SOURCE: "The Speech That Established Roosevelt's Reputation," in The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, October, 1945, pp. 274-82.

In the following essay, Oliver examines Roosevelt's delivery of his 1932 presidential nomination acceptance speech as the turning point in his political career.

Chicago was the scene of the most dramatically staged speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt's career—his acceptance of the nomination for the presidency, in the Chicago Stadium, on Saturday, July 2, 1932.

This speech marked the real turning point in his political reputation. It ended the "Frank is good natured but lacks brains and leadership" period and ushered in the "Franklin Delano Roosevelt—Fighting Liberal" era. From that moment (rather than from the time of the nomination itself, or of his election, or of his inauguration) the public feeling about Roosevelt began to crystallize into the pattern it has largely maintained ever since. For the first time he began...