Name: 美國殘疾總統[CC] (The Disabled President of the United States [CC])
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T10:57:33.000Z
Duration: 18 min 19 s
Description: 【看影片學英語】數萬部 YouTube 影片，搭配英漢字典即點即查，輕鬆掌握單字發音與用法，長久累積看電影不必再看字幕。

In today's video: can a disabled person become president of the United States of America?

And how many disabled presidents have there already been?

If you love learning more about the history you weren't taught in school

Then I suggest you subscribe to me and check out my 'historical profiles' playlist

where you'll find lots more videos like this one.

In 2001, when George W Bush became president, many people asked whether he might have a

learning disability like dyslexia due to his frequent mispronunciations and malapropisms.

, resulting in nonsensical- and likely humorous- speech. They often occur as errors in natural

speech and are more common in people who have dyslexia or similar conditions where the brain

is wired slightly differently to the norm.

The name comes from the character “Mrs Malaprop” in the 1775 play The Rivals by Richard Brinsley

Sheridan. Mrs Malaprop constantly misspeaks to comic effect by using words which don't

have the meaning she intends but sound similar to the one she's reaching for. Her name

is a reference to the word malapropos, an adjective or adverb meaning “inappropriate”

or “inappropriately”, derived from the French phrase 'mal a propos'

- yes, that WAS my attempt at a French accent.

- And I will play that card whenever I need to

Whilst Bush never confirmed his having dyslexia, and in fact actively denied it, this isn't

very surprising. Yes, we now live in a time when a disability, either visual or invisible,

can be identified and diagnosed properly, but this wouldn't be the first time a president

has hidden having one. Not that I'm saying he actually does have dyslexia.

- Public Service Announcement: do not make assumptions about people's medical records

Information on the Presidents I'm talking about here has been released to the public

either during or after their term. It's more than just speculating to your friends

about that kid at school you're not very keen on.

Look at that, a winding path I led you down just for a PSA.

And so I can gossip about dead Presidents.

Most people think of Franklin D. Roosevelt when the term 'disabled president' comes

up but there have actually been a long line of Presidents with a variety of disabilities,

- and they're obviously all men. just saying.

For the majority of these men, publicly acknowledging their disability during their lifetime was

discouraged but I think it's important that we celebrate them today, to show that being

disabled doesn't make you lesser and it doesn't stop you from achieving or leading.

Indeed the very first president of the United States of America, George Washington, struggled

with what would likely today be diagnosed as a form of dyslexia. He struggled with spelling

and grammar and taught himself to correct the problem to a degree. But it didn't stop

him from being the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary

War and clearly no one cared about stupid old spellings when he was unanimously elected

I mean that certainly makes my little dyslexic heart happy!

Other Presidents believed to have dyslexia were:

Thomas Jefferson, who also had a stutter, a personal library containing thousands of

books and authored the Declaration of Independence.

Woodrow Wilson, who could barely read by the age of 10 but was a great talker and adept

in the art of debate, which led to him studying law, becoming president of Princeton University

and later the 28th President of the United States. He also suffered a stroke whilst in

office that left him partially paralyzed.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, who pushed past dyslexia to become a five-star general, President of

Columbia University and 34th President of the United States.

And John F. Kennedy. Who does not share my initials, even though people keep telling

JFK also had chronic back pain from an accident whilst he was at Harvard college. The injury

it left him with was so severe that it initially disqualified him from military service until

his father pulled some strings so he could join the navy reserve. He battled through

injury to be awarded the Purple Heart and the World War II Victory Medal. Serving in

both the House of Representatives and the Senate-

- which, can't lie, as a Brit, I'm still a little bit fuzzy on what the difference

is there… please explain like I'm a child.

He became the 35th President of the United States in 1960.

It wasn't just learning difficulties like dyslexia that presidents dealt with however,

40th President Ronald Reagan was incredibly nearsighted to the extent that he always had

to sit in the front row of classrooms. He chose not to correct it however and instead

when giving speeches wore a contact lens in just one eye so he could observe audience

reactions whilst reading his notes with other other eye.

I imagine not at the same time. Still genius!

He also wore a hearing aid due to an accident on set as a young actor when someone let a

Bill Clinton also wore a hearing aid as he dealt with a high-frequency hearing loss.

It didn't stop him becoming 42nd President of the United States OR playing saxophone.

In earlier times, James Madison, who proposed the first twelve amendments of the Constitution,

became the 4th President and was so bright he completed college in just two years, dealt

with epilepsy his entire life. Did that stop him? No.

Even very famous President Abraham Lincoln

(look Americans, there are only a handful of your Presidents the rest of the world can

dealt with a health condition. It is believed he suffered from Marfan Syndrome, which is

a genetic disorder of the connective tissues so yay some representation for my connective

tissue issue chums! Lincoln also battled depression so severe it caused incapacitating physical

ailments. But it didn't stop him being a lawyer, a member of the House of Representatives

and President during the American Civil War.

Illnesses can inspire Presidents, as Theodore Roosevelt proved: he was nearsighted and experienced

severe bronchial asthma as a child that stunted his physical growth. He used this to spur

himself on and lived a strenuous life, enjoying nature and serving as lieutenant colonel of

the Rough Rider Regiment (which is nice to say) during the Spanish-American War and,

obviously, later becoming President of the United States. This physically punishing lifestyle

wasn't always a great idea however as during a boxing match he detached a retina which

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美國殘疾總統[CC] (The Disabled President of the United States [CC])

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