On Sunday C-Span2 reran a video of Jon Meacham's talk on 9/1/2018 about his newest book titled "The Soul of America: The Battle For Our Better Angels." Video link.
Our quote of the week pertains to a speech Franklin D. Roosevelt gave in which he suggested he might take over with war time executive powers to combat the nation's economy economic crisis. According to Mr. Meacham's research, Eleanor was stunned because the audience reaction implied a desire for a dictator.
The quote starts at around the 37:17 point in the above linked video.
March 4, 1933, when he gave his inaugural address, the line that we all remember from the east front of the capitol is that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The line that got the biggest applause and a kind of a bloodthirsty cheer, according to Eleanor Roosevelt, who wrote about it that night, was when FDR said the circumstances of the present crisis are such that I may require war time like executive powers. And they roared, and it chilled her, she said. Because she realized that they were ready as the Europeans had proven themselves ready for a strongman or dictator. It terrified her.
This is more bias confirmation for many conservatives and libertarians, as we believe that Democrats and the progressive movement could be easily duped by a would-be dictator into ditching the Constitution and abolishing Congress.
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1:50 PM 9/30/2018
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