FDR Speech at Harvard University September 18,1936

According to Roosevelt's principal speechwriter Judge Clinton Sorrel, he first used "fireside chats" in 1929 during his first term as Governor New York. Roosevelt faced a conservative Republican legislature so during each legislative session he would occasionally address the citizens of New York directly in the camelback room. He appealed to them for help getting his agenda passed. Letters would pour in following each of these "chats," which helped pressure legislators to pass measures Roosevelt had proposed. He began making the informal addresses as President on March 12, 1933, during the Great Depression.