Fireside Chats: Leading a Nation Through Crises

Catherine Cheng, Joyce Lee, Samantha Leong, Cydney Vicentina

Senior Division

Group Website

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Our group first considered the idea of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats when one

of our members proposed it as a potential topic.  She had read about it in a museum last year on a

school trip and remembered being intrigued by the concept of a president’s having such a desire

to communicate with the people.  Our group had already been interested in the use of technology,

specifically the radio, in leadership, so we were excited to explore the leadership of Roosevelt

through “modern” technology.

To research this topic, we looked up books, articles, and websites online and contacted

the authors of these works through email.  We compiled the information from interviews with

these experts, from websites, and from both books found online and from the library.

We chose to present our findings in the form of a website because it offered the most

opportunity to utilize various forms of media, particularly audio since Roosevelt’s Chats

obviously were conveyed through audio.  We also realized that a website would be suitable

especially for our group, whose members live relatively far apart, so we could each work on the

project from our own houses.  Before we created our website, we assembled our information and

brainstormed on a Google Document, where we could comment on and edit each other’s work.

We organized our information on the Google Document to make it easier to present the

information on the website.  We divided up the responsibilities by assigning different pages to

our members.

Our group defined leadership as a person or organization’s ability to influence or

maintain authority over other people, organizations, or future generations; we defined legacy as a

person or organization’s effect on history and future developments.  Franklin D. Roosevelt

showed leadership through the Fireside Chats by guiding the people through difficult times in the

United States’ history.  Instead of leaving the people uninformed, he included them so that they

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understood what the government was planning on doing and were not led astray by any rumors,

causing greater unity and peace in an otherwise tumultuous time.  He also left many effects on

future generations:  he began the tradition of regular, direct communication with the people

through media and modern technology; he bolstered the United States’ citizens’ belief that they

should be involved in and connected with the government; he produced a new image of a

president--a more relatable and involved president.

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