Seventy-five Years Ago: FDR

March 4, 1933: Franklin Roosevelt took the oath of office and moved into the White House.

Why does that matter? Because he campaigned on the Democrats’ promise to end Prohibition. He got that project underway a few days later by asking Congress to legalize the manufacture and sale of beer. On April 7, 1933, beer came back.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging about that moment in our history. Stay tuned.

But today, take a few minutes to read FDR’s first inaugural address. He began his first term during the Great Depression, when Americans faced economic disaster on a scale that, bad as things are now, few of us can imagine. His message of hope is as inspiring now as it was then.