Synopses & Reviews
In the relatively short span of 25 years — from his first national campaign in 1920 to his death in the first year of his fourth term as President in 1945 — Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered hundreds of speeches, many of them masterly orations.
Perhaps the finest speechmaker in American history, FDR was a consummate expert at reading his audience. He could be dazzlingly informal, imperiously statesmanlike, witheringly sarcastic, stern, and serious, and when the occasion permitted, outright funny. Though his audiences often included more than 30 million listeners in America and millions more around the world, he succeeded in doing what so many speakers strive for and so few accomplish — he left his listeners with the feeling that he was speaking to them alone.
This representative collection of 27 of FDR's finest speeches recalls a number of momentous events in his political career and the life of the nation. Included are his dramatic and inspirational First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1933) in which he told the nation that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"; his first "Fireside Chat" (March 12, 1933) over the radio; his dramatic War Message to Congress (December 8, 1941) following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ("a day that will live in infamy"); his Fourth Inaugural Address (January 20, 1945); and many more.
Assembled here in one convenient volume, these speeches provide students of history, politics, and rhetoric, as well as general readers, with an immensely useful reference, a wealth of fine oration, and a valuable window on the Roosevelt years.
Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "State of the Union Address."
Synopsis
Twenty-seven representative speeches spanning the career of one of the greatest speakers in American political history. High points include FDR's First Inaugural Address; his message to Congress, delivered the day after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor ("a date which will live in infamy"); and his Fourth Inaugural Address. Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "State of the Union Address."
Synopsis
Twenty-seven representative speeches spanning the career of one of the greatest speakers in American political history. High points include FDR's First Inaugural Address; his message to Congress, delivered the day after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor ("a date which will live in infamy"); and his Fourth Inaugural Address.
Synopsis
Includes 27 masterly speeches: First Inaugural Address, message to Congress after Pearl Harbor ("a day that will live in infamy"), Fireside Chats, Fourth Inaugural Address, many more. Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acceptance Speech for Vice-Presidential Nomination
Campaign Speech
Message to the New York State Legislature
Acceptance Speech
Commonwealth Club of San Francisco
First Inaugural Address
First Fireside Chat
Second Fireside Chat
Acceptance Speech
Campaign Speech
Second Inaugural Address
Quarantine Address
Fireside Chat (on the Outbreak of World War II)
"Dagger in the Back"
Press Conference
"Fireside Chat ("The Arsenal of Democracy")"
"State of the Union Message to Congress ("The Four Freedoms")"
Third Inaugural Address
Fireside Chat (on German submarine attacks)
War Message to Congress
Fireside Chat
Fireside Chat "February 23, 1942"
Radio Address to New York Herald Tribune Forum "October 12, 1942"
Fireside Chat (on GI Bill of Rights)
Fireside Chat (on Fifth War Loan Drive)
Campaign Speech to the Teamsters Union
Fourth Inaugural Address