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“First Inaugural Address” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Pages 284-289
Comprehension
1. What are the occasion and purpose of this speech?
2. According to Roosevelt, what are the “common difficulties” he and his audience face?
3. On whom does Roosevelt place the largest blame for the Great Depression?
4. What does Roosevelt say is the “greatest primary task” facing the nation?
5. According to Roosevelt, how should Congress respond to this crisis?
Literary Analysis
Focus Passage 1 (pages 285-286)
“Yet our distress…. the ancient truths.”
Key Ideas and Details
1.
According to Roosevelt, why should Americans be “thankful” even in the midst of their
troubles?
2. Interpret: Who are the “rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods”?
Analyze: According to Roosevelt, how have these people failed the country?
Craft and Structure
3. Trace references to the “unscrupulous money changers” through the passage. To what
Biblical event to these references allude?
Analyze: What comparison is Roosevelt making through this allusion?
4. Interpret: The president refers to the “temple” of civilization. What tone, or attitude
toward his topic, is signaled by this term?
Analyze: Cite two other examples of Roosevelt’s diction that contribute to that tone.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
5. Connect: What does Roosevelt believe about the role of leaders in society? Explain,
citing details from the text.
Focus Passage 2 (Page 286)
“Happiness lies not….it cannot live.”
Key Ideas and Details
1.
According to Roosevelt, what is the source of happiness?
2. Interpret: For Roosevelt, what lesson must Americans learn from the “dark days” of the
Depression?
Craft and Structure
2. Distinguish: Identify phrases in the passage in which d, s, p, or b sounds repeat at the
beginnings of nearby words.
3. Which words does Roosevelt repeat in the focus passage, either in whole or in a
related form?
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Summarize: What is Roosevelt’s message about the importance of wealth over other
values?
Analyze: Why might such a message be particularly powerful at this point in history?