The only thing to fear is fear itself
Some dates arrive quietly. Others carry the weight of history with them.
The 4th of March is one of those dates.
Almost a century ago, on 4 March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood on the balcony of the Capitol in Washington and delivered one of the most famous lines ever spoken in politics:
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Those words were spoken at a moment when the United States was deep in the Great Depression. Banks were failing, unemployment was widespread, and confidence in the future had collapsed. Roosevelt understood that fear itself could paralyse a society as effectively as any economic crisis. His speech was not simply political rhetoric—it was an attempt to restore national confidence.
The date itself is also significant for another reason. Until the 20th century, 4 March was traditionally the day on which American presidents were inaugurated. This practice dates back to the early constitutional period following the founding of the United States in 1789, when the new federal government first began operating under the Constitution.
For more than a century, presidents were sworn in on that date. Eventually, however, the gap between election and inauguration became impractically long. With modern communications and faster travel, waiting until March created an unnecessarily extended “lame duck” period for outgoing administrations. The 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, moved the inauguration forward to 20 January, where it remains today. Roosevelt’s first inauguration therefore represents the last presidential inauguration ever held on 4 March.
But history rarely travels alone. It often arrives with unexpected companions.
The same date also marks the birth in Venice in 1678 of Antonio Vivaldi, the Italian composer whose most famous work is The Four Seasons. These four violin concertos—Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter—remain among the most recognisable pieces of classical music ever written, and they are frequently performed in arrangements for string quartet.
This brings us to a neat numerical coincidence.
Today’s story quietly revolves around the number four.
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4 March – today’s date
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Four-year presidential terms in the United States
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The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
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A string quartet of four instruments: two violins, a viola and a cello
Four connections, all converging on a single day.
Even the small details reflect the moment in the calendar. In the image above, crocuses bloom in the foreground—one of the earliest flowers of the year. Their appearance signals that winter is ending and spring is beginning, echoing the musical “Spring” from Vivaldi’s cycle and reinforcing the theme of renewal that Roosevelt’s speech attempted to inspire.
In that sense, the symbolism almost writes itself.
A nation emerging from fear.
Music celebrating the turning of the seasons.
Flowers appearing after winter.
And at the centre of it all, a single line spoken nearly a century ago that still resonates today:
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”