Learn Our History Today: March 12

Learn Our History Today:  On March 12, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his very first national radio address as president.  Broadcasted directly from the White House, he made the address just eight days after his inauguration. 

Directed at the American people who were facing the lowest point of the Great Depression and 25-33% unemployment rates, Roosevelt’s first address was designed to ease public fear and instill confidence in his leadership.  Between March 1933 and June 1944, Roosevelt delivered more than 30 public radio addresses.

A journalist named Robert Trout is responsible for coining the phrase “Fireside Chat” to describe Roosevelt’s public radio addresses. The term was meant to create an image of the president sitting in a cozy room near a fireplace, being very conversational in his communications to the American people.  Trout, however, credited the phrase to Harry Butcher, a CBS vice president in Washington at the time.

And on this day in 1993, Janet Reno was sworn in as the first female attorney general of the United States.  She previously served as the Dade County (FL) district attorney, making her responsible for overseeing 120,000 criminal cases each year.  During her 15- year tenure in Miami, she created the Miami Drug Court to try nonviolent criminals and offer alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems.  The Miami Drug Court model was used by other courts around the country, and in February of 1993, President Clinton nominated Reno for U.S. attorney general.