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NBC "Fireside Chat" Microphone

National Museum of American History
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Object Details

associated person
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
depicted
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
Smith, Sr., Carleton
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
Description
"I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking." So began on March 12, 1933, the first of about thirty informal "Fireside Chat" addresses that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would deliver over the radio. His ability to communicate over this new medium directly and personally, addressing each listener as a respected friend, gave FDR a powerful tool to shape public opinion.
On March 4, 1933 Roosevelt became the 32nd president of the United States. No chief executive, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, entered the White House confronted by such deep and troubling crises. The nation was mired in its longest and worst economic depression. Approximately a quarter of the work force was unemployed, industrial production was down by a third, and the banking system was collapsing. Internationally the economic crisis contributed to the rise of fascist governments in Europe and eventually World War II. A pragmatist and master politician, FDR boldly experimented with the power of the federal government to address the urgent problems facing the nation. Above all else, Roosevelt's greatest accomplishment was his ability to lead, inspire and assure Americans through some of the darkest years in the nation's history.
President Roosevelt was always rather amused that the name "Fireside Chat" was used to describe all the radio chats he would give during the course of his administration. He used to joke about the Washington weather, saying that it really wasn't proper for a fireside chat.
On the night of the first "Fireside Chat," the microphones were set up in the Lincoln Study. All subsequent chats were held in the Diplomatic Reception Room on the ground floor of the White House. This first night of the Fireside Chat launched a new era of the Presidency whereby the power of mass communications would be used to engage and reassure the American people.
The museum acquired this RCA Type 50-A microphone with the National Broadcasting Company logos on the top and sides in 1996. For many years it had been saved by Carleton Smith, who both set up the microphone for NBC and introduced the radio broadcasts.
Location
Currently not on view
date used
1930s
used date
1930s
ID Number
1996.0168.01
accession number
1996.0168
catalog number
1996.0168.01
Object Name
microphone
Physical Description
copper (overall material)
painted (logo production method/technique)
Measurements
overall: 10 1/4 in x 5 7/8 in; 26.035 cm x 14.9225 cm
referenced
United States: District of Columbia, Washington
Related Publication
Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/treasures
See more items in
Political and Military History: Political History, Presidential History Collection
Government, Politics, and Reform
National Treasures exhibit
National Museum of American History
subject
Radio broadcasts
related event
Fireside Chats
Record ID
nmah_687509
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-0f43-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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