Rhetorical Analysis of President Franklin’s Speech In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his first inauguration speech to the people of America in an objective, yet sympathetic tone. Roosevelt addressed the citizens of the United States accordingly on the country’s crisis of depression and included in his portfolio steps he planned to take towards the eradication of their current problem. In particular, he ascertained the problem of the depression by focusing on the morale of American Citizens and creating new job opportunities through governmental legislation. In President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inaugural address, he skillfully employs ethos, logos, and pathos in conjunction with various rhetorical devices to substantiate his claim that the great nation of America can come out victorious in its bout with depression. …show more content…
Introducing himself by making mention of his initiation in the beginning paragraph of his speech, he establishes his authenticity to his audience and encourages them to lend a listening ear. Moreover, in paragraph three Roosevelt further captures his audience with logic using past evidence. As a result, he convinces the citizens of the United States that their attention is paramount to the solution of the country’s dilemma. The President explains that in prior dark times for America, the unquestionable equation to victory was always an honest and hardworking leader accompanied by understanding and supportive citizens. In addition, in paragraph four, using the descriptive nature of pathos the president pinpoints the unique effects the depression is having on some citizens of America. Consequently, calling on the sympathetic side of citizens to motivate reactions or co-operation from them, and firmly accentuates his viewpoint in the last line when he says, “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the
Roosevelt’s inaugural address focused on the current situation of the nation and he intended to declare war on the Great Depression. He stated a need to move as a nation through his leadership and become a better nation. Roosevelt took a strong stand and proclaimed, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He looks to the future asking the nation to fulfill their “true destiny” of ministering to themselves and their fellow men.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once asserted “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” in belief for a change, for a better nation, and for guidance to those who have lost all faith in humanity. During the Great Depression, the United States faced many different scenarios in which it caused people to doubt and question the “American Dream.” The Great Depression began in 1929 and ended in 1939. In these ten years, people went through unemployment, poverty, banks failed and people lost hope. President Herbert Hoover thought it wasn’t his responsibility to try and fix such issues in the nation.
As the United States became engulfed in the hardships of the Great Depression, a controversy regarding the Federal Government’s involvement with charity and relievement of suffering became apparent. Was it the Government’s responsibility to aid in relieving Americans of such misery? Or, was it the job of the People to work together to reach a solution? An analysis of the two presidents who took turn in office during the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, reveals their opposing perspectives and philosophies regarding this controversy, and subsequently, Roosevelt’s and Hoover’s contradicting views played a fundamental role in America’s rise out of the Great Depression and the nature of government in today’s society.
Roosevelt used personification in his speech in different ways such as he personifies his actions while his presidency in using phrases such as “but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn”. Roosevelt described something so that others can understand, he talked about the failure of America during the Great Depression. Roosevelt also talked about his plans in helping America while his presidency, “I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require”. In other words, he is emphasizing a point which it will be consider personification. Franklin D. Roosevelt also used diction in his First Inaugural Address in order to demonstrate his word choices in introducing the New Deal. America was facing severe economic issues during the Great Depression, farmers find no markets for their produce, savings of many years in thousands of families were gone and a host of unemployment citizens were facing the grim problem of existence. Roosevelt wanted actions for citizens and actions were given. Roosevelt give out examples of diction such as “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”, Roosevelt repeated his chosen words in some point of the phrase to achieve an artistic effect which is best known as diction. Another rhetorical device that Franklin D. Roosevelt used in his speech was antimetabole. Roosevelt used this rhetorical appeal in his speech in order to demonstrate his actions in helping America. Roosevelt talked about the desperate Americans in need of a change “the nation asks for action, and action now” where the words that Roosevelt claimed for a recover. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted America achieve after a severe crisis and he put himself in task by putting people to
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
The first thing realized by the president that he mentioned the fact that people want to see him speaking honestly and he expressly made use of worlds i.e. sincerity and honesty. Roosevelt mentioned about the fear and regarded that our biggest fear is the fear itself. He is playing a paternalistic role in this speech and he is acting just like a parent calms the fear of his kid. He has numerously used the word
'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.' In the delivery of Lincoln's 'Second Inaugural,' many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an end before it was too late. The annihilation that had taken place was tragic, and Lincoln brawled for a closure. The 'Second Inaugural' was very influential, formal, and emotional.
The Inaugural Address of a newly elected president can have an incredible impact on both those who support the young presidency, and those who do not. These speeches are widely broadcast. In school, businesses, and at home, the words of the person who has been elected are heard by hundreds of thousands. The message that these words deliver can sway those who are unhappy with the vote’s results, fearful about the future, or expectant of greatness to look forward without distrust or doubt and to look to the president for leadership and guidance. The focus of the speech illuminates what issues are present in society, and what the commander in chief plans to address in his steps forward. In Bill Clinton’s 1993 Inaugural Address, he incorporated a hopeful but urgent tone, repetitive rhetorical devices that emphasized his point, and an inspirational organizational format to argue that it was the responsibility of the American people and their leadership to change society for the better.
President Obama’s Inaugural Speech: Rhetorical Analysis. Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be in safe hands. The speech is similar to ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve his ethos.
This paper is an analysis of the inaugural address of the former president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). We will focus on the main historical events that were happening, and how he addressed those issues in his speech. In his speech he used appeals to grow closer to the crowd he was speaking too. We will state the quotes he used and announce what kind of appeal that it is from. FDR uses words and phrases to pull the crowd in and I will discuss the effects of those words and what they had on the crowd. Finally we will talk about the overall quality and effectiveness of the speech and how it was such a great speech used.
Afterwards, During FDR’s second inaugural address in 1937, in the midst of a crippling nationwide depression, he said,"I see one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. [...] The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little" (Roosevelt para. 29-30). Through this quote, FDR expressed his tenacious attitude because even though he was up against a great depression, he was determined to fix the problems of the poor nation, no easy task. Any admirable leader should have the ability to persevere through a troubling period because it proves that leader is strong and fit to manage a situation. Regardless of the evidence of FDR’s determination, others believed that FDR was wrong in his reforms because he brought sweeping changes to the government's business as usual attitude., However the changes that FDR made had positive effects for America. For example, “Had the Hundred Days swiftly brought about economic recovery, a return to business as usual might have meant politics as usual as well. In that scenario it is doubtful that any of those landmark reforms would have come to
What would you do if you had the chance and power to change the unions government forever? Benjamin Franklin took advantage of this option in his “Speech in the Convention”. In this speech, Franklin used rhetorical devices such as pathos, analogies, and ethos to convince the delegates to compromise with this constitution for their government.
Nearly everyone has heard the words, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” These words, delivered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, are but a small piece of an elaborate example of a well-executed rhetorical speech. He used rhetorical devices and strategies such as anaphora, repetition, and amplification, in order to achieve his purpose of informing the people of the United States of the attack on Pearl Harbor the day before, to persuade the people to support the war effort, and to remember those innocent lives lost.
In his prominent 1961 Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy extensively employs pathos, parallelism, antithesis, and varied syntax to captivate millions of people, particularly to persuade them to stand together and attempt to further human rights for the “betterment” of the world. Kennedy’s effective use of various rhetorical styles succeeds in persuading his audience –the world and the U.S citizens—that his newly-seized position as the U.S. President will be worthwhile for all.
President John F. Kennedy brings about a new way of thinking in his inaugural speech. He brings in a sense of selflessness and relentlessness for the country. He uses literary devices such as, antithesis, repetition, and rhetorical questions to bring about that sense in the audience. He begins by putting himself to the people and allowing the audience to feel welcomed. The use of literary devices in his speech allows the audience to recognize his goal, which is moving forward and bringing change to the country.