Franklin D Roosevelt Speech Rhetorical Analysis

Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote “The ‘Four Freedom’ Speech” to get his point across that America needs to join World War II, in doing so he used rhetorical devices and appeals. Roosevelt uses logos as a rhetorical appeal by saying “the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small. ”(Roosevelt 271) He gives logical reasoning about the threat to other nations. Roosevelt wrote that to let other nations know to be ready for war.

There comes a time in peoples’ lives when one feels threatened to such a degree that it is necessary by all means to retaliate to ensure proper protection and rights, whether it be for any individual, group of people, or country itself. When any type of power secretly attacks another body, this goes to show a cowardly act, which causes mass destruction that can immensely change the integrity of peoples’ minds and lives. Within his speech “For a Declaration of War,” Franklin Delano Roosevelt greatly proves his needs and purpose for vengeance on Japan by making use of logos, pathos, and anaphora. Right in the beginning of his speech, FDR clearly makes his position as president by using logic to explain the terrible tragedy that the United States had just experienced.

The atmosphere that Roosevelt created in his presidency made events like these beneficial and easy compered to his predecessors. Roosevelt was for the people and was willing to provide them with compensation while the previous Republican presidents were to business oriented.

He wanted them to stand up for their country, to be involved in politics, and to want to go the extra mile just to help others and the country as a whole. As I read this speech, there were five main points that stood out. They, along with the rest of the speech, explained what Roosevelt thought the ideal American citizen should look like. First, he starts his speech off by saying that no one can be a good citizen unless they are a good father and husband at home, treat other men and women with respect, are faithful to their friends and fearless in situations where they might be needed to help, and genuinely have a good heart, mind, and body. He states, “ In a free republic the ideal citizen must be one willing and able to take arms for the defense of the flag, exactly as the ideal citizen must be the father of many healthy children” (McKay).

Theodore Roosevelt uses logos throughout his speech. He uses it to show that he knows what he is doing and using his intelligence to convey that he is the right person to lead the United States. When he says, “Upon the success of our experiment much depends, not only as regards our own welfare, but as regards the welfare of mankind,” it makes us think and feel that he knows what he is talking about, reassuring why he will be a good president. His logos is also shown when he talks about the Republic of the days with Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Bringing this into the speech shows that he knows his history on the US and knows that they did great things for the country, showing that he will also do great things.

In President Roosevelt’s speech, there are multiple rhetorical devices that can get a point across. Using these rhetorical devices, the audience may be able to become swayed by the main message being expressed. The goal of a speech is to catch the audience’s attention greatly and persuade them to gain similar beliefs on whatever is being spoken of. In Roosevelt’s speech, the mood expresses a ray of hope yet a feel of strictness. One rhetorical device used by Roosevelt is personification.

Roosevelt’s use of both pathetical and logical statements was extremely effective is driving America to declare war on the Japanese Empire. The ethos of Roosevelt is quite evident. As being president of the United States for four straight elections, he was trusted by the people and well loved so his title proves his credibility and establishes his ethos for him. In addition to the ethos

In 1941, during his speech of the Union Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed what he referred to as the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The Four Freedoms speech was part of Roosevelt's State of the Union address in 1941. This speech was given to provide the reason to Americans as to why we were assisting Britain in their war against Germany and why America would need to eventually need to help or support other countries fighting. In the first part of the speech, Roosevelt explains the world’s “situation” and that America needs to be prepared for any potential war. Roosevelt then states that, unlike other nations that fight wars, the United States does not fight wars for empire

Roosevelt delineates a cause and effect relationship between domestic principles and civic values, so that the audience can relate to the argument immediately and consider factors they have not considered before. For instance, Roosevelt compares fatherhood to military responsibility by implying that a father taking care of a child is not very different from a man protecting his flag. Additionally, throughout the speech the orator is extremely passionate, reasonable, and forthright, so the tone directly alters the arguments intensity by augmenting and developing

He believes that only the strenuous life can play great role in the prosperity and welfare of the individuals and nation as well. Practically, Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of imperialism and wanted America to play integral role in world affairs and politics. This speech also depicts his policy of interventionism and imperialism. Roosevelt defends American imperialism by taking America’s national interests into consideration. However, his imperialist approach in foreign policies raises many questions for the audience sitting outside the borders of America.

Roosevelt’s speech is rhetorically effective because of the use of fallacies geared to the primary audience, and the appeals used addressed poverty and the consequences that could occur without the presence of libraries. Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech was filled with the use of fallacies that use division and bandwagon techniques to persuade the

Roosevelt impassions support for the war effort through his use of emotional diction through his declaration of war. He uses certain phrases to alienate the Japanese from the American people and show them as an enemy of the American people. Throughout his speech he uses phrases like “this form of

Roosevelt states, “...the tempo of modern warfare could bring into our very midst the physical attack which we must eventually expect if the dictator nations win this war” (15). Roosevelt says this in the way he did because at this point in time he didn’t want to physical fight but he knows if the country needs to we will. Roosevelt knows that wars do not solve the problem which is why he simply wanted to aid countries and not physically fight with them, causing the loss of many lives. Roosevelt had four basic freedoms that he wanted to be conserved and saved.

Eleanor Roosevelt, with her informal speech, the Adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights (1948), explains her opinion on the importance of the declaration and how we need to treat freedom has a right not a privilege. Eleanor supports her speech by using euphemism, apostrophe, and anadiplosis. Eleanor's purpose for the speech is to address the United Nations about human rights and its importance in the world. She formally addresses this speech to the United Nations, World War II victims, and all victims in the world. Eleanor was born October 11, 1884 has Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in New York, New York.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s State of the Union Address in the year 1942 opened with a powerful start. He remained good in posture, strong verbal skills, gestures and strong eye contact with his audience which goes to show confidence and being in control of your speech (Stephen D. Boyd, 2017). He addressed the Americans, the citizens of the United States before he mentioned anything. He went to show that the President, himself found faith in their spirits and how he was merely proud of his citizens. He presented a powerful statement to his audience by acknowledging them and according to Matt Eventoff, “a statement or phrase can catch the audience’s attention by keeping them guessing as to what you’re about to say next.