Quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt: “A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who has never learned to walk forward.”

This witty and critical definition uses a metaphor to describe conservatives as resistant to progress and change. It implies that while they possess the capacity for advancement, they choose to remain stagnant, hindering societal development. The quote reflects political frustration with opposition to reform.

Spoken during a campaign speech at the Democratic State Convention. Roosevelt was campaigning for re-election against strong conservative opposition to his New Deal programs, which aimed at significant social and economic reforms.

American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As a leader of the Democratic Party, he built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the U.S. throughout the middle third of the 20th century.