Today in History: FDR's first Fireside Chat

March 12, 1933 marks the first of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats. The Fireside Chats were an evening radio address given by the president between 1933 and 1944 on various topics from the economy, the New Deal initiatives and later the progress of WWII. Remembered as a great communicator, FDR’s Fireside Chats kept him in high regard with the American people throughout his presidency and he used radio to quickly spread word about his policies and actions of government. Each chat lasted between 13-44 minutes and allowed him to directly speak to the American people as a friend speaks to another friend.

Radio was fast overtaking newspapers as a major source of information. In 1932, 42% of Americans had radios in their homes (Biser, 2016). President Roosevelt wasn’t the first president to utilize the radio, President Calvin Coolidge used the radio to deliver President Warren G. Harding’s eulogy and President Herbert Hoover used the radio to as a campaign tool (Biser, 2016). Roosevelt felt the newspapers were controlled by his opponents; therefore, couldn’t trust them to provide the public with the correct information. Eight days after his inauguration, he gave the first Fireside Chat as president. In the first chat, he discussed how and why the banking crisis occurred and the resulting bill, the Emergency Banking Act. As a result of this first chat, there was a great turnaround in the public’s confidence. Within 2 weeks of the chat, people took the money they were hoarding and deposited back in the banks. In future chats, he appeals to listeners for help in getting the initiatives passed and the audience responded. Letters would pour into legislators, urging their support for all measures that the president proposed. There are many different theories about who coined the term, “fireside chat,” some sources cite Stephen Early, the president’s press secretary (Higgins, 2018), while others cite CBS station manager Harold Butcher (Biser, 2016).

Many historians agree that President Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats were different from other presidential radio speeches before for many reasons. First, Roosevelt kept the speech of each chat informal. He would address the audience as “My friends” or “My fellow Americans.” He liked to use common analogies and informal conversational speech. 80% of the words he used were the thousand most used in English; so that even the uneducated listening could understand and follow his plan. Second, the chats allowed a level of intimacy and importance to the people that they were truly a part of the governmental process than ever before. One listener wrote to the White House stating, “It made me feels as though you were really one of use” (Biser, 2016). As a result, the American people trusted Roosevelt like no other president before. Lastly, for many Americans, chats were a source of comfort. A reassurance that the president had a steady hand on the wheel during the crises of the Great Depression and, later, World War II (Biser, 2016). He would often urge the American people to face the difficult times with patience, understanding and faith.

Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats began a presidential precedence that every president after him would utilize. With periodic speeches, addressing the American people, first by radio, then television and later the internet. On October 5, 1947, President Harry S. Truman would be the first president to address the American people by television (History.com Editors, 2019) as well as other presidential firsts. The practice of a regularly schedule address began in 1983 with President Ronald Regan who would deliver a radio broadcast every Saturday. Roosevelt was one of the first presidents to appeal to the American people as a friend and fellow American a tactic that many politicians today are trying to recreate. Today, politicians hold town hall meetings, an intimate setting, for the public to voice their concerns, hear the politicians take on upcoming legislation or regulation or other various topics concerning their communities or the nation. If they connect with their audience, the way Roosevelt did is often a matter of opinion.

In conclusion, today marks an important day in history as President Roosevelt held the first of his Fireside Chats. The utilization of a new media and the skills of a great communicator, Roosevelt was able to gather support for his policies from the American people who saw him as the great leader to help pull the country out of the Great Depression and later victory in WWII. He spoke as a friend, a neighbor and fellow American. By using the radio, Roosevelt avoided being misquoted or misrepresented as the newspapers often do. Today, politicians try to appeal to the American people as Roosevelt did, some are successful, and others are not.

References

Biser, Margaret (August 19, 2016). The Fireside Chats: Roosevelt's Radio Talks

the White House speaks to America. The White House Historical Association. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-fireside-chats-roosevelts-radio-talks. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

Higgins, Chris (March 12, 2018). On This Day in 1933, FDR Gave His First Fireside Chat. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/93076/day-1933-fdr-gave-his-first-fireside-chat. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

History.com Editors (October 2, 2019). Harry Truman delivers first-ever presidential speech on TV. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-presidential-speech-on-tv. Retrieved March 10, 2020.