The most interesting and inspiring presidential speeches, from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama. From Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama, American presidents have faced unprecedented challenges at home and abroad. From the onset of the Great Depression, through World War II, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, Desert Storm and the War on Terror, American presidents have warned and rallied the nation during each crisis. Presidents have also addressed the people in times of triumph -- the creation of the United Nations, advances in civil rights, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. My Fellow Americans includes the speeches that capture times of challenge, conflict and change, with such memorable phrases as "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," "Ask not what your country can do for you" and "Begin again the work of remakingAmerica," which have entered the vernacular and have become a part of our heritage. This book is a record of how our presidents established their leadership through thick and thin. The language of the speeches reflects the country's mood over decades of fear and hope and the ongoing faith and values that sustain our nation. My Fellow Americans is divided into six parts: 1933-1945: Roosevelt 1945-1961: T ruman and Eisenhower 1961-1969: Kennedy and Johnson 1969-1981: Nixon, Ford and Carter 1981-1993: Reagan and Bush 1993-2009: Clinton, Bush and Obama. Each part is introduced with a short essay that provides a timeline and context for the events of the period. There is alsoan introduction to the book that focuses on the president's use of language to inspire listeners. Illustrated with 30 black-and-white historical photographs, My Fellow Americans is a stunning testament to America's recent history. The American Constitution, Article II, Section 3, mandates that the president "shall from time to time give to Congress information on the state of the union." Since George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address in 1790, each president has addressed Congress and the people of the United States every year. Presidents have also given inaugural and farewell addresses as well as many formal and informal speeches. From these speeches there is a vivid and immediate record of the major triumphs and tragedies the nation has faced and clear portraits of the men who have led. Famous speeches in the book include:Roosevelt's first Inaugural Address, 1933: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Eisenhower's Farewell Address, 1961: "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence ... by the military-industrial complex." Kennedy's Inaugural Address, 1961: "Ask not what your country can do for you..." Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1967: "We have chosen to fight a limited war in Vietnam in an attempt to prevent a larger war." Reagan's Evil Empire speech, 1983: "[Do not] ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire." George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2004: "We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century." Barack Obama's InauguralAddress, 2009: "Begin again the work of remaking America."

Table of Contents Contents Part One The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself. Introduction Timeline Introduction Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945 The Great Depression So, 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. Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 The New Deal To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit ... It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found forable-bodied but destitute workers. The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief. State of the Union Address, January 4, 1935 Preparing For War It is unmistakably apparent to all of us that, unless the advance of Hitlerism is forcibly checked now, the western hemisphere will be within range of the Nazi weapons of destruction. Radio Address Announcing an Unlimited National Emergency, May 27, 1941 Pearl Harbor Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Address to Congress Requesting a Declaration of War with Japan, December 8, 1941 All-Out War Wehave already tasted defeat. We may suffer further setbacks. We must face the fact of a hard war, a long war, a bloody war, a costly war. State of the Union Address, January 6, 1942 Contents Part Two The Threat of War is Still very Real Timeline Introduction Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 The Truman Doctrine The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. Address before a Joint Session of Congress, March 12, 1947 Communism vs. Democracy
We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to live their own lives for useful ends. Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Inaugural Address, January 20, 1949 The Korean War Our men are fighting, alongside their United Nations allies, because they know, as we do, that the aggression in Korea is part of the attempt of the Russian communist dictatorship to take over the world, step by step. State of the Union Address, January 8, 1951 Soviet Aggression Do not be deceived by the strong face, the look of monolithic power that the communist dictators wear before the outside world. Remember their power has no basis in consent. State of the Union Address, January 7, 1953Farewell Address There is no job like it on the face of the earth in the power which is concentrated here at this desk, and in the responsibility and difficulty of the decisions. January 15, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961 Faith In Freedom The world and we have passed the midway point of a century of continuing challenge. We sense with all our faculties that forces of good and evil are massed and armed and opposed as rarely before in history. Inaugural Address, January 20, 1953 International Communism The divisive force is international communism and the power that it controls. The designs of that power, dark in purpose, are clear in practice. It strives to seal forever the fate of thoseit has enslaved. It strives to break the ties that unite the free. Inaugural Address, January 21, 1957 Farewell Address In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. January 17, 1961 Contents Part Three To Defend Freedom in its Hour of Maximum Danger Timeline Introduction John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 Religious Freedom I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholicprelate would tell the President ... how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote. Houston Ministerial Association September 12, 1960 A New Generation In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 The Berlin Crisis West Berlin ... has now become, as never before, the great testing place of Western courage and will, a focal point where our solemn commitments stretching back over the years since 1945, and Soviet ambitions now meet in basic confrontation. Report to the American People, July 25, 1961 The CubanMissile Crisis For many years, both the Soviet Union and the United States ... have deployed strategic nuclear weapons with great care, never upsetting the precarious status quo which insured that these weapons would not be used in the absence of some vital challenge. Report to the American People October 22, 1962 The Search for Peace We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different. We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now see beyond us. American University Address, June 10, 1963 Civil Rights The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, wherelegal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives. Radio and Television Report, June 11, 1963 The Berlin Wall All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner." Remarks at the Rudolph Wilde Platz June 26, 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969 John F. Kennedy's Assassination All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today. The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time. Address to Joint Session of Congress November 27, 1963The Great Society The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. Remarks at the University of Michigan May 22, 1964 We Shall Overcome There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem. Special Message to Congress, March 15, 1965 The Domino Theory We have chosen to fight a limited war in Vietnam in an attempt to prevent a larger war -- a war almost certain to follow, I believe, if the communists succeed in overrunning and taking over South Vietnam by aggression and by force. State of the Union Address, January 101967 On Vietnam