In this month’s episode of Documents in Detail, TAH faculty members discussed the meaning, context around, and importance of Franklin Roosevelt’s 1933 State of the Union address, famous for its full-throated defense of FDR’s vision for a reformed America, what he called a “second” Bill of Rights, and how he worked with his political allies and adversaries to frame, present, and even sometimes misrepresent, his foreign and domestic policies. An ever-complicated man, FDR’s motives are often difficult to discern, although papers such as the 1944 SOTU offer a clear sense of his understanding of what America ought to be.

Focus Document

• 1944 State of the Union Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944

Complementary Documents

• First Inaugural Address, FDR, 1933
• Second Inaugural Address, FDR, 1937

Scholars

• Dr. John Moser, Ashland University
• Dr. Eric Pullin, Carthage College
• Dr. Alonzo Hamby, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University