ONE MILLION HEAR PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 6, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge's address to the Congress of the United States was broadcast on six "powerful" radio stations and heard by more than a million people. The New York Times reported that the POTUS was heard "by more people than...any man in history."
Amity Shlaes writes in a recent COOLIDGE biography..."The technology added to the glamour but also fueled the anxiety." The radio broadcast began at 12 Noon (EST) with the President's address airing at 12:30 p.m.
Radio stations carrying the broadcast included WEAF, WCAP, WJAR, and WFAA. Other outlets included AT&T and the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company.
Shlaes describes the scene:
"A packed House of Representatives was waiting when Coolidge arrived to speak. Mrs. Coolidge sat with Mrs. New, the wife of the postmaster general; Alice (Roosevelt) Longworth and Samuel Gompers were also in reserved seats."
Mr. Coolidge began his speech by paying tribute to President Warren G. Harding who had passed away just months earlier. He then discussed foreign affairs. The President said...
"We attend to our own affairs...but we recognize...our obligation to help others. We know the inescapable law of service."
President Coolidge concluded his speech, 7000 words long, by saying...
"America has taken her place in the world as a Republic--free, independent, powerful. The best service that can be rendered to humanity is the assurance that this place will be maintained."
SOURCES
"Calvin Coolidge's First Annual Message, The American Presidency Project, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/
"Coolidge," by Amity Shlaes, Harper, New York, 2013.
"On this Day," New York Times, December 5, 1923, www.nytimes.com/
President Coolidge
Arlington National Cemetery
National Photo Company
Library of Congress Image (1924)
