Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaign Address at Madison Square Garden - Milestone Documents

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaign Address at Madison Square Garden

( 1936 ) Commentary by Martin Halpern, Henderson State University
  • “In 1932 the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 the issue is the preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will win.” - Paragraph 3
  • “We have not come this far without a struggle and I assure you we cannot go further without a struggle. For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. … Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.” - Paragraphs 21–22
  • “We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.” - Paragraph 24–25
  • “Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.” - Paragraphs 26–27
  • “Of course we will continue to seek to improve working conditions for the workers of America—to reduce hours over-long, to increase wages that spell starvation, to end the labor of children, to wipe out sweatshops. Of course we will continue every effort to end monopoly in business, to support collective bargaining. … For all these we have only just begun to fight.” - Paragraph 43
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's Campaign Address at Madison Square Garden (National Archives and Records Administration)

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