The Great depression was a time of great need and hardships for American citizens all over the United States. America was in great need of a leader, someone who could make this dreadful process easier, and Franklin Roosevelt rose to the occasion. During Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address in 1933 and his 1944 State of the Union Address, emerged as the great American leader everyone was in desperate need of. He would take the blame off the American people as well as provide them with goals and a very achievable image of America in the close future.
In his1933 Inaugural Address, Roosevelt made it his goal to encourage Americans as they faced many great challenges during the Great Depression. Roosevelt, as well as all Americans, knew they were in a struggle but Roosevelt prevented their moral from getting any worse. Roosevelt states “ let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…”(Roosevelt 1933) and ensures the citizens “Yet our distress comes from no failure of substances.”(Roosevelt 1933). Roosevelt never blamed the American people for the depression, and did not want the American citizens to blame themselves for what happen. He also encouraged Americans to keep their heads up and do not fear the outcome of the situation.
Roosevelt truly emerged as a leader during his 1933 speech. He took on the responsibility of getting America back on its feet. Roosevelt said,” Happiness lies not only in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement. In the thrill of creative efforts” (Roosevelt 1933). In this particular quote from his speech, Roosevelt gives hope to Americans by telling them that they still can be happy and when they overcome this great task, it will bring the...
... middle of paper ...
...ay not fully understand the purpose and hidden reason for doing so. All though some individuals may not have been completely on board at first, I believe that the longer Roosevelt talked and reinsured Americans their safety and successful outcomes post war, their questions were answered and accepted Roosevelt as a leader and his ideas.
I believe Roosevelt showed great leadership and comforted many fearful Americans in both his First Inaugural Address in 1933 and his 1944 State of the Union Address. All though both speeches were successful, I believe that his First Inaugural Speech in 1933 was the better of the two. In this speech, Roosevelt not only took the blame off the American people, comforted them, provided specific information on what the United Stated needed to make a successful change, and most importantly took control and leadership over America,
In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing great ruin to our country. The result, the Great Depression, was a time of hardship for everyone around the world. The economy in the US was lower than ever and people were suffering immensely. During these trying times, two presidents served- Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (F.D.R.) Both had different views on how the depression should be handled, with Hoover believing that the people could solve the issue themselves with no government involvement, and with F.D.R. believing that the government should work for their people in such difficult times.
The stock market crash of 1929 set in motion a chain of events that would plunge the United States into a deep depression. The Great Depression of the 1930's spelled the end of an era of economic prosperity during the 1920's. Herbert Hoover was the unlucky president to preside over this economic downturn, and he bore the brunt of the blame for the depression. Hoover believed the root cause of the depression was international, and he therefore believed that restoring the gold standard would ultimately drag the United States out of depression by reviving international trade. Hoover initiated many new domestic works programs aimed at creating jobs, but it seemed to have no effect as the unemployment rate continued to rise. The Democrats nominated Franklin Roosevelt as their candidate for president in 1932 against the incumbent Hoover. Roosevelt was elected in a landslide victory in part due to his platform called "The New Deal". This campaign platform was never fully explained by Roosevelt prior to his election, but it appealed to the American people as something new and different from anything Hoover was doing to ameliorate the problem. The Roosevelt administration's response to the Great Depression served to remedy some of the temporary employment problems, while drastically changing the role of the government, but failed to return the American economy to the levels of prosperity enjoyed during the 1920's.
Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Despite an attack of poliomyelitis, which paralyzed his legs in 1921, he was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the American people during the strains of economic crisis and world war.
Roosevelt is saying many things in this speech, first and foremost he is re-enforcing the message that there is nothing to fear but fear itself as is shown when he says "It is possible that when the banks resume a very few people who have not recovered from their fear may again begin withdrawals It needs no prophet to tell you that when the people find that they can get their money -- that they can get it when they want it for all legitimate purposes -- the phantom of fear will soon be laid," this was a very powerful message of Roosevelt's as he seemed to believe that the fear of people, once the initial market crash had taken place, had only compounded the problem. Another thing he is saying, and this is the overall point of the message, is that peoples confidence is essential to the recovery of the banking system, shown when he says "After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan."
Roosevelt’s inaugural address focused on the current situation of the nation and he intended to declare war on the Great Depression. He stated a need to move as a nation through his leadership and become a better nation. Roosevelt took a strong stand and proclaimed, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He looks to the future asking the nation to fulfill their “true destiny” of ministering to themselves and their fellow men.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once asserted “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” in belief for a change, for a better nation, and for guidance to those who have lost all faith in humanity. During the Great Depression, the United States faced many different scenarios in which it caused people to doubt and question the “American Dream.” The Great Depression began in 1929 and ended in 1939. In these ten years, people went through unemployment, poverty, banks failed and people lost hope. President Herbert Hoover thought it wasn’t his responsibility to try and fix such issues in the nation.
Theodor Roosevelt, our 26th president, was a gruff politician who had a huge impact on America. He is known for his accomplishments in the political, social, and business world during the Progressive Era. His accomplishments helped shape America, and because of this influence, he is one of the faces found on Mount Rushmore.
President Franklin Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. He created economic stability when the United States was suffering through the Great Depression. In his first three months of office, known as the Hundred Days, Roosevelt took immediate action to help the struggling nation.1 "In a period of massive unemployment, a collapsed stock market, thousands of banks closing for lack of liquidity, and agricultural prices fallen below the cost of production," Roosevelt passed a series of relief measures.2 These relief measures, known as the New Deal, provided help for individuals and businesses to prevent bankruptcy. Also, the New Deal is responsible for social security, welfare, and national parks. A further reason why Roosevelt is considered a great president is because he was a good role model for being determined in his...
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed the Presidency on March 4, 1933, he gained leadership of a deeply isolationist country struggling to survive a depression and yearning for change. When Roosevelt died twelve years and one month later, he had lifted the United States to world power status, provided recovery from economic depression, incorporated rhetoric as a means to reach the masses, and expanded the powers of the Presidency. In short, FDR had created the Modern Presidency. Through his New Deal Programs, his ability to increase the United States’ worldwide influence, his Fireside Chats, and his expansion of Presidential powers, Roosevelt became the first Modern President and established the precedent all future presidents were to follow.
In his speech, he stated how he would continue his New Deal program that he started in 1933. He states how one hundred and fifty years ago from the day he made his speech, the Constitutional Convention was made, creating the nation we see today. He believes that the Constitution of 1787 “did not make our democracy impotent.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Roosevelt’s powerful part of the speech is when he talks about how America is still climbing out of the depression but is making progress.
Through his many programs designed to help the economy, laborers, and all people lacking civil rights, President Roosevelt did not put an end to the Great Depression. However, he did adapt the federal government to a newly realized role of protector for the people. Perhaps Roosevelt’s greatest blunders occurred in his attempts to fix the economy. The Nation claimed that “some [of his programs] assisted and some retarded the recovery of industrial activity.” They went so far as to say that “six billion dollars was added to the national debt.”
In his speech, he begins it by saying that everything that is troubling the economy is material. Roosevelt wants to decrease the number of industrial workers and increase the number of agricultural farmers because the more that is produced, the more revenue coming into the economy. He then goes on to explain how he wants to employ a “strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments…”Roosevelt wanted to insure that the people’s money would be protected and given back to them in their entirety if another stock market crash would take place. Throughout the entire speech, Roosevelt kept saying how America should act quickly and to not give up. He reiterated that over and over again so that the people would know that Roosevelt is serious about fixing the economy. He was not giving America a false hope, he was talking about getting things done. He also said that if Congress would not work to fix this crisis in a timely manner, then he would have “broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency…” He compares the current crisis to war with foreign enemies, declaring the nation in a state of
Therefore, the main success of this speech is his presidency that will live on forever. Whenever a conversation is started about politics in general, it’s not a surprise to hear “I wish there was a candidate similar to Franklin Roosevelt”. The last thing that Roosevelt said in his speech was, “While this duty rests upon me I shall do my utmost to speak their purpose and to do their will, seeking Divine guidance to help us each and every one to give light to them that sit in darkness and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (“One Third of a Nation.”). Just that one quote could explain to someone what he based his entire presidencies around, the American people and their
Franklin D. Roosevelt is probably the greatest the United States of America ever had because of his ability to overcome the challenges of the Great Depression that plagued America when he took office and the Second World War. Roosevelt's personality and achievements, during one of the worst times of American and the world history, are witnesses to this fact.
President Roosevelt brought the executive branch of the government into power like never before. He is hated to this day by many people. But for the majority of the country during one of our toughest times, he was what we needed. Without consulting history acknowledging that, it’s impossible to judge what he did very negatively. The old ways weren’t working, and while President Hoover tried to do something, it wasn’t enough. President Roosevelt was more successful with the actions he took for relief during the Great Depression.