March 12, 1933. It was a time when many Americans needed hope and support. Franklin Roosevelt, president at that time, had to choose his words carefully. He did not want to be too formal, the people would see him as nothing more than a politician. Instead he was friendly, informal, and spoke with a simplicity that brought him to the level of the average American. This informality and friendliness was evident right away with the memorable words, “My friends.” These powerful words imply many things. For instance, a twenty nine year old woman who has no job, whose financial situation is less than desirable, and whose life seems to be nothing more than survival would feel a certain comfort in knowing that the leader of her country considers himself a companion, a friend, and a fellow American; not a ruler. This portrayal of being down-to-earth was also evident through the first paragraph. Roosevelt’s words, “I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking…more particularly with the overwhelming majority of you who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks.” Again, Roosevelt nails the “common” persona that I believe he aims to portray. Here he set up the basis of his entire speech. The average listeners now knew that they would not be bombarded with confusing jargon and terminology. More and more they began to feel that Roosevelt was speaking not to an entire nation, but to them specifically. The next paragraph seems to be aimed at abolishing any doubts that Roosevelt’s words are sincere, honest, and not a political ploy. Roosevelt accomplished this plainly with the words, “I want to tell you what has been done… and why it was done,” and, “I recognize that the many procla... ... middle of paper ... ...anks while limiting that blame to a small number of specific banks that are not any specific listener’s bank. Roosevelt also struck honesty and common sense by saying, “I do not promise you that every bank will reopen…” This revealed to a listener that Roosevelt was not perfect but was honest. A shrewd listener, however, would have realized that what Roosevelt said is rhetorical and almost a cunning thing to say while not actually saying anything at all. This, I believe, is perhaps the only time Roosevelt spoke in a way that seemed like a political ploy. The last sentence of the speech gleams with eloquence. Roosevelt emphasized his “one of the common people” persona with the infallible words “Together we cannot fail.” His last sentence is as powerful as his first and together they sum up Roosevelt’s objective with the fireside chats: to be one of the people.
Although the nation listened with little hope, the genuineness behind the words Roosevelt spoke opened the ears of many. While many ridiculed Hoover and found ways to belittle his status with phrases such as “Hoovervilles” to describe shanty towns or “Hoover Blankets” to describe the newspapers individuals used as warmth, he practiced denial. While the people of the nation suffered, his approach to keeping the facade that the economy “was on its way” was to preserve and uphold formal attire and protocol in the White House.... ... middle of paper ...
Viola Hazelberger wrote Roosevelt a letter describing how the Radio Address affected a high school student’s banking decision. This letter is started off by Viola saying, “I would like to tell you that I enjoyed the speech… I have regained faith in the banks due to your earnest beliefs (1.1 - 1.2).” When someone says they enjoyed your speech, most people will take it as a compliment. She continued saying that she regained faith in the banks due to Roosevelt’s speech. If I were Roosevelt I would feel a sense of pride knowing I can reassure people during hard times. She continues saying that she is interested in her country’s problems even though she is only a high schooler. “I firmly believe that the country is on the upward grade and I believe
Also, I will discuss whether or not there are any logical fallacies that may have weakened his speech. President Roosevelt does a few specific things to be able to establish his credibility as a speaker. Since Roosevelt was the current president, the United States was inclined to listen to him and believe what he was saying. Being the president, the people knew that he was a credible source to receive information from. The president had also been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1920.
"I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people," said Franklin Roosevelt. With that he was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. By March there were 13,000,000 unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. In his first "hundred days," he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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.
In his speech, he stated how he would continue his New Deal program that he started in 1933. He states how one hundred and fifty years ago from the day he made his speech, the Constitutional Convention was made, creating the nation we see today. He believes that the Constitution of 1787 “did not make our democracy impotent.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Roosevelt’s powerful part of the speech is when he talks about how America is still climbing out of the depression but is making progress.
In the book Theodore Roosevelt by Louis Auchincloss, I learned a great deal about the twenty-sixth President of the United States of America. Former President T. Roosevelt made many accomplishments as president, and did not have a high number of scandals. Roosevelt did very well in keeping the peace between the different countries, which earned him many admirers and the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. The author’s purpose for writing Theodore Roosevelt was to tell his readers all about America’s former president, Theodore Roosevelt’s life. Louis Auchincloss did a great job at describing President T. Roosevelt’s life from Teddy’s childhood, his life before presidency, to all of Teddy’s accomplishments as president, and finally to his life after his
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
Repeating the phrase “I call” in his last paragraph, Roosevelt is emphasizing that he, as the president, is asking everyone listening to do his or her part in the great effort and reiterating that he, despite all the power he holds, needs the citizens to work with him. Furthermore, Roosevelt uses the word “defense” to restate that the US would not be attacking or entering the war, but if they were complacent then they would be put on the defensive. In addition, Roosevelt repeats words like “swiftly”, “urgency” and “speed” to illustrate the urgency with which the country as whole must take action and become the arsenal of democracy. Finally, within Roosevelt’s speech, there are many occurrences of inclusive words such as “we”, “all” and “our”. By emphasizing the unity of the country through these words, Roosevelt reiterates that without a national effort, the situation they are in may become apocalyptic. The repetition of certain words throughout his speech allows Roosevelt to assuage the fears of his people and make a call to action to those
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.
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
Theodore Roosevelt was well known by the people for being for the people and willing to stand shoulder to should with “anyone who had a forward-thinking vision of the future and intense convictions,” he called them Progressives (Bowles, M.D., 2011). In 1912 TR and his Progressive Party had already accepted that their chances of winning the Presidential Race were very small. "Although I expect to lose I believe that we are founding what really is a new movement, and that we may be able to give the right trend to our democracy,” (Kraig, R.A., 2000). TR’s hope was to get his message out to as many Americans as possible to lay the groundwork for the future of his political pa...
A major rhetorical choice President Roosevelt incorporated into his moving speech was anaphora. After he explained the country’s relationship with Japan before the attack, and after he explained the devastating results of the attack, he starts to list off in a very structured order the other countries Japan chose to attack, using almost a formulaic approach: “Last night, Japanese forces attacked…” The reason he chooses to repeat the same structured phrases repeatedly is to grab the attention of the audience and to make them feel outraged. It shows who
In his first fireside chat, FDR addressed the banking crisis the nation faced. In his third day of office, FDR closed all the banks declaring a bank holiday. This worried the American people about the status of their money. Through discussing his reasoning for closing the banks, he eased the minds of the American people. It
electing Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. This was the beginning of a new period in time for