Leaving Us With Hope and Confidence
- Roosevelt tells his listeners that it's true: some banks won't reopen because they're being shut down.
- He says there's a reason for this—some banks are combining in order to be stronger.
- He assures Americans that what the government is doing is "nothing complex, or radical" (57).
- Time for an honest admission—"we had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people's funds" (59). He's not exactly throwing bankers under the bus, but he is saying that part of the problem was shady use of money.
- He tells everyone that the government has been working to "straighten out this situation" and that "the job is being performed" (62).
- FDR sounds sad in this next part, saying that while the government's doing everything they can, there will be some people who do not get their money back.
- But the greater point, he says, is that the country as a whole will continue to move forward, fix the banks, and create better and stronger banks.
- "It has been wonderful for me to catch the note of confidence from all over the country," (66) FDR says.
- A great line to show his listeners that he's out and about in society (whether it's true or not), and that he's in this with his people.
- Going along with that, Roosevelt tells his listeners that the most important thing right not is the confidence of the people. He goes as far as to say that confidence is "more important than gold" (68).
- Think about it—confidence leads to spending instead of hoarding, and spending gets the economy moving again.
- "Let us unite in banishing fear," (71) he says.
- Dang: those are some powerful closing lines.
- Even today, fear and confidence contribute greatly to the economic health of the nation, and Roosevelt was more than aware of that fact.
- FDR ends with a personal and uplifting line: "It is your problem, my friends, no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail" (74).
- We're in this together, we're equals, and we have hope.
- President Frank, out.