Author’s Purpose I believe that the author’s main purpose was to inform people of not only what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did to calm the public who were having a financial panic, but also how he did this so effectively. Roosevelt handled the situation of the collapsing economy very calmly and confidently. With the tone of his voice, his word choice, and how he implemented his speech, he put confidence and faith back into the people. The author describes his voice as soothing, like a “favorite uncle telling a bedtime story”(Brands 89). This speech, however, would not have been as effective if he did not use the power of the radio. This was the first time that a president used a radio to communicate directly with the people of the United States and it was successful.
Summary
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Not only had the stock market crashed, but there were many other problems such as unemployment and the collapse of the economy. There was complete chaos between the banks and the people who were trying to get their money before it was gone. Roosevelt handled this very well though, first by closing all of the banks which stemmed the panic. Roosevelt then gave his first fireside chat to the nation, only eight days after his inauguration. This speech was very effective with the help of the radio. By using this new tool, Roosevelt connected to the people better and his words were more powerful since everyone could now listen. Roosevelt succeeded greatly with his speech and the people gained more positive attitudes. Roosevelt was praised by everyone with editors talking highly of him and his actions and the continuous compliments he was given from others. The banks reopened shortly and the people put their confidence back into the banks by trusting them with their money. This was a huge turning point for the economy all thanks to Franklin Roosevelt and his careful actions and smart