On March 12, 1933, just eight days after taking office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the American people in an unprecedented national radio broadcast.

Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat on this day in 1933 to an audience of approximately 60 million, setting the standard for a leader's obligation to explain himself. John Dickerson explains.

Banks have failed and savings accounts have been wiped out, so to explain the banking system and how it works, Franklin Roosevelt gives his first "fireside chat" to the American people.

On March 12, 1933, eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his first national radio address ...