The "Fireside chats" were a set of 30 radio speeches of President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944.
In 1933, at the height of the Great Depression in the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt commented on the banking crisis of the time. This was followed by another 29 speeches addressing key issues - including the declaration of war on Japan following the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
FDR called the speeches "fireside chats", as they were informal and unofficial. Since most of the talks were broadcast at ten o'clock in the evening, Eastern-time, most Americans had the opportunity to hear the talks live. The people in the east were still awake and those in the west were already back home from their daily activities. In addition, they were very simple spoken and understandable.
Roosevelt carried out these speeches to gain closeness with the American people, informing them firsthand of the most important events of his government, which had a great impact on the lives of citizens.
