<span>FDR attempted to explain how the Depression had come about and, more importantly, how he believed the nation, under his leadership, could overcome it (or "defeat" it, since he heavily emphasized the battle metaphor). The key tone for sunny OPTIMISM, which would be his hallmark.
The central idea of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address was to try to alleviate the public's concerns about the economy by reaffirming his strength as a leader and asking Congress for more executive power to enact his legislative agenda.
The Great Depression began when the country’s stock market crashed in 1929. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, Americans had already lost millions of jobs and most of their savings due to nearly half of the nation's banks closing. In his speech, Roosevelt tried to promote hope saying that under his leadership, the country would overcome the Great Depression.
