Much more than prior presidents, Roosevelt used the mail as a strategic source of information. In his fireside chats, he encouraged Americans to send him their views, and they responded: The White House averaged 5,000 to 8,000 pieces of mail per day. If the volume of mail dipped, he groused to his advisers about it. Roosevelt insisted that the mail be analyzed scientifically; he had it sorted by category and by stance, and these statistical breakdowns were delivered to him as “mail briefs.” These briefs provided ready-made base rates on the public’s point of view.
