March 12, 1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives first "fireside chat"

By 1932, the nation had grown tired of the ineffective policies of President Herbert Hoover. The Great Depression had grown worse since the Stock Market crash in 1929. President Hoover’s response was to ask businesses to voluntarily provide relief to workers. The system did not work. As a result, Hoover was all but a lame duck by the Election of 1932. Hoover decided to run for reelection, running on his successes prior to his presidency. His opponent was the Democratic Governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt had already tested many different relief type programs in his home state to great success. The American voter responded in turn. On Election Day, Roosevelt achieved a landslide victory. 

When Roosevelt assumed office in March 1933, he had a gargantuan task ahead him. The Depression has seeped into all aspects of American life. The major issue that spurred on the Depression was the failure of the nation’s banking system. Throughout the 1920’s, banks speculated heavily with their consumer’s money. When the Depression finally struck, the banks were unable to recoup their investments. The banks were further demoralized when their desperate customers tried to withdraw funds that were not there. The people that were able to withdraw funds soon found the banks depleted of funds. Banks began to fail. The national banking system collapsed under the weight of the failures. The President needed to find a way to prop up the failing banking industry. By the time of his inaugural, he found a way. He planned to address the nation on March 12th.

On the cold, March night, millions of Americans listened to the President’s voice gently echo through the radio as they nestled warmly in their beds. The grandfatherly voice introduced itself to his eager listeners. He then began to explain the banking crisis in the simple, colloquial way that came natural to him. In the span of 15 minutes, he explained the banking system, what had gone wrong with it, and how he was going to fix it. He said that there would a banking holiday throughout the nation, in order to give the banks time to rest. He then asked his captive audience to redeposit their money when the banks reopened. By doing this, he said, the banks would slowly beginning to recover. With that, he wished his listeners farewell, and allowed them to fall into a deep, undisturbed slumber.

This would prove to be the first of many “fireside chats” the President would give during his 12 years in office. The other chats could not compare with his first. His chat had the desired effect. People reinvested their money and the banks slowly recovered.