LAD/Blog #34: FDR's First Inaugural

 FDR became president during a very pressing part of US history. During his inauguration speech, the first thing he did was to reassure the Nation that together they would be able to recover, and that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".  By identifying the issue that was on everyone's mind and addressing it, he established himself as a leader for the people. He assured that the issues being faced were mostly material ones, and that money is not the sole proprietor of happiness. He then went to criticize the greediness that caused the crash in the first place, and went on to explain how he would fix the Depression and make sure that it doesn't happen again. He acknowledges the high unemployment and its role in the economic slump. He explains that the way to fix it would be expanding the legislative and judicial branches of government and expanding the role of the Federal government, in an effort to pick up where the progressive presidents left off. He also spoke about his vision for foreign policy through the "good neighbor policy",  which meant supporting weaker neighbors and reestablishing a global market.

The Obama Inauguration reminded me of FDR's Inauguration since when Obama came into office he entered in the midst of the war in the Middle East and the economic down slump which we know today as the Great Recession. During Obama's presidency many economic reforms were made by the government, and the government had to intervene and keep many companies alive to prevent economic disaster, just like FDR


FDR Inauguration