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Franklin D Roosevelt Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Amidst the troubles of the Great Depression, rumors of bank corruption and closure provoked investors to pull their money out of American banks. Of course, the banks could not keep up, and fueling even more panic and withdrawals. To curb this vicious cycle, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt established an indeterminate bank closure, a “holiday” to allow the banking crisis to stabilize. However, for the plan to work, he needed the support of the American public. And so, in his first “fireside chat,” as journalists would later dub it, Roosevelt reassured the public and informed them of his plan to repair the banking situation. Using logos to reason out his decisions, ethos to show his authority, and pathos to gain support from the American people, Roosevelt lays out the situation and gives his plan for the future. To explain the bank situation and his actions regarding it to the public, Roosevelt uses logos, telling them “what has been done, … why it was done, and what the next steps are going to be.” Following this course of logic, he presents his listeners with several “facts”, most notably that banks keep only a portion of their deposits in cash. Making his point clearer by using a metaphor, he then explains that they invest the money to keep the “wheels of industry and of agriculture …show more content…

Using logos to explain the basics of banking and of the banking crisis, Roosevelt lays out his plan for restoring the banks. Already a well-respected leader, the president reinforces his ethos by showing how both other leaders and the public support him. Finally, Roosevelt uses pathos to convince his listeners to trust the banks and instill in them a sense of confidence. Informal and friendly, Roosevelt’s radio broadcast to the American people conveyed a warm and comforting tone that resonated in the doldrums of the Great

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