“Together we cannot fail.” Calming Effect of FDR's Words “Let us unite in banishing fear,” he concluded. (Yes, he was actually sitting next to a fireplace.)įinally, Roosevelt called on the American people to renew their “confidence and courage,” and to have “faith,” rather than be “stampeded by rumors or guesses.” That evening, at 10 pm Eastern time, Roosevelt addressed the nation via radio broadcast, directly from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House. First Fireside Chat Addresses Banking Crisisīut on March 12, 1933, the day before banks were set to reopen, it wasn’t clear that these emergency measures had done enough to calm the public’s fears. Those that were judged to be healthy and stable enough would reopen on March 13. The bill gave the federal government the power to investigate each bank’s finances.

Called into a special session, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act on March 9. Two days later, he declared a nationwide “bank holiday,” temporarily shutting down the nation’s entire banking system. But stirring words would not be enough, and Roosevelt knew it: “This nation asks for action, and action now.” “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” Roosevelt famously declared on that cold and cloudy Inauguration Day. This Day In History: - FDR Gives 1st Fireside Chat

Fdr fireside chat on the dust bowl