Let us ask again: Have we reached the goal of our vision of that
fourth day of March 1933? Have we found our happy valley?
I see a great nation, upon a great continent, blessed with a great
wealth of natural resources. Its hundred and thirty million people
are at peace among themselves; they are making their country a
good neighbor among the nations. I see a United States which can
demonstrate that, under democratic methods of government, national
wealth can be translated into a spreading volume of human comforts
hitherto unknown, and the lowest standard of living can be raised
far above the level of mere subsistence.
But here is the challenge to our democracy: In this nation I see
tens of millions of its citizens--a substantial part of its whole
population--who at this very moment are denied the greater part of
what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of
life.
I see millions of families trying to live on incomes so meager
that the pall of family disaster hangs over them day by day.
I see millions whose daily lives in city and on farm continue
under conditions labeled indecent by a so-called polite society
half a century ago.
I see millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity
to better their lot and the lot of their children.
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