![]() In that message I analyzed the causes of the collapse of 1929 in these words: "overspeculation in and overproduction of practically every article or instrument used by man. I want to read to you tonight certain passages from that message, and to talk with you about them. Therefore, I have sent a message of far-reaching importance to the Congress. We have all learned the lesson that government cannot afford to wait until it has lost the power to act. I said in my message opening the last session of Congress that if private enterprise did not provide jobs this spring, government would take up the slack-that I would not let the people down. But I conceive the first duty of government is to protect the economic welfare of all the people in all sections and in all groups. I know that the effect of our present difficulties has been uneven that they have affected some groups and some localities seriously, but that they have been scarcely felt in others. Your money in the bank is safe farmers are no longer in deep distress and have greater purchasing power dangers of security speculation have been minimized national income is almost 50 per cent higher than in 1932 and government has an established and accepted responsibility for relief.īut I know that many of you have lost your jobs or have seen your friends or members of your families lose their jobs, and I do not propose that the government shall pretend not to see these things. This recession has not returned us to the disasters and suffering of the beginning of 1933. It is only in the past seven months that it has received a visible setback.Īnd it is only within the past two months, as we have waited patiently to see whether the forces of business itself would counteract it, that it has become apparent that government itself can no longer safely fail to take aggressive government steps to meet it. For four and a half years that recovery proceeded apace. In this decision I have been strengthened by the thought that by speaking tonight there may be greater peace of mind and the hope of Easter may be more real at firesides everywhere, and that it is not inappropriate to encourage peace when so many of us are thinking of the Prince of Peace.įive years ago we faced a very serious problem of economic and social recovery. But what I want to say to you, the people of the country, is of such immediate need and relates so closely to the lives of human beings and the prevention of human suffering that I have felt that there should be no delay. ![]() I had hoped to be able to defer this talk until next week because, as we all know, this is Holy Week. While it is impossible to capture the cheery, affable charm of President Roosevelt, we hope the readings convey the spirit of the times and the temper of the man.Five months have gone by since I last spoke to the people of the Nation about the state of the Nation. Thus, these new recordings of the published texts of the original addresses. The sound quality, however, is often quite poor. Most, but not all, of the original addresses were recorded in part or in full. Butcher at CBS in a press release in 1933. ![]() The term “fireside chat” was coined by Harry C. There are thirty addresses in all, ranging from about ten to thirty minutes, given at the rate of about one every five months, with the timing dictated by public events. ![]() They are an astonishing testimony to what great leadership looks like, sounds like, and what it can accomplish. He was able to squelch rumors and build public support for the most radical social changes and the largest war in the history of the United States. In doing so, he conveyed a sense of intimacy and engagement with the decision-making process that earned the trust and affection of the American people. It was an extraordinary moment – the first time an American President had bypassed the traditional channels of communication (newspapers largely owned by conservative Republicans) and taken his message directly to the people. ![]() In simple, plain language, he took pains to explain the basic mechanics of the banking system, the causes of the present banking crisis, and the steps he was taking to stabilize the system. Shortly after taking office in 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his radio broadcasts to the American public. ![]()
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