Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, March 12.
In 1933, 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation in his first fireside chat via radio. The content of the speech related to the sudden closures of banks across the country as the Great Depression continues to upend millions of lives. He explained that it was to allow banks to reorganize assets following a sudden craze of withdraws from account holders, causing turmoil for those who depend on their local bank for financial assistance. Farmers were especially affected once they couldn’t take out any more loans to keep their businesses afloat. This fireside chat gave Americans an intimate look from within the White House regarding hot topics: a trend that continues today through different mediums.
In 1947, 33rd U.S. President Harry Truman gives a rattling speech to Congress declaring support for European nations who are deemed to be under imminent threat from communism. The first countries to receive such support were Greece and Turkey, declaring that if they didn’t receive help from democratic countries like the United States, there would be “grave consequences” to the region. This is known as the Truman Doctrine, which was one of the many sparks that caused the Cold War.
In 2020, Broadway joins other entities across the country in shutting down as COVID-19 begins to spread. Believed to have originated from a meat market in Wuhan, China, it’d quickly spread across the world. Restaurants, theaters, schools, businesses, and most federal agencies would close one-by-one around this time, putting the world on a standstill. Today, around 7.1 million people worldwide have died from the disease itself or from complications caused by it.