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Primary sourceSpeech21 January 1933

Remarks in Decatur, Alabama, 1933

Franklin Delano Roosevelt · 21 January 1933

Roosevelt's informal remarks given in Decatur, Alabama, shortly before his inauguration, discussing the Tennessee Valley.

These are Roosevelt's own remarks delivered shortly before his presidency, showing his early New Deal thinking.

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Typed page titled 'Informal Extemporaneous Remarks of the President, Decatur, Alabama, January 21, 1933'. The speech text is in typewriter font, with paragraphs about the Tennessee Valley and Muscle Shoals and notes such as (Laughter) and (Prolonged applause). Three hole punches are on the left edge.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Remarks in Decatur, Alabama, 21 January 1933.

About this source

What it is

This is a typed transcript of informal remarks given by Franklin D. Roosevelt in Decatur, Alabama, on 21 January 1933, just weeks before he became president. The page includes audience reactions like laughter and applause noted in the text.

Why it matters

These remarks show Roosevelt discussing the Tennessee Valley and Muscle Shoals region before his presidency began, foreshadowing the New Deal's later Tennessee Valley Authority project. It reveals his early interest in regional development.

Look closer

  • What does Roosevelt's joking tone suggest about his relationship with the crowd?
  • Why might Roosevelt have focused on Muscle Shoals specifically?
  • What clues in the text show this was a spoken, informal speech rather than a written one?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Franklin D. Roosevelt on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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