(3) Base Camp

FDR's trademark style was his directness with the public. Dude did not mince words. He wasn't about flowery speeches and dropping "thees" and "thous." He shot from the hip.

He was about to undertake some of the biggest projects in the history of the United States, and he needed the public to go along with them. So his inaugural address is structured in a straightforward, businesslike fashion. The opening lines seek to calm the millions of anxious, listening citizens before FDR launches into his to-do list.

It's not an overly complex speech, though it is written in a way we don't really see from our leaders in the 21st century. It gains a few difficulty points from its sheer length; Roosevelt's address clocks in at 20 minutes when read (which actually is pretty brief when compared to the other contenders).