Rhetorical Analysis Of The Fireside Chats

Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidential election at a time when 13 million Americans were unemployed and nearly every bank in the country was in danger of closing. This time became known as The Great Depression. Roosevelt entered the oval office with a strong mandate for a first term president, to rescue the U.S. from the worst economic depression in history. In order to do this, he instituted a series of radio programmes called the Fireside Chats, which enabled him to communicate his ideas and legislation to the people of America.

During the time of the Great Depression most people received their news from the radio because there were no newspapers or televisions yet. When it came to delivering this news, Roosevelt was very informative, motivating, and persuasive. He was able to calm people down and talk to them about the things that would worry them. The way he put his ideas together in a clear, logical way allowed people to follow along just by listening in. For example, “These measures that I have mentioned are… the program which under my constitutional duty I have recommended to the Congress”.

First, there’s the appeal to reason where you appeal to people by using facts, research and logic. In his Fireside Chats, Roosevelt specifically refers to facts when speaking about unemployment. Next, is the appeal to ethics, which is appealing to a persons sense of right and wrong. For this, Roosevelt says that the people who had been unemployed the longest would be the first to receive jobs because it was right that way. Then, there’s the appeal to emotion, which is to a person’s inner feelings, passions or fears. President Roosevelt says in his conclusion that God is watching over America and that we should be thankful. Lastly, there is the appeal to personal anecdotes or analogies. Roosevelt uses personal stories, observations or metaphors to connect with his audience and increase