The Rhetorical Analysis Of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt uses his authoritative credentials, somber tone and selective word choice to direct his audience into an emotional response toward his speech. He first gets his audiences attention with addressing the higher powers and then discussing the day that “will live in infamy” (Roosevelt). Roosevelt wants the emotional response of congress and the American people to begin to rally in unity toward a war effort against Japan; he started to obtain unity and emotion of the

It was a time that our country had never witnessed nor expected. Who would’ve thought the following of some of the greatest times in United States, such as the roaring twenties and the start of the Industrial revolution, would result in some of the darkest days the United States has ever seen. Starting the in late 1920s and throughout 1930s, was what we know as the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as the 32nd president on March 4th, 1933, a year in which was considered one of the lowest points of the Great Depression. A damaged and torn nation looked to its new leader in hopes of economic resilience and prosperity. FDR’s inaugural address is considered to be one of the most famous acts of public speaking where common sayings such as “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself’ were first uttered (Moley 1). In a time of such unconventional circumstances, FDR’s inaugural address reassured the American people that the United States will become the great country it once was.

Roosevelt was President of the United States at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was working on foreign relations with nations like Japan. Because of this, the attack on Pearl Harbor was quite unexpected. It is not surprising that Roosevelt used his presidential authority over the United States to help gain the trust of his audience. He also used examples that involved God, and because a majority of Americans at this time were Christian, this aspect also added to his authority because it led congressmen to trust him. In his speech, Roosevelt used a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos, to not only make the nation feel safer, but also to make them appeal to his point of view and his ideas about how to handle the situation by declaring a state of war. He used his authority as President and the pride of the citizens to support his argument and he also backed up his thoughts with facts. The speech was very well delivered, especially considering the intended audience. The majority of his audience consisted of congressmen. They were citizens of the United States who were most likely well educated in politics and war. The way he incorporated his authority, their pride, and factual evidence, in his speech was extremely effective

As the President of the United States at that time, Roosevelt held considerable authority over the decisions of his nation; therefore, he was able to persuade his people more effectively because his audience did not hold as much authority as he did. Roosevelt holds an authoritative tone throughout the whole speech as he states his efforts as a leader have resulted in making certain decisions; for example, he indicates that “As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.” (par.9) in order to reinforce his reputation as the leader and maintain his voice of reason

“A date which will live in infamy” is a phrase most associated with this day. An unprovoked attack aimed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 left the nation vulnerable to various outside powers. Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew the vital importance of creating and leading a crusade, so his purpose in addressing the nation was to declare war against Japan and rally the support of the citizens of America. Until the devastating bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japan had been considered an ally. Roosevelt’s speech was about bringing justice to the nation and being honest with the people about the terrible events that had just occurred. Roosevelt, serving as the thirty-second president of the United States, was in his second term when the attack happened.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941’” began President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the day following Japan’s fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the in the tragic loss of nearly two and a half thousand American lives. A date so famously proclaimed to ‘forever live in infamy,’ and so it has. This inspiring speech to Congress and the American people employed appeals and other techniques in it’s mission to touch America’s heart, both with sympathy and indignation. President Roosevelt’s use of rhetoric is extremely effective in rallying the American people to the cause of entering a war so many were reluctant to support.

The “Infamy Speech” was a brief speech, running to just a little over seven minutes. Secretary of State Cordell Hull had recommended that the President devote more time to a fuller exposition of Japanese-American relations and the lengthy but unsuccessful effort to find a peaceful solution. However, Roosevelt kept the speech short in the belief that it would have a more dramatic effect.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) is one of the most influential presidents in history of the United States. In FDR’s 1941 speech, “On the War with Japan,” he discusses the necessity of going to war in Europe and what it means for America’s future. His leadership skills in combination with his speech causes society to go from an isolationist policy to being motivated to enter and win the war. Through the use of rhetoric, FDR is able to captivate the listeners and encourage them to actively participate in the war. Not only does he play on the emotions of the audience, he also appeals to their sense of patriotism and logic in order to persuade them to get involved in World War II.

“This is not a fireside chat on war. It is a talk on national security, because the nub of the whole purpose of your President is to keep you now, and your children later, and your grandchildren much later, out of a last-ditch war for the preservation of American independence and all of the things that American independence means to you and to me and to ours.”

Every week, FDR addressed the nation in radio talks, known as Fireside Chats. One such chat on May 27, 1941 is where he discussed why and how the US should aid its allies that were involved in the war. To begin with, Roosevelt states that to Congress, he said “I should like to be able to offer the hope that the shadow over the world might swiftly pass. I cannot”. Because of an embargo on arms in a Neutrality declaration, the US was not permitted to send war materials to countries at war. This shows that Roosevelt’s vision for America was to help other countries because he asked Congress to repeal a provision that limited the aid the US could give. Roosevelt stated that a year after he said this to Congress, a deal was finalized with

The Second Inaugural Address given by former President Abraham Lincoln shocked his audience. He wrote this speech a month before the Civil War ended. Abraham Lincoln uses rhetorical strategies such as appeals to ethics, sophisticated language, and medium to long sentences to express his vision for the future of the nation.

In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech on conservation. He invited the Supreme Court, his Cabinet, Senators and Representatives in Congress , and the Inland Waterway Commission. Theodore talks about his two main reasons on why they are there . His two main reasons on why they are there is because he wants to talk about morality and patriatsim.

Both skilled orators, King Jr. and Roosevelt, successfully persuade readers using rhetorical devices such as repetition and metaphors. Roosevelt’s “The First Inaugural Address” was written to assure citizens that he would do everything in his power to fix the emergency of the Great Depression. In his speech he uses repetition and metaphors to help get his point across to readers. When discussing the problems that citizens are facing he states, “Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts.

This document is a fireside chat with Franklin Delano Roosevelt which he delivered on June 12, 1944. The fireside chats were informal radio talks FDR would do in order to communicate with the American citizens. At the time of this fireside chat, America engaged overseas in World War II. In this “chat,” FDR urges citizens to buy war bonds in order to support the military efforts abroad. In essence, this chat is really propaganda for buying war bonds; that being said, the appeal to ethos is particularly strong as it comes from the mouth of the leader of the free world.

In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a speech on January 6, 1942. His speech was given to all the American people and the members of the seventy-seventh congress. The main purpose of Roosevelt’s speech was to command people in every nation that they shared the four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom to worship God, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. He is trying to convince all nations that we deserve the four freedoms as citizens. Roosevelt tries to get his point across by using rhetorical appeals. Rhetorical appeals are three elements that helps persuade someone. Roosevelt uses this strategy to the American people by saying,”A good society is able to face schemes of the world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear,”