Name ______

Date ______

Period ______

Popular Culture of the 1930s

Creating a Great Depression Era Fireside Chat

Thefireside chatswere a series of thirty eveningradioaddresses given byUnited States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. “Fireside chats" were the first media development that enabled intimate and direct communication between the president and the citizens of the United States. Roosevelt's cheery voice and demeanor played him into the favor of citizens and he soon became one of the most popular presidents ever. The subject of many of the fireside chats were New Deal programs and Alphabet Soup agencies. Radio was especially convenient for Roosevelt because it enabled him to hide hispoliosymptoms from the public eye. For your fireside chat assignment:

1)Research your Alphabet Soup Agency/Law. Figure out why the agency/law was created. Did it provide relief for the jobless and the poor, promote economic recovery to get the economy back on track (reverse the cycle of depression), or reform the economic system so that another depression could be prevented?

2)Write up the text of a fireside chat speech in which you explain the purpose of the agency/law to the American people. Include the heading:

Name of group membersDate

PeriodPop Culture

Fireside Chat and Radio Advertisement

3)Make sure your fireside chat includes:

  1. The Name and acronym of the agency/law
  2. Why the agency/law is necessary
  3. How the agency/law functions (what it does, a definition)
  4. Whether the agency/law was created for relief, recovery and/or reform

Your fireside chat should be AT LEAST two minutes in length and no longer than three minutes.

Creating a 1930’s-Style Radio Commercial

Radio 1930’s provided people with news and information and was also a source of entertainment to the masses. It had the power to persuade as well as to entertain. Advertising was very important to the development of radio in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and still is today. The money that companies paid to radio stations to advertise their products kept the stations alive and running. You and your group will work together to create a commercial to run after your Fireside Chat. Remember, there will not be any images, photographs, or actions seen by consumers, so you must convey your message with words alone! How will you convince the consumer to buy your product?

1)Research your spokes-person and the product/leisure activity they are trying to sell. Use this information in your commercial.

2)Consider the interests, needs, concerns and wants of consumers of the Great Depression.

3)Write up the text of your commercial. You must create a slogan for your product/leisure activity.

The commercial must be AT LEAST one minute in length and no longer than two minutes.

Please write the names of your group members in the space provided below!

  1. ______
  1. ______
  1. ______
  1. ______

Fireside Chat Alphabet Soup Agency/Law

  1. Civilian Conservation Corps
/
  1. Works Progress Administration

  1. Social Security Administration
/
  1. Security Exchange Commission

  1. Fair Labor Standards Act
/
  1. Tennessee Valley Authority

1930’s-Style Radio Commercial- Choose 1 famous spokesperson and 1 product/leisure activity

Spokesperson / Product / Spokesperson / Product
  1. Clark Gable
Charles Lindbergh
Bessie Smith / -Car radio
-Crossword Puzzle
Book
-Yankee Game /
  1. Shirley Temple
Charlie Chaplin
Superman / - Welch’s Grape
Jelly
-King Kullen
“supermarket”
-War of the Worlds
  1. Will Rodgers
Amelia Earhart
Huey Long / -Monopoly
-Chocolate Chip
Cookie
-Movie: Wizard of
Oz /
  1. Fred Astaire
Charlie Chaplin
Judy Garland / -Pogo stick
-Time magazine
- Action Comics
  1. Ginger Rogers
Lou Gehrig
Walt Disney / - Band-Aids
-Eskimo Pies
-Movie: Gone with
The Wind /
  1. Sonja Henie
Mickey Mouse
Benny Goodman / -Kleenex
-Rice Krispies
-Movie: Snow White
And the 7 Dwarves

Radio Broadcast Grading SheetPer: ______

Names of Group Members: ______
______
  1. Sharing
  1. Shared with proper title
and heading
  1. Script format
/ Pts
___/2 / Explanation (if necessary)
  1. Fireside Chat
  1. The Name and acronym of the agency/law
  1. Why the agency/law is necessary
  1. How the agency/law functions (what it does, a definition)
  1. Whether the agency/law was created for relief, recovery and/or reform
  1. Accuracy
/ ___/5
  1. Fireside Chat- Atleast 1:45 in duration
/ ___/1
  1. Radio Advertisement
  1. Correct assignment
  1. Creativity
  1. Slogan
/ ___/3
  1. Radio Advertisement- At least :50
in duration / ___/1
  1. Broadcast
  1. All members of group participated
  1. Done in clear manner
/ ___/1
  1. Behavior
___/2
TOTAL:
______/15