ABSTRACT
A rare combination of personalities and events converged at precisely the right moment in history to launch the successful crusade against crippling poliomyelitis. But more than prevention of polio was found in the process. Successful nationwide fund-raising patterns were developed that have been utilized by those battling cancer, heart disease, muscular dystrophy, and a host of other still unconquered diseases. High-pressure publicity and skilled organization methods are used to get millions of volunteers to solicit gifts from as many as 80 million Americans in a single drive. A blending of the talents and energies of shrewd, persuasive Carl Byoir, doughty, tough-minded Henry L. Doherty, super salesman Keith Morgan, and last but far from least, bold, thick-skinned Basil O’Connor in exploiting the magic name of Franklin D. Roosevelt built a National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis that “stood beyond all challenge as the most successful voluntary health organization on earth.”
