from Democracy Now!:
FDR in 1933: “There Must Be a Strict Supervision of All Banking and Credits and Investments. There Must Be an End to Speculation with Other People’s Money.”We now move three-quarters of a century back in time to 1933. It was the middle of an era that our current moment is sometimes compared to: the Great Depression. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his oath of office in March of that year, over 10,000 banks had collapsed, following the stock market crash of 1929. One-quarter of American workers were unemployed, and people were fighting over scraps of food. We play an excerpt of FDR’s inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, and speak to Adam Cohen, author of the forthcoming book, Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America.
Guest:
Adam Cohen, Assistant Editorial Page editor of the New York Times and formerly a senior writer for Time magazine. He is the author of several books. His latest book, coming out next January, is called Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America.
JUAN GONZALEZ: We now move three-quarters of a century back in time to 1933. It was the middle of an era that our current moment is sometimes compared to: the Great Depression. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his oath of office in March of that year, over 10,000 banks had collapsed, following the stock market crash of 1929. One-quarter of American workers were unemployed, and people were fighting over scraps of food.
This is an excerpt of FDR’s inaugural speech on March 4, 1933.
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT: 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. (…)
We face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. (…) The withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side. Farmers find no markets for their produce. And 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. (…)
Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. (…)
Yes, 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. (…)
This nation is asking for action, and action now. (…)
There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. There must be an end to speculation with other people’s money. And there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.
These, my friends, are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the forty-eight states.
JUAN GONZALEZ: FDR’s first speech, as he took over the reins of the White House and laid out his plan for change in the midst of an unprecedented crisis.
We’re joined now by Adam Cohen. He’s an assistant editorial page editor for the New York Times. His forthcoming book is called Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America. The book comes out early next year. Adam joins us now here in our firehouse studio.
Welcome.
ADAM COHEN: Thank you.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Amazing resonance of FDR’s inaugural speech to some of the conditions that we’re facing now. And, of course, he then embarked on a Hundred Days of a remarkable and unprecedented legislation in America, in terms of dealing with that crisis.
ADAM COHEN: Absolutely true. The parallels between then and now are very strong. The contrast, I’d have to say, between that speech and the speech we heard from President Bush this morning was also quite stark. That speech, the inaugural address, was one of the great speeches in American history, but one of its great themes was “nothing to fear” and an explanation of the problems and a commitment to change the fundamental underlying principles of American government.
From President Bush today, we got a lot of fear—you know, unless you act quickly, everything’s going to fall apart—no explanation about exactly what’s going wrong—and I think the American people still don’t really understand that—and no commitment to change fundamentals. It’s all about, let’s pump more money into the system; don’t ask any questions.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about how this happened. I mean, you call it a revolution that FDR engaged in in that Hundred Days, but it wasn’t just FDR, and it wasn’t really planned on, but when he ran for office or even in that speech.
ADAM COHEN: That’s right. But there was an understanding on the part of FDR and the people who supported him that there was something fundamentally wrong with capitalism. Capitalism was not working. And in the 1932 election, that was really the big issue. Herbert Hoover believed in the old system, believed that capitalism had to just work its way through, and everything would be fine. FDR was saying, no, there’s something wrong, and we need to fix the system.
And in that Hundred Days that followed that address that we just saw, there were major changes made to the system, things that we’re actually still talking about now and fighting over, like the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated out investment banking from savings banks; the Truth and Securities Act, the first real regulation of the sale of securities; and Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration, which actually took care of people who were having problems with their mortgages. It was a very different approach to government. ........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/29/adam_cohen_on_nothing_to_fear 
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