Fireside Chats, Roosevelts Radio Appeals to Ordinary Americans

Fireside Chats, Roosevelt's Radio Appeals to Ordinary Americans The fireside chats were a series of 30 addresses by President Franklin D. Roosevelt broadcast nationwide on radio in the 1930s and 1940s. Roosevelt was not the first president to be heard on the radio, but the way he used the medium marked a significant change in the way presidents communicate with the American public. Key Takeaways: Fireside Chats Fireside chats were a series of 30 radio broadcasts by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which he used to explain or promote a specific government action.Millions of Americans tuned in to the broadcasts, yet listeners could feel the president was talking directly to them.Roosevelts innovative use of radio influenced future presidents, who also embraced broadcasting. Direct communication with the public became a standard in American politics. Early Broadcasts The political rise of Franklin Roosevelt coincided with the growing popularity of radio. A speech Roosevelt delivered at the Democratic National Convention was broadcast in 1924. He also used the radio to speak to his constituents when he served as governor of New York. Roosevelt seemed to sense that radio had a special quality, as it could reach millions of listeners, yet for each individual listener the broadcast could be a personal experience. When Roosevelt became president in March 1933, America was in the depths of the Great Depression. Drastic action needed to be taken. Roosevelt quickly embarked on a program to rescue the nations banking system. His plan included instituting the Bank Holiday: closing all banks to prevent runs on cash reserves. To gain public support for this drastic measure, Roosevelt felt he needed to explain the problem and his solution. On the evening of Sunday, March 12, 1933, only a week after his inauguration, Roosevelt took to the airwaves. He began the broadcast by saying, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking... In a concise speech of less than 15 minutes, Roosevelt explained his program for reforming the banking industry and asked for the publics cooperation. His approach was successful. When most of the countrys banks opened the following morning, the words heard in American living rooms from the White House helped restore confidence in the nations financial system. President Roosevelt delivering an early Fireside Chat. Getty Images   The Depression Broadcasts Eight weeks later, Roosevelt delivered another Sunday night address to the nation. The topic, again, was financial policy. The second speech was also considered a success, and it had a distinction: a radio executive, Harry M. Butcher of the CBS network, called it a Fireside Chat in a press release. The name stuck, and eventually Roosevelt began using it himself. Roosevelt continued to give fireside chats, usually from the Diplomatic Reception Room on the first floor of the White House, though they were not a common occurrence. He broadcast a third time in 1933, in October, but in later years the pace slowed down, sometimes to just one broadcast per year. (However, Roosevelt could still be heard regularly on the radio through broadcasts of his public speeches and events.) The fireside chats of the 1930s covered various aspects of domestic policy. By late 1937, the impact of the broadcasts seemed to decline. Arthur Krock, the influential political columnist of the New York Times, wrote following a fireside chat in October 1937 that the president didnt seem to have much new to say. After his June 24, 1938, broadcast, Roosevelt had delivered 13 fireside chats, all on domestic policies. More than a year went by without him giving another one. President Roosevelt during a wartime Fireside Chat. Getty Images Preparing the Nation for War With the fireside chat of September 3, 1939, Roosevelt brought back the familiar format, but with an important new topic: the war that had broken out in Europe. The remainder of his fireside chats dealt mainly with foreign policy or domestic conditions as they were impacted by Americas involvement in World War II. In his third wartime fireside chat, broadcast on December 29, 1940, Roosevelt coined the term Arsenal of Democracy. He advocated that Americans should provide weapons to help the British fight the Nazi threat. During a December 9, 1941 fireside chat, two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt prepared the nation for war. The pace of the broadcasts accelerated: Roosevelt gave four fireside chats per year in 1942 and 1943, and three in 1944. The fireside chats came to an end in the summer of 1944, perhaps because news of the progress of the war already dominated the airwaves and Roosevelt had no need to advocate for new programs. Legacy of the Fireside Chats The fireside chat broadcasts between 1933 and 1944 were often politically important, delivered to advocate for or explain particular programs. Over time they became symbolic of an era when the United States navigated two monumental crises, the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelts distinctive voice became very familiar to most Americans. And his willingness to speak directly to the American people became a feature of the presidency. Presidents following Roosevelt could not be remote figures whose words reached most people only in print. After Roosevelt, being an effective communicator over the airwaves became an essential presidential skill, and the concept of a president delivering a speech broadcast from the White House on important topics became standard in American politics. Of course, communication with voters continues to evolve. As a January 2019 article in The Atlantic put it, Instagram videos are the new fireside chat. Sources Levy, David W. Fireside Chats.  Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, edited by Robert S. McElvaine, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2004, pp. 362-364.  Gale Virtual Reference Library.Krock, Arthur. In Washington: A Change In Tempo of Fireside Chats. New York Times, 14 October 1937, p 24.Roosevelt, Franklin D.  Great Depression and the New Deal Reference Library, edited by Allison McNeill, et al., vol. 3: Primary Sources, UXL, 2003, pp. 35-44.  Gale Virtual Reference Library.

How to Get ACT Scores, Step by Step

How to Get ACT Scores, Step by Step SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips So you've recently taken the ACT. Congratulations! But now you are probably wondering when and how you will be able to see your ACT scores. Where can you see your ACT scores? Read on to learn when ACT scores become available and how to check your ACT scores online. NOTE: Looking for ACT scores from before Spring 2008 or forgotten your ACT ID? Then you should check out our article on how to get old ACT scores first! When Do ACT Scores Come Out? Your ACT scores will be posted on the official ACT, Inc. website a few weeks after you take the test. They will not be emailed to you directly, so you'll have to access your scores yourself by logging on to your ACT account. Multiple-choice scores are usually available 10 days after the test, with your Writing scores added on about two weeks later (for exact dates, see our article on when ACT scores come out). Note that your Writing score will take a bit longer since it's being graded by actual people and not machines. // All ACT scores should be posted eight weeks after the test date at the very latest. (Your ACT scores could take a bit longer if you live outside the US or Canada.) Be aware that there is no way to speed up or prioritize your test scoring. The priority report option on the ACT website refers to sending scores to colleges- not getting a faster score report. Colleges will not be sent your ACT scores until the full report (including your Writing score, if you took the ACT with Writing) has been processed. How to Get Your ACT Scores: Step-by-Step Guide Now that you know when ACT scores come out, how can you actually see your ACT scores? Here is a step-by-step guide to teach you how. First,log on to your ACT Web Account; using the user ID and password you created when you originally signed up for the ACT. // If you forgot either your user ID or password, use the "Forgot User ID?" or "Forgot password?" links to retrieve your account info. Once you log in, you'll be taken to your ACT Student home page, where you will see a summary of your test registration dates. Click on "Your Test Dates And Scores" in the left column to get to your ACT scores: Next, you'll see a table with the date(s) you took the ACT, the type of test you took (ACT or ACT Plus Writing), and a link to view your scores. (Incidentally, you'll also see any test dates you signed up for and later cancelled, such as my September 2009 test in the screenshot below.) Click on "View Your Scores" to be taken to your ACT scores page: You will then be prompted to enter your password one more time. Don’t worry, it’s the same one you used before! Finally, you'll arrive at your ACT scores page. // On this page, you'll see your composite ACT score (out of 36), your section scores, and your subscores. The subscores are useful in that they give you detailed information about your subject area performance. Unfortunately, unlike with the SAT, with the ACT you won't get to see your exact raw scores. (For more information about how the ACT is scored, see our article.) If you click on the "Download student score report PDF" link, you'll get a PDF report with even more detailsabout your percentile scores, potential areas of improvement, and other pieces of information you can use to boost your ACT score! What to Do Once You Get Your ACT Scores Once you've seen your scores, the first step you should take is to determine whether you met your ACT goal score or not. Even if you didn't, were you pretty close to it, or pretty far from it? Your answer to this question will help you decide whether you should retake the ACT. // For example, if you were aiming for a 30 but got a 24, it'd probably be in your best interest to retake the test. In this case, be sure to focus on improving your weaknesses in your prep. On the other hand, if you were aiming for a 32 and got a 31, you might be satisfied with these results and decide not to retake the ACT. If your score is lower than you wanted it to be and you don't have time to retake the exam, you should definitely put in extra effort into making your college applications as strong as possible. Try to keep up your GPA and write a great personal statement so you can give yourself your best shot at getting accepted to college. Recap: How to Get ACT Scores This is pretty much all there is to getting your official ACT scores. Once again, you will not receive a score report by email or snail mail, so make sure you have your user ID and password ready to go the day your ACT results are scheduled to come out. In addition, once you've seen your ACT scores, take some time to determine whether they are high enough for your schools as well as whether you want to retake the exam or not. // What's Next? You've seen your official ACT scores. Now, the important question is what you should do with them. Should you retake the ACT? Figure out whether you should in our three-step guide. What's a good ACT score? Discover your target score using our expert guide. Still debating between taking the ACT and SAT? Learn which test is easier and get tips on how to choose the right one for you. Unhappy with your ACT scores? PrepScholar might be the program for you.We guarantee an improvement of 4 points on your current ACT score, or your money back. We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built byHarvard grads and SAT full scorers, the programlearns your strengths and weaknessesthrough advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our no-commitment 5-day free trial today: //