The Power of Rhetorical Devices Throughout American history, there have been countless number of speeches given by recognizable and important people. These people often use rhetorical devices to persuade their audience into considering a topic of a different perspective. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, provides a perfect example with his first inaugural address. Roosevelt uses ethos, logos, anaphora, and diction to persuade desperate Americans, wounded from the Great Depression, into believing in his plan and capability to guide our country through the process of bouncing back from the economic crisis.
Historical Background Franklin D. Roosevelt became president during one of the darkest times in American history, so when he gave his first inaugural address, he had to give the people an answer to the country’s desperate situation. It all started during the 1920s, when Americans were investing quite a lot in the stock market. Although, there was a problem, and that problem was that the majority of the money being invested was loan …show more content…
As far as effects, this speech was the cause of many things, like the New Deal, which was a series of programs that provided jobs for the unemployed citizens, and in the first one-hundred days of office Roosevelt made the New Deal a reality. This speech also gave FDR a good character image, and because of that image, he was generally known as a great leader. Thanks to his character image and his actions of implementing the New Deal, Roosevelt won future president elections. In fact, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been the only president to have ever been elected to the office four times (Freidel), making him the only candidate who has served more terms than any other president in history, even till the present