Here is the full transcript of President Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration speech titled “The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself” which was delivered on Saturday, March 4, 1933.
In this first inauguration speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he addresses the pressing economic crisis of the time, known as the Great Depression. Roosevelt calls for radical measures such as relief efforts, national planning, and bank regulation to address issues such as unemployment, small home and farm foreclosures, loss of capital, and market failure. Roosevelt emphasizes the urgent need for immediate and decisive action to set the country on a path towards recovery. He also stresses the importance of discipline, sacrifice, commitment to leadership for the greater good, and unity to achieve this goal.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Introducing Speaker: We begin with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first inauguration.
Chief Justice Charles Hughes: You, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, do solemnly swear that you will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will, to the best of your ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help you God.
Franklin D. Roosevelt – 32nd U.S. President
I, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God.
President Hoover, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends, this is a day of national consecration, and I am certain that on this day my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels.
This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive, and will prosper. So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself: nameless, unreasoning, unjustifiedterror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.
In such a spirit on my part and on yours, we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunk to fantastic levels, taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side, farmers find no market for their produce, and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. And yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for.
Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily, this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s good have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
True, they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exploitation, pleading carefully for restored confidence. They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision, the people perish.
Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truth. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values, more noble than mere monetary profit.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money. It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort, the joy in the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profit. These dark days, my friends, will be worthwhile later if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto, but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.
Recognition of that falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political positions are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profits. And there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of chalice and selfish wrongdoing.
Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live. Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone.
This nation is asking for action, and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources.
Hand in hand with that, we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers, and by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land.
Yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms.
It can be helped by insistence that the federal, the state, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their costs be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal. It can be helped by national planning for, and supervision of, all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character.
There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it. We must act. We must act quickly. And finally, in our progress towards a resumption of work, we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order. There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credit and investment. There must be an end to speculation with other people’s money. And there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.
These, my friends, are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress, in special session, detailed measures for their fulfillment. And I shall seek the immediate assistance of the 48 states. Through this program of action, we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo.
Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor, as a practical policy, the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment. But the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.
The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence as a first consideration upon the interdependence of the various elements in and parts of the United States of America. A recognition of the old and prominently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that recovery will endure.
In the field of world policy, I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor. The neighbor who resolutely respects himself and because he does so, respects the rights of others. The neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.
If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other that we cannot merely take, but we must give as well. But if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline.
Because without such discipline, no progress can be made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and our property to such discipline because it makes possible a leadership which aims at the larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us, bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in times of armed strife. With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.
Action in this image, action to this end, is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple, so practical, that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has ever seen. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.
And it is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly equal, wholly adequate, to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for a temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.
I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures, as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek within my constitutional authority to bring to speedy adoption.
But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two causes, in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis, broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign force.
For the trust proposed in me, I will return the courage and the devotion that beset the times. I can do no less. We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values. With the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike, we aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life.
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need, they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift, I take it.
In this dedication of a nation, we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.
SUMMARY OF THIS SPEECH:
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural speech, delivered on March 4, 1933, amidst the Great Depression, is renowned for its powerful and reassuring message. Here are the key takeaways from his address:
Confronting Fear and Uncertainty: Roosevelt famously declared, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He emphasized that fear is a paralyzing force that hinders progress and recovery. His message was to confront fear with boldness and determination.
Acknowledgment of Economic Hardships: Roosevelt candidly recognized the severe economic challenges of the time, including high unemployment, failing industries, and the collapse of the banking system. He did not shy away from detailing the grim reality of the nation’s situation.
Critique of Financial Practices: He criticized the financial leaders and the practices of the era, particularly the “money changers” who he accused of incompetence and selfishness. Roosevelt saw their failure as a significant contributor to the economic crisis.
Call for Ethical and Social Values: Roosevelt stressed the importance of social values over mere monetary profit. He argued for a shift in the nation’s moral compass, away from material wealth as the standard of success and towards a more ethical and community-oriented perspective.
Urgency for Action: He conveyed a sense of urgency and the need for immediate action to address the crisis. Roosevelt compared the situation to a war, suggesting it required a similar level of national mobilization and effort.
Employment as a Priority: A key focus of his plan was to put Americans back to work. He proposed government intervention and direct recruitment to tackle unemployment and initiate important projects.
Agricultural and Industrial Balance: Roosevelt highlighted the need to balance the population in industrial centers and agricultural areas. He suggested redistribution and efforts to raise the value of agricultural products to stimulate both rural and urban economies.
Reduction of Government Costs: He called for a reduction in government expenses at federal, state, and local levels, emphasizing the need for efficient and economical government operations.
Banking and Financial Reforms: Roosevelt insisted on strict supervision of banking, credit, and investments, along with an end to irresponsible speculation and the establishment of a sound currency system.
National Recovery Plan: He outlined a comprehensive plan for national recovery, which included a balance of domestic and international trade, and a focus on national economic stability before international economic relations.
Constitutional Flexibility: Roosevelt expressed his belief in the flexibility of the U.S. Constitution to meet extraordinary needs, suggesting that it could adapt to current challenges without losing its essential form.
Potential for Expanded Executive Power: He prepared the nation for the possibility of expanded executive power, should Congress fail to act effectively in addressing the crisis.
Commitment to Democracy and National Unity: Throughout his speech, Roosevelt reaffirmed his commitment to democracy and called for national unity and discipline in facing the challenges ahead.
Appeal for Divine Guidance: Finally, Roosevelt concluded with a humble request for God’s blessing and guidance for himself and the nation.
This speech set the tone for Roosevelt’s presidency, marked by bold actions and significant reforms known as the New Deal, aimed at recovering and reshaping the American economy and society.