Franklin D Hoover Inaugural Address Essay

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address: Gaining America’s Trust In the 1928 United States presidential election, Herbert Hoover was elected, and within a year, the Stock market crashed. The 1920s were known as the “Roaring Twenties” as share prices rose and the economy grew. People bought stocks because they anticipated a rise in share prices which led to falsely high stock prices. Many Americans invested money into the stock market hence when the market crashed from speculation, they panicked to sell their stocks and withdraw their money from the banks. Unfortunately, the banks also lost their money due to the crash. As the economy plummeted, Americans lost their life savings and their jobs. Hoover had won the 1928 election by a

People wanted a more active government and a president that they could trust. In 1932, right before the election, Hoover sent the army after World War I veterans that demanded bonus payments since they had lost their money in the depression. The veterans rioted, prompting Hoover to call in the army known as the Bonus Army. The public saw this as the government chasing after unarmed citizens. The Washington Daily News wrote, “If the Army must be called out to make war on unarmed citizens, this is no longer America.” The Great Depression left people homeless and without money or jobs, thus when people saw the government call in the army on these people, it seemed as if the government was not on the people’s side. As a result, the press and public condemned Hoover and he became unpopular. In the 1932 election, as Hoover had won four years prior, Franklin D. Roosevelt won by a

At the beginning of his presidency, Americans may not have trusted their government because of Hoover’s order of the Bonus Army on veterans. He stated that “Our Constitution is so simple, so practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form.” Through an appeal to patriotism, he refers to the Constitution and his confidence in its ability to guide the country through the depression. Despite his disease, he assures the people that polio will not affect his ability to lead the country. Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a viral disease that causes paralysis. It was greatly feared in the 1920s and 1930s because of its deadliness, but also because of the lack of medical research. Despite being sick with polio, Roosevelt wanted to maintain the strong appearance that Americans trusted to run their country. Roosevelt flew to Chicago by airplane to accept the Democratic nomination in person. Although he was eventually unable to stand on his own, he continued to hold this strong and confident appearance. This was crucial because people may not have wanted to vote for a sick president that could die in office. Regardless, polio became a way for him to connect with Americans and gain their trust. In addition to Roosevelt’s “fireside chats, ” he connected to the American people by replying to letters from people with