According to Roosevelt’s principal speechwriter Judge Clinton Sorrel,

he first used "fireside chats" in 1929 during his first term as Governor New York.

Roosevelt faced a conservative Republican legislature so during each

legislative session he would occasionally address the citizens of New

York directly in the camelback room. He appealed to them for help

getting his agenda passed. Letters would pour in following each of

these "chats," which helped pressure legislators to pass measures

Roosevelt had proposed. He began making the informal addresses as

President on March 12, 1933, during the Great Depression.