1936 State of the Union Address

Speech by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt February 2026 July 2021 1936 State of the Union Address Evening 50 minutes 1936 01 03 House Chamber, United States Capitol Washington, D.C. 38 53 23 N 77 00 32 W region:US-DC_type:event inline,title State of the Union Address Franklin D. RooseveltJohn Nance GarnerJo Byrns Previous 1935 State of the Union Address Next 1937 State of the Union Address The 1936 State of the Union address was given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a joint session of the 74th United States Congress on Friday, January 3, 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression.Annual Message to Congress Franklin D. Roosevelt January 3, 1936 The American Presidency Project March 13, 2024 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/annual-message-congress-2 Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Jo Byrns, accompanied by John Nance Garner, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate. This was the first State of the Union Address to be held in the evening.The First Evening Annual Message Office of the Historian of the House of Representatives March 13, 2024 https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/36370 Roosevelt made a last-minute decision to move the speech to the evening in order to reach the largest possible radio audience. In the speech, Roosevelt discussed what he felt were the accomplishments of his administration and the New Deal up to that point. House Speaker Jo Byrns remarked that the speech "very clearly sets forth the major issues of the coming campaign." In the closing paragraph of his address, Roosevelt quoted an individual whom he referred to as a "wise philosopher." That individual was Josiah Royce in his 1914 work "A Word for the Times," which Roosevelt quoted by saying "What great crises teach all men whom the example and counsel of the brave inspire is the lesson: Fear not, view all the tasks of life as sacred, have faith in the triumph of the ideal, give daily all that you have to give, be loyal and rejoice whenever you find yourselves part of a great ideal enterprise. You, at this moment, have the honor to belong to a generation whose lips are touched by fire. You live in a land that now enjoys the blessings of peace. But let nothing human be wholly alien to you. The human race now passes through one of its great crises. New ideas, new issues—a new call for men to carry on the work of righteousness, of charity, of courage, of patience, and of loyalty. . . . However memory bring back this moment to your minds, let it be able to say to you: That was a great moment. It was the beginning of a new era. . . . This world in its crisis called for volunteers, for men of faith in life, of patience in service, of charity and of insight. I responded to the call however I could. I volunteered to give myself to my Master—the cause of humane and brave living. I studied, I loved, I labored, unsparingly and hopefully, to be worthy of my generation." In response to Roosevelt's address, House Minority Leader Bertrand Snell, a Republican from New York, was quoted as saying the speech was "a political speech... and a political hippodrome." References Franklin D. Roosevelt's Third State of the Union Address 1936 State of the Union Address 1935 State of the Union Address 1937 State of the Union Address State of the Union addresses 1 1936 Category:Speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt Category:Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt Category:74th United States Congress State of the Union Address State of the Union Address State of the Union Address Category:1930s State of the Union addresses