The Inaugural Speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt

After witnessing the historic inauguration of Barack Obama, I chose to focus on another historic inaugural speech.  The first and most famous that came to mind was the speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 4th, 1933.  This speech can be found in the link: www.hpol.org/fdr/inaug/ .

After reading the speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, I began to see how similar the struggles of 1933 were to present day.  The nation was both poor and tired with a struggling economy, but this did not stop FDR from delivering a speech that the nation of then and now needs to hear.  I was moved by the fact that one of the first lines in his speech spoke of having nothing to fear except fear itself.  This immediately got my attention and I am sure it got America’s attention in the horrible time of the Great Depression.  He repeatedly reassures people that he is working to fix America’s problem first besides worrying about anything else.  I also found that FDR did very well in laying out a plan and giving blame where blame was needed.  The people that hurt the nation were gone, and he was here to rescue it from the low of lows.

I believe that FDR and Obama were quite similar in the message they conveyed of change and reform on a national scale.  Also, both presidents have asked the people to change themselves and save the nation to which they belong.  This reassurance and calling is what people need to hear because we need to be active in our communities and many of us are not.  Change can not come about from one man or even the whole congress.  It takes all of America’s citizens to bring about real change.

Do you feel as though FDR and Obama were trying to convey a similar message?

If so, who do you think did a better job?

If FDR and Obama were campaigning against each other today, who would you cast your vote for based on their first speeches as president?