More Important Than Gold Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis of “More Important Than Gold” “More Important Than Gold” is the first fireside chat given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and also the Top 100 Speeches of the 20th century in the United States. Fireside chats is the term used to describe a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944(“Fireside chats”). It is a much kinder way to chat with the whole American and declare some political decisions as well. The speaker, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the President of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (“Franklin D. Roosevelt). America suffered a great economic depression during 1929 to 1931, which has brought …show more content…
At the beginning of the speech, President Roosevelt said that “My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking.” These sentences use ethos to show speaker’s kind character and credibility in the meantime. Roosevelt began the nighttime chats with the greeting “My friends,” and referred to himself as “I” and the American people as “you” as if addressing his listeners directly and personally (“The First Fireside Chats”). The rhetorical device ethos used here also shortened the distance between the president and common people and leads to achieve the purpose of the speech. Roosevelt wanted to release the bank panic and call on the whole nation get united to tackle the crisis together. The friendly start of the address made audience relaxed and warm, which helped to release the public panic. Moreover, in the middle of the address, Roosevelt showed his credibility and kind again by promising the public that money would be safe in the bank, and they would succeed finally. “I can assure you, my friends, that it is safer to keep your money in a reopened bank than it is to keep it under the mattress.” He also made it clear to people that this national program was reliable and believable. Obviously, the rhetorical device ethos used successfully in the speech, a kind and reliable president …show more content…
“First of all, let me state the simple fact that when you deposit money in a bank the bank does not put the money into a safe deposit vault,” Roosevelt logically told the audience actual fact of the bank and analyzed the situation. Next, he reminded people of the hard challenge that America was facing, “What, then, happened during the last few days of February and the first few days of March?” The severe economic crisis arose and caused a great deal of unemployment and hunger. An ocean of companies went bankrupt and bank credit fell down sharply. In the address, Roosevelt pointed out. “By the afternoon of March 3, a week ago last Friday, scarcely a bank in the country was open to do business.” Panic rose in the whole society. It cannot be avoided that America had to face the harsh and tough situation. In the same way, Roosevelt used the rhetorical device logos to explain why the government needed to provide for the national bank holiday and the requirement of carrying out this policy. “It is necessary that the reopening of banks be extended over a period in order to permit the banks to make applications for the necessary loans, to obtain currency needed to meet their requirements, and to enable the government to make common sense checkups.” The government needed to reorganize banks and gather the public fund to make American economy work well again, as a consequence, the president