Politics on the radio in the 1930's

       In the 1930's the radio became a common household item. Almost everyone had one, kind of like cell phones today. Many people would listen to KDKA, the first commercially licensed radio station. On election day in 1920, according to American Radio Works , KDKA broadcasted Warren G. Harding's win in the presidential election. Later in the 30's the radio was used for many political events. Sometimes there were "national town meeting" on air, and other times some politicians would use to the radio to broadcast their speeches. According to PBS Franklin Roosevelt had a program called  "Fireside chats". His program helped the nation feel closer to their president. The radio allowed people all over the nation to hear presidential inauguration speeches as well. Presidential candidates used the radio to campaign, which was more helpful than just photographs. During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt, Huey Long, and Father Charles Coughlin used the March of Time radio show to broadcast dramatized versions of political and non political news, according  to New Deal New Media . Some people doubted the whole radio system. They thought that the radio "hypnotized audiences falling under the sway of irrational forces like fascism, communism, or even a corrupt and bankrupt capitalism." (American Radio Works).

Franklin Roosevelt broadcasting his program "Fireside Chats" (1935)