SECTION 1: FDR Offers Relief and Recovery
▼ Roosevelt campaign banner
WITNESS HISTORY 
AUDIO
Overcoming Fear
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s March 1933 inauguration came at a somber moment in American history. The U.S. economy had hit rock bottom. Many Americans wondered if they would ever find work again. With the first words of his Inaugural Address, FDR reassured the American people:
“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, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
Objectives
- Analyze the impact Franklin D. Roosevelt had on the American people after becoming President.
- Describe the programs that were part of the first New Deal and their immediate impact.
- Identify critical responses to the New Deal.
Terms and People
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- New Deal
- fireside chat
- FDIC
- TVA
- CCC
- NRA
- PWA
- Charles Coughlin
- Huey Long
NoteTaking
Reading Skill: Connect Ideas Fill in a chart like the one below with the problems that FDR faced and the steps he took to overcome them.
| Problem | FDR’s Policy |
| Failing banks | |
Why It Matters The Great Depression challenged the faith of Americans that democracy could handle the crisis. Faced with similar circumstances, people in Germany, Italy, and Japan had turned to dictators to deliver them from despair. The New Deal had great significance because America’s response to the Great Depression proved that a democratic society could overcome the challenges presented by the severe economic crisis. Section Focus Question: How did the New Deal attempt to address the problems of the depression?
Roosevelt Takes Charge
In 1928, Herbert Hoover had almost no chance of losing his bid for the presidency. In 1932 however, Hoover had almost no chance of winning reelection. The depression had taken its toll. About 25 percent of the population was unemployed. Bank failures had wiped out peoples’ savings. The hungry waited on long lines at soup kitchens.
Americans were ready for a change. In July of 1932, the relatively unknown governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt, accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President.
Roosevelt Overcame Obstacles
Strangely enough, Americans had chosen a presidential candidate who had never known economic hardship. As a child, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had enjoyed all the privileges of an upper-class upbringing, including education at elite schools and colleges. From his parents and teachers, FDR gained a great deal of self-confidence and a belief that public service was a noble calling.
Table of Contents