F D R ' S F I R E S I D E C H A T S --------- --------------- --------- 1933-1944 First Fireside Chat: Mar 12, 1933 Last Fireside Chat: Jun 12, 1944 Number of Broadcasts: 30 Description: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jan. 30, 1882 - Apr. 12, 1945) was the thirty second President of the United States and the only man to serve four terms in that office. He served as President from Mar. 4, 1933 to Apr. 12, 1945. He, more than any public figure before him, knew the value and impact of media on the American public and how to use it. As President, he used the most prominent media of the day, radio, to inform the people of various crisis and issues of the day in his Fireside Chats. The term "Fireside Chat" came from Harry Butcher of CBS after his using the title on the air. Rather than regular broadcast, Mr. Roosevelt elected to come to the microphone only 2 or 3 times a year, only when he had something important to say. He kept these Chats short and simple. They were typically 30 minutes in length. He had a cadre of speech writers to make the chats as effectively as possible, using the simplest language possible. The formula worked. When a Fireside Chat was on the air, the nation listened. All Fireside Chats originated from the White House except for December 24, 1944, which was broadcast from Hyde Park, NY. The actual number of Fireside Chats is in question. Depending on reference, they number 28 to 31, and could be extended to as many as 34. White House papers identify 28 Fireside Chats, but only the first 21 of the list were given a "Fireside Chat" designation. Two additional broadcasts were included in the list in the references. Log Comments: This log is based on lists found at the internet sites listed in the References section below. The "Time" column indicates time of the broadcast. All broadcasts were PM, EST (or EWT, Eastern War Time, while the US was at war). It is blank when not known. The "Len" column indicates the length of the broadcast, shown as mm:ss (mm = minutes, ss = seconds). If the broadcast was not recorded, the "Len" field will contain "NR". The two broadcasts that were not listed in White House papers as Fireside Chats but are included in this list are numbers 17 and 28 and are identified by "(not listed in PPA)". PPA is the abbreviation for "Public Papers and Addresses of FDR". Although I found no OTR vendors that offered the Fireside Chats, I did find a few sites on the internet offering cassette sets. None listed speeches included in the sets. For example, Audio-Forum (http://www.audioforum.com, mail address: 96 Broad Street, Guilford CT 06437) listed their set #S19550 of FDR's Fireside Chats. Chronological Log: Date Day Num Title Time Len ------------ --- --- ------------------------------------ ----- ----- Mar 12, 1933 Sun 1 On the Bank Crisis 10:00 13:42 (Delivered from the President's Study) May 07, 1933 Sun 2 Outlining the New Deal Program 22:42 Jul 24, 1933 Mon 3 On the Purposes and Foundations of 9:30 NR the Recovery Program Oct 22, 1933 Sun 4 On the Currency Situation NR Jun 28, 1934 Thu 5 Review of the Achievements of the NR Seventy-third Congress Sep 20, 1934 Sun 6 On Moving Forward to Greater Freedom 27:20 and Greater Security Apr 28, 1935 Sun 7 On the Works Relief Program 28:08 Sep 06, 1936 Sun 8 On Drought Conditions 26:49 Mar 09, 1937 Tue 9 On the Reorganization of the 35:28 Judiciary Oct 12, 1937 Tue 10 On Legislation to be Recommended to 9:30 27:42 the Extraordinary Session of the Congress Nov 14, 1937 Sun 11 On the Unemployment Census 14:16 Apr 14, 1938 Thu 12 On Economic Conditions 10:30 40:42 Jun 24, 1939 Fri 13 On Party Primaries 9:30 29:02 Sep 03, 1939 Sun 14 On the European War 11:25 May 26, 1940 Sun 15 On National Defense 9:30 31:32 Sep 29, 1940 Sun 16 On National Security 9:30 36:53 May 27, 1941 Tue 17 Announcing Unlimited National 9:30 44:27 Emergency (Delivered from the East Room) (not listed in PPA) Sep 11, 1941 Thu 18 On Maintaining Freedom of the Seas 9:30 28:33 Dec 09, 1941 Tue 19 On the Declaration of War with Japan 10:00 26:19 (Delivered from the Oval Room) Feb 23, 1942 Mon 20 On Progress of the War 10:00 36:34 Apr 28, 1942 Tue 21 On Our National Economic Policy 10:00 32:42 Sep 07, 1942 Mon 22 On Inflation and Progress of the War 9:30 26:56 Oct 12, 1942 Mon 23 Report on the Home Front 10:00 29:25 May 02, 1943 Sun 24 On the Coal Crisis 10:00 21:06 Jul 28, 1943 Wed 25 On Progress of War and Plans for 9:30 29:11 Peace Sep 08, 1943 Wed 26 Opening Third War Loan Drive 9:45 12:38 Dec 24, 1943 Fri 27 On Teheran and Cairo Conferences 3:00 28:29 (Delivered from Hyde Park, NY) Jan 11, 1944 Tue 28 State of the Union Message to 9:00 30:20 Congress (not listed in PPA) Jun 05, 1944 Mon 29 On the Fall of Rome 8:30 14:36 Jun 12, 1944 Mon 30 Opening Fifth War Loan Drive 10:45 13:02 References: Information for this log came primarily from two internet sites; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum (http://www. fdrlibrary.marist.edu) and the Mid-Hudson Regional Information Center (http://www.mhric.org). The Fireside Chat titles used in this log are from those sites. Both sites also maintain the complete texts of the speeches. Last Update: May 20, 2004 This log is informational only and does not imply that I have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).