Join us in-person in the library or online for a presentation by Fireside Chats host Paul Sparrow.

Franklin Roosevelt was born into the Gilded Age. His neighbors as a child were Astors, Vanderbilts, and Morgans. For the Roosevelts and their class it was a time of great wealth and prosperity. But millions lived in abject poverty, with some immigrant families living ten to a room. After World War One the economy exploded and the Roaring Twenties seemed to offer unlimited possibilities driven by a stock market that only went up. But bootleggers and speakeasys gave way to hobos and Hoovervilles as the Great Depression devastated the American Economy. Roosevelt was caught up in these historic economic swings, until polio struck. This era transformed FDR from an arrogant privileged scion to a champion for the desperately poor.

President Franklin Roosevelt broadcast his first Fireside Chat on March 12th, 1933, just eight days after his inauguration. During his 12 years in office he delivered dozens of Fireside Chats, guiding America through the Great Depression, and guiding a global audience through the horrors of World War Two. FDR’s Fireside Chats were a new form of political communication, using radio to connect with Americans in an intimate setting – right in their living rooms. His compelling and persuasive broadcasts encouraged Americans to believe in democracy and its future. Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, hosts this series of programs that build on the foundation laid by FDR’s Fireside Chats, and find their relevance to our world today.

This series is moderated by Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He has written articles and blogs on them, and has appeared on the CBS Evening News, CNN, CSPAN, the History Channel, and the Washington Post’s Presidential podcast.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer.

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