Fdr became president at a very bad time in american history, and enacted some changes that had far-reaching consequences for the role of government in american life (especially the role of government in providing economic security for the average american, ie welfare and social security programs).

This speech, which he gave when he first became president, sets these changes in motion. What does he say in the speech that helps us understand how fdr reinvented what it means to live in america? How did the speech engage with the trauma of the depression to offer new hope? What changes does he promise? What new roles for government does he envision? What does he say here that helps us look back on him as one of the most influential presidents?