During the Great Depression, unemployment rates in America peaked at 25%. President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not ignore the grim economic situation America faced when he gave his first inaugural speech. “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” Similarly, Barack Obama stated during his speech, “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” Both Roosevelt and Obama realized that America’s economic hardships would not simply resolve themselves; action had to be taken in order to shift gears toward a brighter future.
In his first inaugural speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged to free America out of the gripping hands of the depression by initiating a set of programs aimed at restructuring America’s economy. Some of the programs that Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated under the plan known as “The New Deal” such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Social Security System still exist today. Obama plans to help ease the current economic deficit by installing a $850 billion stimulus package that would “devote $303 billion to tax cuts…and $550 billion to new federal spending,” as reported by the Washingpost.com article “Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance.” Unlike the New Deal, Obama’s stimulus package aims at easing the short-term economic wounds rather than creating long-term solutions.
Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama inspired hope for a more prosperous America during their inaugural speeches. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s infamous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” echoed a message that a brighter day would come, so long as the American people remained courageous and worked hard during the calamity known as the Great Depression. Faced with a similar crisis, Barack Obama sought to instill the same confidence for a better tomorrow in a new generation of Americans when he gave his inaugural speech. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.” Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama delivered a realistic perspective of the hard times approaching, yet they provided reassurance of a more promising economic future.
America’s current economic obstacles are further evidence of the long-standing ideal that history repeats itself. Just as America’s economic troubles have reappeared, so too has an inspiring leader that may direct us through these rough times. Although his methods of curing our country’s ailments may differ from those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama provides the same message of progression towards a stronger America.
"Compensation from before World War I through the Great Depression." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 25 Jan. 2009
"Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and hundreds more. 25 Jan. 2009
Kane, Paul. "Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance - washingtonpost.com." washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines. 25 Jan. 2009
"Op-Ed Columnist - Franklin Delano Obama? - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 26 Jan. 2009
"Transcript - Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address - Text - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009
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