More Important Than Gold:
The Original Fireside Chat
By the time he took office in 1932, Franklin Roosevelt was faced with the most intense crisis since the American Civil War. In the streets, lay 13 million unemployed Americans. Breadlines and soup kitchens had lines stretching blocks. The Great Depression was taking a toll on Americans. After the helplessness of Herbert Hoover, the American people were looking for a new leader. A hero to those in poverty. He was that hero. With his “New Deal”, he would clean up America’s economy and help bring an end to the long depression. To tell the American people of his plans, he broadcasted a message over the radio telling of what he planned, and what he needed the American people to accomplish. He called these short broadcasts Fireside Chats. The idea of the first Fireside Chat was to convince the people to once again believe in banks. He called this speech, “More Important Than Gold.” This first speech answered some of the people’s main questions of the new president and their situation.
Who was the new president?…show more content… It may have been a simple speech about banking and getting the country back on track, but it meant the beginning of the end of the Great Depression. It was a big hope for those living day to day in hunger and worrying where they were gonna work or eat next. They were ready to be normal again. They were ready to have jobs again. This speech made the people feel they could really trust Franklin Roosevelt. The radio broadcasts made Roosevelt feel surreal. It was like he wasn’t miles away sitting in the Oval Office. Some people even said that with the radio broadcasts, you could almost feel Roosevelt talking to you. It was like he was sitting in your living room by your radio having a conversation with you. The speech was an` ounce of hope to the people and lightened confusion about Roosevelt’s plans with the Bank Holiday. It greatly affected the American