Assignment Task:
On January 20, 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president sworn into office in January. It was his second of four inaugurations; the first had been held four years earlier on March 4, 1933. Roosevelt's first inauguration had been shadowed by the onset of the Great Depression. Roosevelt's second inaugural address was optimistic about the gains that had been made during his first administration, while acknowledging that much more was needed. This document, as much as any single document can, reminds us of what the New Deal was all about, what its relationship to the Great Depression of the 1930s was, and what its implications were for this society going forward. Although as much as any single document can reveal, it shows us what Franklin Roosevelt's deepest intentions were, what his highest priorities were, and what his agenda was in the period of the 1930s.
To continue, in his speech he shared his vision of the nation's potential and challenged Americans to continue in a united effort to address poverty. In contrast to the unpleasant economic landscape in 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, his second term began with a brighter outlook. In his January 20, 1937, inaugural address, Roosevelt commends Americans for their hard work over the past four years, but cautions that they must continue their efforts. Emboldened by his overwhelming electoral success, President Roosevelt insisted in his second inaugural address that the New Deal remained far from finished. Although he offered little in the way of specifics, he promised to devote his second term to helping the poor, in quote, "I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished" (14).
FDR spells out his first Presidential term achievements upon his second of four Presidential inaugurations, but concedes the incompleteness of his work. President Roosevelt says, "But here is the challenge to our democracy: In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens-a substantial part of its whole population-who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life" (9). FDR promises the American citizens his continued efforts, as they should continue to stand in support behind him. To add, he says, "Shall we pause now and turn our back upon the road that lies ahead? Shall we call this the promised land? Or, shall we continue on our way?" (7). To further support his purpose, he initially says "Our progress out of the Depression is obvious" (1). However, later on he says, "We have come far from the days of stagnation and despair" (8). More so, through his choice of language he is encouraging American Citizens that although there has been great success, society still needs to continue to stand united and understand more work needs to be done.