FDR's First Inaugural Address Theme of Greed

There are many culprits to blame for the Great Depression that tanked the global economy in 1929. Some blamed politicians, some themselves. But for the broke and hungry and desperate, there was really only one target: the bankers.

FDR latched onto the populist sentiments and used his 1933 inaugural address to deliver a scathing indictment of the entire system. He used biblical language to cast judgment on the "unscrupulous money changers" (19) and a society greedy enough to favor money and power over morality.

1. Economists and historians are still arguing over the exact cause(s) of the Great Depression. Do you think bankers and their greed deserve as much of the blame as they receive? Why or why not?
2. While FDR points a finger squarely at the "unscrupulous money changers" (19) as a reason for the economic collapse, he also pins the blame on the rest of the American people by calling out the systemic belief that money makes right. Does the public deserve some blame for the Great Depression, too?

Greed is always on people's minds when times are tough. The Great Depression hit people especially hard because of the Roaring Twenties that had preceded it. For years people had been able to live beyond their means, fueling a golden era in arts and culture. Then the crash brought many down into poverty.

There were surely those whose individual greed helped cause the economic tumult in 1929. But as Roosevelt brought up in his inaugural address, it was also the greed of the American people at large who were most to blame.