on the radio. Hopefulness in the fireside chat is contradicted by sculptures portraying a rural Appalachian couple. The couple depicts despair while people lined in a breadline depict hunger. The wall paintings represent people working and eventually overcoming all these problems. Hope continues to be displayed in the third room because the room relates to the entry of U.S in the Second World War. When the American citizens were struggling to overcome their problems, they were forced into a world war. There are so many rocks made of granite in the hall way that continually serve as a reminder that violence is destructive.
The fourth term was his last one as a president. So, the forth room represents his death and bequest. There is a sculpted relief that demonstrates his funeral march, with a large group of people following his casket crying and mourning. Besides, in the fourth room, there is a bronze sculpture of his wife who was called Eleanor Roosevelt. She was put there to respect her role as one of the delegates in the UN. Basically, it is a unique presidential memorial that also appreciates the role of a first lady.
One aspect of the memorial that relates to the new deal is optimism of better times. This is because the New Deal was passed to give hope to the unemployed, and those who feared that they might lose their farms. It also encouraged the citizens on the recovery of both agriculture and businesses. That is the same way the memorial gives hopes to the citizens especially through the quotes and sculptures. The New Deal also encouraged the citizens that the economy would transform in spite of the hard times. Later the optimism was broken because this was the period when the country plunged into the world war.
Despite all these tribulations, Roosevelt still continued to instill a sense of hope in the citizens. The New Deal mainly focuses on 3RS, that is, relief, recovery and reform or change. This relates to the writings on the wall of the forth room in the memorial that states "Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship; Freedom of want; Freedom from fear (Kinderkall 847). The latter represents the summary of Roosevelt during his tenure.
The New Deal's main goal was to apply just enough change that would revive the American economy. Roosevelt got encouragement words from British conservative, Edmund Burk, who told him "reform to preserve" (Biles 226). This relates to the writings on the fourth wall that delve into the concept of freedom. The overall implication is that change must be enacted to properly effect liberalization. The New Deal also changed the wealth tax act because it did not burden the rich to pay taxes. These New Dealers were longing for change and asked the Democratic Party to make a new organization that fully demonstrated the rules of liberalism (Biles 227). They were not ready to tolerate conservative, unethical leaders. The New Deal achieved so many good things as its programs revolved around reform and liberty.
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