About fifty years after FDR did his best to deal with the country's economic depression, America went through another one.

It's true: history really does repeat itself.

It wasn't as severe as the Great Depression (phew), but it did affect many people and brought back memories of fear. Ronald Reagan was president during this time, and in this presidential address he speaks about the economic problem just like Roosevelt did half a century earlier.

Let's compare first lines—because, as you've seen in FDR's "First Fireside Chat," starting on a friendly note is super-effective. Reagan starts out by saying,

"I have come to speak to you tonight about our economic recovery program and why I believe it's essential that the Congress approve this package, which I believe will lift the crushing burden of inflation off of our citizens and restore the vitality to our economy and our industrial machine." (Source)

Dang. That's a mouthful.

At first glance, FDR's start seems more effective, with a simple "My friends" (1). Reagan's seems more formal and presidential, less friendly. However to be fair, Reagan was recovering from a recent assassination attempt and he goes on in his speech to speak of compassion in America, thanking the people for their support, and reading a letter by a second grader which had the effect of making people laugh and probably tear up.

So maybe Reagan did take a few notes of FDR's personal speech style after all.

The focus of Reagan's talk is on the economy, just like FDR's "First Fireside Chat." Similar to FDR, Reagan focuses on building the public's confidence, explaining what the government has been doing to help, and why the plan is going to succeed. He references bipartisan action in Congress (just like FDR does), and he compliments the government on being open and having mutual respect (just like FDR does).

Basically, Reagan gets his FDR on in a big way, as he pushes cooperation and trust. He says,

"All we need to begin with is a dream that we can do better than before. All we need to have is faith, and that dream will come true. All we need to do is act, and the time for action is now."

Yeah. That speech ends on a more conversational (and way more FDR-styled) note than it began…and we're pretty sure that's a good thing.