Franklin Roosevelt
Mary Alice Pope
English Comp 3, Westbay
FDR Inaugural; Address Rhetorical Analysis
January 20, 2014
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Rhetorical Analysis of First Inaugural Address
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of The United States of America; he served from 1933 until his death in 1945, the longest any president has served. His inaugural speech in March 1933 had resounding effects on most, if not all Americans. His speech did more than outline his ambitions for his presidency; it gave Americans hope during a problematic time. Starting with the stock market crash in October 1929 the United States faced unemployment, bank closures, and low farm prices. FDR addresses these problems in his inaugural address, and he successfully proposes his plan to remedy these tribulations. Roosevelt’s inaugural address is a successful speech that uses the canons of rhetoric and draws on the parallelism between biblical allusions and pathos to emotionally inspire, and give optimism to an otherwise hopeless audience.
Most Presidents begin their presidency with some sort of problem they want to fix; no President has had quite as great a problem to fix as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1933 the Great Depression plagued the nation. It started with “Black Thursday” in October 1929 and the stock market crashed to numbers so low that banks and Wall Street simply locked their doors and threw away the keys. Two fifths of the workforce was unemployed, farm productions prices were at an all time low, and industrial production had fallen by more than fifty percent (373). By 1932 all states had closed their banks, millions had lost entire life savings and over two million Americans were homeless. These grave times are what faced Roosevelt as he gave his inaugural address in March 1933. His plan of attack became known as the New Deal. The New Deal consisted of domestic programs that focused of relief, recovery, and reform (373). These programs were aimed to curb unemployment,
English Comp 3, Westbay
FDR Inaugural; Address Rhetorical Analysis
January 20, 2014
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Rhetorical Analysis of First Inaugural Address
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of The United States of America; he served from 1933 until his death in 1945, the longest any president has served. His inaugural speech in March 1933 had resounding effects on most, if not all Americans. His speech did more than outline his ambitions for his presidency; it gave Americans hope during a problematic time. Starting with the stock market crash in October 1929 the United States faced unemployment, bank closures, and low farm prices. FDR addresses these problems in his inaugural address, and he successfully proposes his plan to remedy these tribulations. Roosevelt’s inaugural address is a successful speech that uses the canons of rhetoric and draws on the parallelism between biblical allusions and pathos to emotionally inspire, and give optimism to an otherwise hopeless audience.
Most Presidents begin their presidency with some sort of problem they want to fix; no President has had quite as great a problem to fix as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1933 the Great Depression plagued the nation. It started with “Black Thursday” in October 1929 and the stock market crashed to numbers so low that banks and Wall Street simply locked their doors and threw away the keys. Two fifths of the workforce was unemployed, farm productions prices were at an all time low, and industrial production had fallen by more than fifty percent (373). By 1932 all states had closed their banks, millions had lost entire life savings and over two million Americans were homeless. These grave times are what faced Roosevelt as he gave his inaugural address in March 1933. His plan of attack became known as the New Deal. The New Deal consisted of domestic programs that focused of relief, recovery, and reform (373). These programs were aimed to curb unemployment,