FDR's First Fireside Chat: The Bank Crisis

On October 29th of 1929 the stock market crashed, beginning the Great Depression, which would eventually spread worldwide and would last for around ten years. President Hoover was in office at the time and urged banks to form a consortium called the National Credit Corporation. He also created many Acts to try and pull America out of the economic depression but none worked and some even made the depression worse. FDR was elected president in 1933 and shortly after entering into office, the Dust Bowl crisis started. The Dust Bowl was a period of time in the Midwest where there was extreme drought and many dust storms. These dust storms were caused by poor crop circulation and other factors but they caused the land to be useless for crops. Many banks kicked off the tenants of their land to save money, so now there were more than 500,000 Americans homeless during this Great Depression. This was what FDR had to deal with in his first year of office. 

            FDR’s first Fireside Chat, he started the Fireside Chats, was about the bank crisis and how he and the government are trying to fix it. This chat was given only a few days after most of the public of the USA rushed to banks to take out their deposits and turn them into to currency or gold. The banks could not get enough currency to meet this demand because most of the deposits you put into the bank are invested into many different types of loans, which keep the economy and agriculture moving soundly. This rush caused many banks to have to sell assets at a much lower price than their real worth. This caused the wheels of the economy to slow down and as a result many banks closed down and FDR ordered a national bank holiday.

During this banking holiday, banks were getting reorganized and were getting the currency needed to meet the demands of the people. Banks in the twelve Federal Reserve bank cities that have been found to be “all right” by the Treasury would start opening the day after this chat. Smaller banks would start opening a few days afterwards. FDR then goes on to say that the state banks will be following the same course of recovery as the federal banks. He also reassures the people that when the bank opens they will be able to take care of all the peoples’ needs. FDR explains that the success of this program depends on the people. The people need to trust banks again and use them to safely store their money.

FDR explains that the reason of this bank holiday was to get banks to be more readily able to convert their assets to cash than before. FDR then goes on to talk about how the vast majority of banks were trustworthy with the peoples’ money but enough were not that it caused the people to distrust all banks. This problem was being fixed and banks were reopening once they were stable and approved by the Treasury. There were no losses that could be avoided, but on the whole some individual looses must be suffered. Together, the people must work with and have faith in the government so that the banking problem can be fixed, and then onto the greater challenge, the economic depression.

The American Creed and Belief System were subtlety implemented in this fireside chat in many ways.

“The success of our whole great national program depends, of course, upon the cooperation of the public -- on its intelligent support and use of a reliable system.” –FDR

Confidence of the people is a major part in the American Creed and Belief System. If the people do not have confidence in government then how can government work? The government is here to rule and protect us and if we do not trust it, then it will fail its job. Without our trust and confidence the government cannot run the country, so we, the people, have to trust in the government so it can do its job. 

The people of the 1930s lost confidence and trust in the banking system. This caused the banking system to need a total revamp because it could not provide for the people anymore. The government fixed the banking problem but it needed the people to trust banks again so that the banking system would take off again and thrive.

“I want to tell our citizens in every part of the Nation that the national Congress -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- showed by this action a devotion to public welfare and a realization of the emergency and the necessity for speed that it is difficult to match in our history.” –FDR

“It was the Government's job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible -- and the job is being performed.” –FDR

These quotes represent the idea that Democrats and Republicans alike must put differences aside and work for the better of the people. This is a major part of the American Creed and Belief system. FDR needed congress to come together and pass a law so that the banking system could be fixed, and they did just that. This quote also tells that the congressmen realized that their number one job was to cater to welfare of the people and to do it in a speedy fashion. 

“It was then that I issued the proclamation providing for the nation-wide bank holiday, and this was the first step in the Government's reconstruction of our financial and economic fabric.” –FDR

An American belief is that the people of the United States are generally afraid of a large government. Sometimes, though, a large government is needed. This was the case when the banking system failed. Although many people probably opposed it, like many people opposed the bank bailouts by Obama, the government fixing of the banks was needed and was the best option. It is the government’s job to come in and fix the economy in desperate situations because it is the government’s job to protect the people and letting the people slip into an economic depression is not protecting the people. 

“I can never be sufficiently grateful to the people for the loyal support they have given me in their acceptance of the judgment that has dictated our course, even though all of our processes may not have seemed clear to them.” –FDR

It is a part of the American Creed that we must trust and put our faith in our president even if he is of a different political party, for we are all Americans. We must trust that the president has a plan and can bring us out of whatever problem we are in. For if we do not trust him, he cannot put his plan into work and we will never get out of the problem. We as Americans must also trust our government even if we do not understand some of the things it does. Government is a very complex organization and it is hard for an normal citizen to fully understand everything about it, so that is why we have Senators and Representatives, people who know more about government and can therefore represent our beliefs in it. 

“Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.” –FDR

This quote from FDR embodies all the past ideas of the American Creed and Belief System mentioned before and puts an emphasis on unity. In uniting as one, we, the people of the United States, can make this banking system work again. The government cannot do it alone and the people of America cannot do it alone, and the people especially cannot do it alone if they themselves are not united. Only once the people of the USA are united as one can they unite with the government and solve this problem. We have a government by the people so the government cannot work without the help of the people.