Wilhoite 1

Alexis Wilhoite

Professor Moore

English 1302-Honors

18 February 2017

Fireside Chats

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president during the 1930s. During this time period,

the country was going through a severe banking crisis also known as the Great Depression. The

great depression was a time of despair and agony for the whole country. The country was in a

bad place economically and financially, and because of that Roosevelt decided to sit down in

Washington D.C. and talk to the nation about the banking crisis via the radio on March 12, 1933

to reassure the nation that the entire country and the banking system(s) would be okay, By using

logical reasoning, repetition, and pathos (as a mean of connecting with his audience), FDRs

First Fireside Chat is demonstrating many ways that the nation can unite to reorganize the

banking system(s) across the country.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt uses logical reasoning to get his audience to be more aware

and less scared of the banking crisis that was going on across the country and making them more

informed about ways to get involved, unite together, and fix the bank system(s) to help make the

banking crisis disappear. FDR discusses the steps for a plan put in place that the country will use

to reopen and reorganize the banking system(s). Knowing a little bit about the stages to his plan

is important to this speech because it is the first step to fixing the financial and economic

problems that the country is facing and the first step that needs to be taken for the banks to

reopen, reorganize, and reassure the people that their money is being put into a safe place. It

was then that I issued the proclamation providing for the national bank holiday, and this was the
 Wilhoite 2

first step in the governments reconstruction of our financial and economic fabric (Par.4). This

is only the first step in his plan for reconstruction, but there are a total of three steps that are

important for full reconstruction of the financial and economic well-being of the country. This

stage show that there is logic behind his words. If he is able to reassure the nation that a plan is

put in place, then the nation will not have a reason to panic and create turmoil, making it easier

for the nation to unite and create a solution for the banking crisis taking place.

Throughout this speech, FDR uses repetition for the word we, thus creating a type of

unity throughout the nation and across the country. By using repetition with the word we FDR

is forming a bond or unity with the people he is delivering the speech to. We do not want and

will not have another epidemic of bank failures (Par. 8). FDR knows that the banks have failed

and noticing the problem is a start to uniting the country to make sure that another catastrophe

like this will not happen again. By putting this statement into his speech helps tie the speech as a

whole together and it helps him to get his point across that he doesnt want the nation to have any

more problems with the banks while trying to let the country know that if they come together in a

time of despair, then progress can be made and the nation can work on becoming more stable in a

financial way. Together we cannot fail (Par. 21). By having the country work together to fix the

system(s) he knows that they cannot fail to reconstruct the nation and make it better again. This

unity shows that they are coming together to realize a problem and find a solution that works to

fix it.

The use of pathos to connect with the audience on a personal level is noticeable in this

speech because he is befriending his audience by the choice of words he is using to describe the

situation that is happing during the time period. FDR is putting a friendship in place in order to

connect with his audience and to make them feel important to him. He is using a compassionate
 Wilhoite 3

tone when speaking to his audience so he does not get the audience worked up or upset all while

remaining serious and informative about the current status of the bank crisis and the financial

status of the economy. During his speech is when he really connects with the audience and

makes them feel that they can unite together for the sake of the country. It is your problem, my

friends, your problem no less than it is mine (Par.21). FDR makes sure to address the audience

as my friends in his speech to help reassure the country that if they can work together and have

patience for the time being while the banks are being reorganized then they will be able to unite

as a country to make sure that a banking crisis this severe will never happen again.

By getting them to trust him and his words, the people listening to the speech can make

the choice to believe his words help the government reorganize the banking system(s).

FDR makes good points in his speech to help reassure the country that if they can work

together and have patience for the time being while the banks are being reorganized then they

will be able to unite as a country to make sure that a banking crisis this severe will never happen

again.

Seeing from the tone that FDR uses, the people listening to the speech can make the

choice to believe his words help the government reorganize the banking system(s). So, getting

the nation to unite and come together as one will assure that the country will not be put in a

situation as severe as this one was and the country can grow financially and economically, and

eventually get back to the way things were before the banks failed, the stock markets crashed,

and the country failed to come together and unite as one nation to notice a problem and solve it.
 Wilhoite 4

Work Cited

"American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - First Fireside Chat ("The Banking

Crisis")." American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - First Fireside Chat ("The Banking Crisis").

N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.