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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Speech

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On December 8th, 1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a speech to the House of Representatives, Members of the Senate, the House Speaker, to the Vice President, and to the American people. Franklin spoke of the incident of the attack on Pearl Harbor the day after it occurred. Mr. Roosevelt was stern and concise. He spoke on the occasion of tragedy to inform the House and the American people what the Japanese have done. So we thought. The speech did not show much grief. Toward the end of the short speech, the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy declared war against Japan.
Franklin D. Roosevelt started the speech by welcoming the other political powers. He quickly delivers the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. “The United States of America was suddenly …show more content…

Roosevelt had the tragedy behind him, the fact of the Japanese attack. This itself was big news and he correctly utilized ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade his audience. The attack was his pathos, there was clear proof of that. Roosevelt could have asked congress to start a war with only that reason and it still might have been declared. He also had the credibility to do so. He, without a doubt, used ethos, “As commander in Chief of the Army and Navy…” and me, “an undergraduate at CSUMB” just proved that. His demeanor was his pathos. Roosevelt did not have to say he was serious to be serious; he was serious and that emotion spread across all audiences.
In under ten minutes, Roosevelt persuaded the nation and congress to declare war with Japan. To me, his use of pauses really set the mood and was the most effective for making his point serious. He was well spoken but not word heavy. We can learn to follow similar techniques if are ever in position to speak to the nation and declare war with another country; or for giving a speech to on a smaller level like a classroom presentation. Thank you

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