Inauguration Day 1933
Inauguration days can be tense, especially when an incumbent president has been defeated in the previous election amid a hard fought campaign. That is what happened on inauguration day in 1933. It is said that Herbert Hoover had so much animosity towards his successor Franklin D. Roosevelt, that he refused to speak to him.
This was the last inauguration to be held on March 4th. Under the terms of the Twentieth Amendment, all subsequent inaugurations have taken place on January 20. The inauguration took place following Roosevelt's landslide victory over Hoover in the 1932 presidential election. The day was mostly cloudy with a bit of sun. The estimated temperature at midday was 42 degrees Fahrenheit. That morning, Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended a 10:15 a.m. worship service at Washington's St. John's Episcopal Church, near the White House. When Hoover and Roosevelt rode over to the inauguration together, Roosevelt said that Hoover refused to talk to him, so Roosevelt simply flashed his famous grin and waved to the crowd.
With the nation in the grips of the Great Depression, FDR's inaugural address was awaited with great anticipation. It was broadcast nationwide on several radio networks to an audience of tens of millions of Americans.
The swearing-in ceremony took place on the East Portico of the United States Capitol, with Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administering the oath of office. Roosevelt wore a morning coat and striped trousers for the inauguration, and took the oath with his hand on his family Bible, open to I Corinthians 13 (a passage about love or charity). Published in 1686 in Dutch, it remains the oldest Bible ever used in an inaugural ceremony, as well as the only one not in English, and was used by Roosevelt for his 1929 and 1931 inaugurations as Governor of New York as well as for his subsequent presidential inaugurations.
After taking the oath of office, Roosevelt gave his 1,883-word, 20 minute-long inaugural address, best known for his famously pointed reference to "fear itself" in one of its first lines, in which he said:
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days."
Roosevelt spoke about the causes of the depression and its moral dimensions. He placed blame squarely on the greed and shortsightedness of bankers and businessmen. He said:
"Rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit. Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now."
Roosevelt then addressed the daunting issue of unemployment, which had reached a whopping 25 percent when he took office. He told his audience:
"The withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.
FDR spoke briefly on foreign relations and his "good neighbor policy", he returned to the economic crisis, assuring his countrymen that he would act swiftly and with determination. He said:
"I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken Nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis — broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."
The day after his inauguration, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress to declare a four-day bank holiday, and on March 9 he signed the Emergency Banking Act, which provided a mechanism for reopening. He continued on for what became his First Hundred Days of the New Deal.
Following is a YouTube video of FDR taking the oath and of portions of his inaugural address:
This was the last inauguration to be held on March 4th. Under the terms of the Twentieth Amendment, all subsequent inaugurations have taken place on January 20. The inauguration took place following Roosevelt's landslide victory over Hoover in the 1932 presidential election. The day was mostly cloudy with a bit of sun. The estimated temperature at midday was 42 degrees Fahrenheit. That morning, Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended a 10:15 a.m. worship service at Washington's St. John's Episcopal Church, near the White House. When Hoover and Roosevelt rode over to the inauguration together, Roosevelt said that Hoover refused to talk to him, so Roosevelt simply flashed his famous grin and waved to the crowd.
With the nation in the grips of the Great Depression, FDR's inaugural address was awaited with great anticipation. It was broadcast nationwide on several radio networks to an audience of tens of millions of Americans.
The swearing-in ceremony took place on the East Portico of the United States Capitol, with Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administering the oath of office. Roosevelt wore a morning coat and striped trousers for the inauguration, and took the oath with his hand on his family Bible, open to I Corinthians 13 (a passage about love or charity). Published in 1686 in Dutch, it remains the oldest Bible ever used in an inaugural ceremony, as well as the only one not in English, and was used by Roosevelt for his 1929 and 1931 inaugurations as Governor of New York as well as for his subsequent presidential inaugurations.
After taking the oath of office, Roosevelt gave his 1,883-word, 20 minute-long inaugural address, best known for his famously pointed reference to "fear itself" in one of its first lines, in which he said:
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days."
Roosevelt spoke about the causes of the depression and its moral dimensions. He placed blame squarely on the greed and shortsightedness of bankers and businessmen. He said:
"Rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit. Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now."
Roosevelt then addressed the daunting issue of unemployment, which had reached a whopping 25 percent when he took office. He told his audience:
"The withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.
FDR spoke briefly on foreign relations and his "good neighbor policy", he returned to the economic crisis, assuring his countrymen that he would act swiftly and with determination. He said:
"I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken Nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis — broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."
The day after his inauguration, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress to declare a four-day bank holiday, and on March 9 he signed the Emergency Banking Act, which provided a mechanism for reopening. He continued on for what became his First Hundred Days of the New Deal.
Following is a YouTube video of FDR taking the oath and of portions of his inaugural address: