The atmosphere surrounding Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural address was clouded by fear. The banking industry had been drained by panicked people, and state by state the system began to shut down completely. Fear swept through the streets as more people were out of work and living in Hoovervilles than ever before.
President Roosevelt saw that people were desperate and afraid of what tomorrow had in store. So right at the opening of his inaugural address, he confronts this nationwide funk head-on with the immortal words, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Questions About Fear
- What exactly does being afraid of fear look like?
- What are you most afraid of? Do you think others share this fear? Why or why not?
- Why do FDR's words resonate even today?
Chew on This
People often fear uncertainty. Despite not sharing any concrete plans for his reconstruction efforts, Roosevelt won by a landslide. But he knew that this fear remained. That's why he immediately sets about during his inaugural address to establish that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." (5)
Roosevelt seems to have feared most of all that his bold ideas would be met with shrugs from the American public; his entire speech intends to shake people out of the paralyzed state pure terror can bring about.