![]() The development of radio and its widespread adoption throughout the United States meant that Roosevelt could directly address the electorate in a way that had been impossible for any other president before him-and a way that would become obligatory for most presidents who followed. Related: The Contentious Figure of Andrew Johnson, the First Impeached President Despite its relative novelty, however, by the time Roosevelt began his fireside chats, nearly 60% of American homes contained radios-by the time he stopped, that number was nearer 100%. Though it had been in development for many years, radio was still essentially a new technology in 1933, with the patent for the invention having been granted to Gulielmo Marconi in 1904 and the first clear transmission of human speech taking place as recently as 1919. When the Library of Congress included the fireside chats in the first batch of recordings inducted into their National Recording Registry, they were described as “an influential series of radio broadcasts in which Roosevelt utilized the media to present his programs and ideas directly to the public and thereby redefined the relationship between President Roosevelt and the American people in 1933.” ![]() ![]() While the world around them often seemed to be crumbling, Roosevelt’s voice on the radio helped convey an air of self-assurance that many Americans found comforting and approachable.Ī War Production Board poster quoting a fireside chat, left, and a letter sent to the White House following the first fireside chat. The fireside chats continued throughout the Great Depression, the implementation of Roosevelt’s famous New Deal, and during much of World War II. This direct and comprehensible approach helped to keep Roosevelt and his policies popular with the public, even during times of great national turmoil and distress. Related: Enriching FDR Biographies that Explore the President's Impactful Life and Legacy Indeed, later analyses of the recorded chats has shown that some 80% of the words Roosevelt employed during these addresses to the American people were among the thousand most commonly used words in the English language at the time. “He looked for words that he would use in an informal conversation with one or two of his friends,” presidential advisor and speechwriter Samuel Rosenman recalled, describing the casual-yet-authoritative style of Roosevelt's fireside chats. Often held on Sundays-and always in the evening-the “fireside chats” were intended to be something that Americans could listen to after a hard day’s work, gathered around the radio as around a fireside. Described as a “revolutionary experiment with a nascent media platform,” the chats continued from 1933 until June 12th, 1944, a year before Roosevelt passed away during his second term as president. In the first, he explained the logic and necessity behind the Emergency Banking Act, which sought to stabilize banks struggling in the midst of the Great Depression. Indeed, Roosevelt began his so-called “fireside chats” just eight days after he was sworn in as the 32nd president of the United States. ![]()
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