History Essay: Analyzing Speeches by Hitler and Roosevelt on Economy

This history essay provides a comparative analysis of speeches delivered by Adolf Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt, focusing on their responses to the economic hardships of the Great Depression and its aftermath, as well as the First World War. The essay examines their approaches to unemployment, banking, finance, agriculture, and foreign policy. It highlights the leaders' strategies for uniting their nations and improving economic conditions. The essay explores how both leaders addressed issues such as overpopulation, market failures, and the need for economic reform. The essay also references the Treaty of Versailles and its impact on the German economy. The essay draws on quotations from the speeches to support its arguments, ultimately providing a comprehensive overview of the leaders' visions for their respective countries.

Running head: HISTORY ESSAY
History Essay
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2HISTORY ESSAY
In both these speeches, Adolf Hitler and Franklin Roosevelt, came into power and started
addressing their fellow followers that is the citizens of their respective nations. It was the time of
sheer misery and the entire nation was suffering from a wave of grief and pain. Hence, they
looked upon their new leaders in search of hope. In other words, they wanted a change: a new
dawn from the prevailing darkness of the Great Depression and the First World War. Hitler
addressed his people saying that the major cause behind the problems of the people of his nation
is lack of unity. Apart from this, another major problem of the country was the absence of
freedom and civil liberty. Hitler in his speech has greatly mocked the old form and principles of
Government. He has attacked the treaty of Versailles. Roosevelt also wanted to find out and
address the particular grounds on which his fellow country citizens were unhappy. He was of the
opinion that people have lost all their values and was emotional. They were slowly getting sunk
into the material welfare of life and were becoming robotic in nature. There was a fall in the
income of people and they were all suffering from lack of proper financial aids. He also
highlighted the issue of the farmers, who were suffering a great deal because there were no
markets where they could sell their produce. There were many families that found it too difficult
to meet their both ends as they suffered from lack of proper employment opportunities. As a
result of which, they had to live totally upon their savings and now even the savings were over
and they were really facing a very difficult time (Goddard, 2015).
Unemployment
Both the leaders in their respective speeches have spoken about the problem of
unemployment which is largely evident from several quotations that have been used by them.
Unemployment was one of the direct and perhaps fierce problems that cropped up after the First
World War and the Great Depression.

3HISTORY ESSAY
“Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our
industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a
better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts
to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our
cities It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through
foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal,
State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced”
The above quote from the speech of Roosevelt clearly defines his motive of dealing with
the stagnant income growth and the issue of unemployment. Roosevelt talked about the problem
of overpopulation and how this has led to the shortage of sufficient employment opportunity).
(Sua, 2016)
“The German farmer must be rescued in order that the nation may be supplied with the
necessities of life.... A concerted and all-embracing attack must be made on unemployment in
order that the German working class may be saved from ruin...”
The above quote has been taken from the speech of Hitler which also clearly talks about
his motif of empowering the poor peasants in particular and the rest of the folks in general. The
main idea was to generate sufficient employment opportunities in order to improve the
conditions of the people and drag them out from the horrors of miseries of all sorts.
Banking, finance and in general, the economy
Hitler

4HISTORY ESSAY
“The National Government will couple with this tremendous task of reorganizing business life a
reorganization of the administrative and fiscal systems of the Reich, of the Federal States, and
the Communes.”
Hitler talks about modifying the business and establish business relationships for
generating sufficient amount of revenue. He will reorganize trade and commerce with two four
years’ plans. He will turn to local industry and farming to ensure adequate food, provide more
jobs, destroy unemployment; reorganizing business life, administrative and fiscal systems, the
communes, and exploit individual initiative (capitalism).
Roosevelt
“…there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be
an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate
but sound currency.”
Agriculture
Hitler
“The German farmer must be rescued in order that the nation may be supplied with the
necessities of life....”
Hitler gave due importance to the farmers and recognized them as the backbone of the
nation. Thus, in order to improve the Nation, the conditions of the farmers must be improved
first.
Roosevelt

5HISTORY ESSAY
“….by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the
land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the
values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities.”
The farmers must be given proper right to land holding so that they can be free from the
burden of undue land holding charges by the feudal lords. There must be sufficient markets for
the proper sale of the agricultural output.
Foreign policy
Hitler
“The National Government wishes to work and it will work. It did not ruin the German nation for
fourteen years, but now it will lead the nation back to health...”
He talked about the treaty of Versailles which according to him ignored the rights of
many Germans, and hence it must be destroyed. He wanted to unite all the German speakers
together in the country so that he could create a powerful German Nation.
Roosevelt
“Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in
order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly
important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national
economy.”
Roosevelt talks about improving their trade relationships on an International Basis which
will help in generating sufficient amount of revenue thus strengthening the national economy.

6HISTORY ESSAY
Both the leaders believed that the major cause behind the sufferings of the people was
due to the First World War. One of its major impacts is overpopulation that has naturally led to
the la ck of sufficient employment opportunities for the public in general and the farmers in
particular. Their motive was to unite all the people together and establish equal rights for
everyone. In regard to the power of their position, their vision was initially to uplift the position
of the farmers, establish a proper market for their products and also improve the entire economic
system so that the citizens of their respective countries can come out from the dark days of fear
and depression towards a fearless and independent tomorrow.

7HISTORY ESSAY
Reference List
Goddard, S. E. (2015). The rhetoric of appeasement: Hitler's legitimation and British foreign
policy, 1938–39. Security Studies, 24(1), 95-130.
Sua, J. (2016). Think Tanks in the United States: The Evolution and Evolving
Roles. Sociology, 6(3), 176-185.