President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Some of you may have watched the recent Ken Burns documentary, The Roosevelts.  I haven't seen the first episode dealing with TR's early life, but I've seen the others.   Even if you missed the documentary, you may know that the Democratic Party held it's 1928 presidential nominating convention in Houston.

Jesse Jones built a temporary, wooden convention hall on the site where the Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall stood for many years.  (The temporary hall was demolished in 1936.  The Coliseum and Music Hall opened in 1937.)  This site is now the location of The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

The Democratic Party nominee was Alfred E. Smith of New York.  His running mate was Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas.  FDR gave Smith's nominating speech.

Click the link below to view silent footage of the 1928 convention.  You'll get a glimpse of FDR giving his speech toward the end.  (For those of you who saw the Burns documentary, Louis Howe is the tubercular looking fellow shown briefly about midway in the film.)

Link to the convention video.

The Burns documentary included a couple of excerpts of FDR's memorable Fireside Chats.  Click the link below to hear his first chat on the Banking Crisis, which he delivered early in his first term (March 12, 1933).  It's not long and worth hearing.

Link to audio of FDR's first Fireside Chat.

If you want to try another, click here to hear his seventh chat, whose topic was the Works Relief Program and Social Security Act (April 28, 1935).