6.2: Franklin D. Roosevelt: Second Inaugural Address (1937)

Paired Sources from U.S. History, 1877-present
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Abstract

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office as president for the second time in 1937, most of his New Deal program to combat the Great Depression had already passed through Congress and had started to be implemented. While the programs had varying degrees of success and popularity, Roosevelt felt the need to justify what he did during this speech in the hope of getting more legislation passed. The fact that his second term saw the addition of relatively few additional laws shows that the sense of urgency that existed at the start of his first term was beginning to dissipate.

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