FDR's First Fireside Chat

On May the Twelfth 1933 president Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the first of what would come to be known as fireside chats. During this chat he spoke to the American people about the recent banking holiday and what actions where to be taken to prevent the banking crisis from worsening. This speech shows Roosevelt's skills as a communicator and his ability to talk to the people in a straightforward manner.

Roosevelt is saying many things in this speech, first and foremost he is re-enforcing the message that there is nothing to fear but fear itself as is shown when he says "It is possible that when the banks resume a very few people who have not recovered from their fear may again begin withdrawals… It needs no prophet to tell you that when the people find that they can get their money -- that they can get it when they want it for all legitimate purposes -- the phantom of fear will soon be laid," this was a very powerful message of Roosevelt's as he seemed to believe that the fear of people, once the initial market crash had taken place, had only compounded the problem. Another thing he is saying, and this is the overall point of the message, is that peoples confidence is essential to the recovery of the banking system, shown when he says "After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan."

Roosevelt is very good at delivering his message to the people in a way that would inspire their trust in him. The way he does this is very simple; he talks to them on a very friendly and neighbourly level, using simple terms to describe what he is doing, shown when he says things like "Essentially we have…" He is a very good communicator as he seems to be picking up on the feeling of the people he is talking to and he uses that to the best of his ability, as is shown when he says "Another question you will ask is this: Why are all the banks not to be reopened at the same time? The answer is simple and I know you will understand it: Your Government does not intend that the history of the past few years shall be repeated.