FDR's First Inaugural Address: Text, Context, and Reception

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address, many Americans sent their new president reactions to the speech. Those reactions form the critical foundation of our essay. Specifically, we argue that the threefold response engaging themes of confidence, the Judeo-Christian religion, and dictatorship helps us to make sense of drafts of the speech and how those drafts interact with several important contexts.