Comparing Obama And Roosevelt's Inaugural Address

The purpose of an “inaugural address” is to inform the people of his or her intentions as a leader. Two of the most prominent inaugural addresses throughout history are Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s and Barack Obama’s. Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address stands the test of time because it gave the American people hope that they may overcome the terrible Great Depression. Similarly, Barack Obama’s address is well known because it inspired millions that we will be lifted out of economic crisis, but it was also remembered as the first inaugural address from an African American president. The inauguration speeches of Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama use the rhetorical devices parallelism, allusions, and emotive language to convey their messages

of hope to the people of the United States.
Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama both use parallelism in their inauguration speeches.

Roosevelt’s speech says the following, “It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character.” He uses the phrase “it can” repeatedly to empathize the message being conveyed that he knows the solutions to the Great Depression. Barack Obama’s speech says the following, “Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” Barack Obama uses parallelism to allow his message of previous American struggles to be delivered smoothly and efficiently. Both presidents use parallelism to promote the idea of unity in the face of

hardship.
Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama both use allusions in their inauguration speeches. Franklin Roosevelt’s speech says the following, “Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for.” Roosevelt uses this allusion to the founding fathers in order to convey the message that the founding fathers have fought through much worse dangers and survived them. Barack Obama’s speech says the following, “Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.” Barack Obama also uses an allusion to the founding fathers, but his allusion puts more emphasis on the constitution these fathers wrote, and how we continue to expand upon it. However, both of these speeches highlight the perils that these founding fathers went through in the past.
Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama both use emotive language in their inauguration speeches.

Franklin Roosevelt’s speech says the following, “Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.” Roosevelt uses words such as “stubbornness”, “incompetence”, and “unscrupulous” to underline the absence of morals in these money changers that have failed the American people. Barack Obama’s speech says the following, “Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” Obama uses words such as “violence”, “hatred”, and “weakened” to stress the wrongdoing that have been committed by the previous leaders of the country. Both of the presidents use emotive language to illustrate the wrongdoings that have been committed by the previous

leaders.
In conclusion, the inauguration speeches of Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama are famous not only because of their messages of hope and unity, but also because of the use rhetorical devices pervaded in both speeches. First, they both use parallelism to promote a message of unity. Also, they both use allusions to highlight the perils that the founding fathers faced. Finally, they both use emotive language to illustrate the wrongdoing of past leaders. The inauguration speeches of Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama use the rhetorical devices parallelism, allusions, and emotive language to convey their messages of hope to the people of the United States.