This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

The speaker expresses confidence that the nation will endure, recover and prosper, then identifies fear itself as the central thing to fear. That paradox turns attention toward the response to difficulty. The passage reads as reassurance intended to replace anxiety with confidence in a future recovery.

Context reviewed 20 September 2026