1936 Madison Square Garden speech speech "one of the great political speeches in American history." Political analysts have compared the straightforwardness of Roosevelt's rhetoric, such as the "I welcome their hatred" comment, with the relative timidity of later politicians, such as Barack Obama; psychologist Drew Westen made such an argument in "The New York Times". Historians, however, have pointed out that Roosevelt delivered the speech in much more favorable political conditions than later politicians have had to face. 1936 Madison Square Garden speech The 1936 Madison Square Garden speech was a speech given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 31, 1936, three days
Madison Square and Madison Square Park as "Historic Chairs". Two months later, in September, the Seventy-first Regiment Band played "Nearer, My God, to Thee" in the park as recognition of the death by assassination of President William McKinley. The hymn had been McKinley's favorite. In 1908, the "New York Herald" installed a giant searchlight among the girders of the Metropolitan Life Tower to signal election results. A northward beam signaled a win for the Republican candidate, and a southward beam for the Democrat. The beam went north, signaling the victory of Republican William Howard Taft. America's first community Christmas tree was illuminated in Madison Square Park