Why Is Franklin D Roosevelt's Speech Effective

Franklin Roosevelt took a downtrodden nation and experimented with a new medium; radio. With the use of radio, he mastered his rhetoric in such a way that many Americans looked to his fireside chats to connect with their president on an intimate level. Over thirteen years as president, Roosevelt delivered thirty-one special radio addresses labeled fireside chats. The chats inspired confidence, and encouraged participation in government. They were beneficial to both Americans and the president, as he could control his message directly.
Much ink has been spilled on the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. In a 1982 Chicago Tribune poll of 49 historians, Roosevelt even surpassed the estimable George Washington, second only to Abraham Lincoln as best president.
While scholars debate the effectiveness of his policies in relation to
The audience was not limited to any age group. A Kentucky high school teacher conducted a survey of eight-hundred students and found that 75% of them could talk about the speech intellectually.
Although the sentiments expressed in letters and editorials were a clear indication of success, the events that soon followed confirmed its success. By the end of March, $1.2 billion was returned to the banks; by mid-April $31 billion in deposits in nation-wide banks, and at the end of 1933 $33 billion was returned.
With much of the currency returned, the banks became even more stable, thereby ending the banking crisis. Although Roosevelt closed the banks until they proved to be sound enough to reopen, the return of currency was vital. The first fireside chat, therefore, may have ended the banking crisis. The chat was so successful that Roosevelt would continue his conversation with Americans in the same manner thirty more times. Roosevelt was soon faced with more pressing