Analysis of the Rhetoric of President Franklin Roosevelt

In his inaugural speech of 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke one of the most famous pieces of rhetoric to date, saying that we have “nothing to fear, but fear itself.” In reality, everyone had very much to fear. For one thing, their trusted leader lied straight to their faces every time he made a public appearance. The possibility of war and loss, in terms of love, life, and money, were constantly on the mind of Americans during Roosevelt’s presidency – all four terms. President Roosevelt utilized the tactics of deception and rhetoric to gain the trust of Americans, and was betrayed by the country of Japan. While he was deceptive, Roosevelt’s decisions did, in fact, “justify the means.”

Franklin Roosevelt is actually considered one of the greatest men to lead the United States. Though this common belief stands, this multi-term president was very deceiving to the citizens of his country. One of Roosevelt’s greatest deceptions was the façade of his physical ability to walk. The president had gotten polio in the summer of 1921, which should have restricted him to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He did not want to be known to the American people as weak, so Mr. President and his close friends worked on different leg braces, covers, and methods of making it seem like he could walk like any other strong, healthy man. This may seem miniscule in scale to the facts that can be hidden by a political leader, but it created a preface to the way he would go on to lead the country.

The different components of rhetoric were used by Franklin Roosevelt in order to further his endeavors as president. He used ethos to gain the trust of Americans, pathos to appeal to their emotions, and logos to attract the logical ...

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...dored, most will agree that the end did justify the means. Japan had gotten the punishment they deserved, no matter how it was received.

Franklin Roosevelt was one of the most influential presidents of the 20th century. While he seemed like a good, honest man, he deceived the loyal American citizens when he pretended to be healthier than he really was. He used rhetoric to gain the trust of citizens and ultimately get his way. After winning four elections, it became obvious that he knew what his words were doing. The one thing, though, that could never be clearly answered is whether the end justifies the means. This question is based on morals and standpoint, but in this case, it would be better to consider the rhetoric used and base an answer off of that. After taking Roosevelt’s speeches into consideration, one would say that the end does justify the means.