6 presidential speeches that shaped American history

These six presidential speeches are some that have most reverberated through the ages, and whose impacts are still felt today.

• Jul 4

Reporter's Notebook: Views on executive power

Things have changed since Americans fought against FDR's attempt to modernize the executive branch in 1938. "CBS Evening News" co-anchor John Dickerson explains.

• Oct 16, 2025
• 2:14

FDR's legacy and the 22nd Amendment

Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first and only president to seek and win a third term. The decision later led to the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which limits presidents to two terms.

• Jul 26, 2025
• 6:16

Significance of a president's first 100 days

Presidents have been marking their first 100 days since Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933. Since then, they have tried to use their first 100 days to set the tone for the rest of their time in office. Presidential historian Alexis Coe joins "The Daily Report" to break it down.

• Apr 29, 2025
• 4:25

Reporter's Notebook: Fireside chats

Late President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat on this day in 1933 to an audience of approximately 60 million, setting the standard for a leader's obligation to explain himself. John Dickerson explains.

• Mar 12, 2025
• 2:06

Trump White House taking control of press pool

Covering a president as part of the White House press pool dates back to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The pool assignments are done on a rotating basis, which the White House Correspondents Association handled until this week. Now, the Trump White House will assign one or two slots in the pool. Marie Aberger, a former communications aide in the Obama administration, joins "America Decides" to examine the significance of the move.

• Feb 27, 2025
• 7:15

What is "Humphrey's Executor" Supreme Court case?

President Trump's firings of the members of independent agencies and boards have prompted a string of legal fights that could set the Supreme Court up to reconsider and potentially overturn a 90-year-old decision known as "Humphrey's Executor." John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois explain.

• Feb 25, 2025
• 1:10

Doris Kearns Goodwin on what history may tell Joe Biden

The historian describes what the experience of two past incumbent presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, may teach us about Biden's campaign for reelection.

• Jul 7, 2024

"The Nazi Conspiracy": The WWII plot to kill FDR, Churchill and Stalin

In their latest bestseller, Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch write of an assassination plot aimed at Allied leaders attending a 1943 summit in Tehran – a conspiracy that, if successful, could have changed the outcome of the war.

• Jan 29, 2023

Parallels between agendas of Biden and FDR

Some have compared President Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal to Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal," which lifted the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Adie Tomer, senior fellow with Brookings Metro, joins CBSN to discuss the similarities and the shortcomings of this legislation.

• Nov 19, 2021
• 6:49

6/4/19: CBSN Evening News

Former Deputy at Stoneman Douglas charged; How 'Tank Man' became a symbol of protest.

• Jun 4, 2019
• 47:08

FDR and Pearl Harbor

In the hours following Japan's devastating attack on U.S. military forces in Hawaii, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was remembered for "not losing his cool." David Martin reports on the timeline of FDR's actions between the attack on Pearl Harbor and his address to a joint session of Congress seeking a declaration of war against Japan.

• Dec 4, 2016
• 6:15

On The Trail: Transforming our National Parks

Millions of Americans across the country were out of work during the Great Depression, while there was a huge job that needed be completed in America's parks and public lands. And so President Franklin Roosevelt created the the Civilian Conservation Corps, the New Deal program that would eventually employ three million Americans. Conor Knighton reports on the federal program that transformed the lives of millions of Americans - and the country's natural treasures.

• Jul 3, 2016
• 6:44

On June 22, 1944, FDR signed into law job, housing and tuition benefits for service members returning from war

On June 22, 1944, FDR signed into law job, housing and tuition benefits for service members returning from war. Lee Cowan reports.

• Jun 22, 2014
• 2:24

104-year-old Ruth Rosner on casting her vote

New Yorker Ruth Rosner first voted for a president in 1936, casting her ballot for FDR. Last week, on the first day of early voting, correspondent Faith Salie accompanied the 104-year-old to the polls, and her social media posts helped make Rosner a viral star. She talked with Salie about participating in her 22nd presidential election, the importance of voting, and why not even COVID-19 could keep her from making her voice heard.

• Nov 1, 2020
• 2:58

Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady and humanitarian

The child of privilege transformed herself from a shy, self-conscious girl to a revered figure on the world stage, becoming an indispensable partner to the 32nd president and an internationally-respected human rights activist

• Nov 1, 2020

Book excerpt: "Eleanor," the life of Mrs. Roosevelt

David Michaelis' new biography offers a surprising portrait of a first lady

• Oct 30, 2020

Book excerpt: "Countdown 1945" and the race to the atomic bomb

In Chris Wallace and Mitch Weiss' new book, Harry Truman ascends to the presidency upon FDR's death, whereupon he learns of a secret weapons project aimed at ending World War II

• Jun 5, 2020

Trump reads FDR's D-Day prayer

President Trump marked the D-Day anniversary by reading an excerpt from a prayer President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered to the nation by radio on the evening of June 6, 1944, in which he spoke to the country for the first time about the Normandy operation.

• Jun 5, 2019
• 2:19

Communicator-in-chief: How presidents use the media

At the beginning of the 20th century, presidents spoke to the public in print, but in time transitioned to radio, newsreels and television, and now to social media. "Sunday Morning" special contributor Ted Koppel looks at how presidents have used the bully pulpit of media to campaign, to influence, and to steer the news agenda, from FDR’s Fireside Chats to Donald Trump’s tweets.

• May 10, 2020
• 8:09

FDR and the role of president

In 1933, during the Great Depression, newly-elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt confronted 25% unemployment, sweeping poverty, and the collapse of the banking system. His response would reshape the way the country thought about presidential leadership, and democracy itself. CBS News' John Dickerson talks with Roosevelt scholars Jonathan Alter, David Woolner and Susan Dunn about FDR and the presidency during crisis and war.

• May 10, 2020
• 5:22

FDR and the re-creation of America

During the Great Depression, the newly-elected president responded to 25% unemployment, sweeping poverty, and the banking system's collapse in ways that would reshape how the country thought about itself, the presidency, and democracy

• May 10, 2020

Most divisive U.S. presidents, ranked

Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and more – they served, and sometimes they divided.

• Apr 21, 2020
• 42 photos

Leadership in times of crisis

The present pandemic is not the first time in our history that the nation's governors have stepped up to offer guidance, action and straight talk

• Mar 29, 2020

California apologizes for internment of Japanese Americans

In all, 120,000 Japanese Americans were put into internment camps.

• Feb 22, 2020

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