Rhetorical Analysis Of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Speech

In a period of darkness that was the Great Depression, America needed a guiding light to restore a sense of hope in its people. In an attempt to fill that role, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), eight days after his March 4th inauguration in 1933, took to the radio to deliver a speech. The speech, FDR’s first fireside chat on banking, was one of 30, and it shocked Americans in living rooms across America, instantly restoring confidence in the government. Each fireside chat took advantage of the radio to effectively connect with the Americans to explain and justify what his government’s actions. Today, the popularity of radio is falling, and new media forms are taking its place. The shift in media sources begs the following question:

On March 12, the words,“My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking” poured out of radios across the nation (Roosevelt). The use of the “my friends” immediately causes the listener to feel like he or she is on an equal level of the President. This simple introduction sets a precedent that the listener is an important part of what FDR has to say, engaging the listener. In addition, FDR utilizes pronouns like “we” and “us,” further including the listener (Roosevelt). This level of engagement was important as much of FDR’s plan required the cooperation of the people. Furthermore, FDR spoke in a manner which was easy to comprehend. He read aloud at a speed much “slower than radio broadcasters of the time,” and “[s]eventy percent of the words he used … were among the five hundred most commonly-occurring terms in the English language” (Biser). By speaking slower and in simpler terms, FDR increased the range of people who could understand his message. Not only could FDR reach a majority of the United States through radio, he wrote and delivered his speeches in a way that was accessible to