Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Commonwealth Club Address

Claim While reading through Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech, the Commonwealth Club Address, it is evident that he is very educated and strategic when delivering his speech. For this paper, we are going to analyze how Franklin D. Roosevelt attempts to build trust by using his character as a governor and presidential nominee.

Historical Context During the time of this speech, the country was facing an economic collapse from the Great Depression. Citizens had little faith in the government because they believed it was due to poor federal policies and were then confronted by an unpredictable future (Edwards, 2005). As a Democrat, the issue was in favor with Roosevelt since it did not involve usual Republican matters and gave the Democratic party a chance to regain the White House (Edwards, 2005). Although the issue was in his favor, it did create a serious challenge for Roosevelt. He wanted to

We can see by it’s members that Roosevelt knew that it was essential to captivate his audience since they consisted of people with elite statuses. He opens his speech with “I count it a privilege to be invited to address the Commonwealth Club” (Roosevelt, 1932). By doing so, Roosevelt purposely included the word “privilege” in the opening to make his audience feel special and valued, especially coming from a Governor.

He later on says, “I appreciate that the membership of this club consists of men who are thinking in terms beyond the immediate present, beyond their own immediate tasks, beyond their own individual interests” (Roosevelt, 1932) flattering the Commonwealth Club members. Roosevelt carefully choses these terms to lure his audience in for when he later on asks them to join him in his plan to resolve the economic decline caused by the Great Depression, promising them great things for the future, should he become