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Jaden Johnson

Professor Arini

English 102-08

04 February 2022

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis

The two speakers I selected are Franklin D. Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was an attorney and served as the 32nd president of the United States for

three terms from 1933 till his death in 1945. Roosevelt also remains the only president to serve

more than two terms. My second speaker, Sir Winston Churchill, was a British statesman who

served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945, during World War Two and, again from 1951 to

1955. Both of these speakers were critical politicians during their time. I chose these two because

I found it quite admirable that they could deliver hope during desperate times through their

speeches. I will examine each of my speakers' use of rhetorical devices as well as compare and

contrast both of my speakers.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had his hands full during his time as president. Roosevelt guided

the country through two major crises: The Great Depression and World War Two. In Roosevelt's

Inaugural Address he begins by showing emotion, “This is preeminently the time to speak the

truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.”(FDR). Roosevelt shows this emotion in order to show

his seriousness and that he understands what the American people were going through at the

time. In Roosevelt's Inaugural Address his major points are that he is trying to get the people to

support him being in office and to support the decisions that are to come. Roosevelt's logos and

pathos in his speech helped him accomplish his goals of bringing hope to the people while also

showing that he is there for them in their time of need.

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Sir Winston Churchill also had to deal with a lot while he was Prime Minister. During

World War Two Churchill gave his We Shall Never Surrender Speech to people of the United

Kingdom in 1940. In this speech Churchill says “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the

seas and oceans… we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we

shall never surrender.”(Winston Churchill). By saying this Churchill shows emotion in his

devotion by explaining what challenges they will come to see to the British people. Churchill's

main point in his speech is that he's giving insight to the British people about the impending

danger of the Nazi menace and how they are going to fight them while also giving the people

hope with his devotion. The main fallacy I could decipher was Churchill's heavy use of imagery,

ethos and pathos. When Churchill describes the areas they plan to fight in. I found him to be

convincing, he was also able to convince the people based on the positive reaction.

Roosevelt gave a similar speech as Churchill during World War Two. On December

Seventh 1941 The Empire of Japan commenced a surprise military attack on the naval base at

Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. In response, Roosevelt gave the speech where he Declares

War on The Empire of Japan. In this speech, he delivered an iconic line “A date which will live

in infamy”. In Roosevelt's speech, his main points are to explain what happened at Pearl Harbor

and how he hopes to gain the support of the American people and Congress to declare war on the

Empire of Japan. Roosevelt was successful in influencing his audience as the next day Congress

approved it and the United States declared war on Japan. In his speech, Roosevelt used ethos and

pathos to help be more convincing and had appealed to his audience with emotional appeal, and

ethical appeal.

After World War Two Churchill gave another speech in 1945. The speech was famously

dubbed the "Iron Curtain speech". In this speech, Churchill is trying to explain that it would be
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more beneficial for the United States and Britain to be in charge so they can maintain stability

and peace in Germany. Churchill gave this speech because the Allies and the Soviet Union were

dividing up Germany. The phrase “Iron Curtain” was used by Churchill, to describe how the

Soviets set up an ideological barrier upon Eastern Europe which prevented contact between

Eastern Europe and Western Europe. That was his main point of the speech and his audience was

everyone who had been present and listened to the broadcast. Churchill made use of the guilt by

association fallacy by having the Soviets be the bad guys. I found this speech convincing and

those who heard it also were convinced.

Late in the war, Japan had been getting desperate. They were low on supplies, and

general morale had been at an all-time low. During these times Japan printed out these Anti-

Roosevelt Posters. The general point of the poster was to depict Roosevelt as an evil being set on

destroying Japan's way of life. These posters were successful in convincing the people as they

were barely surviving and these posters helped keep people from revolting as it showed that the

government is not the enemy but Roosevelt was to blame for their current situation. The fallacy

this poster gives off is a straw man as the Japanese government has the people believe Roosevelt

is to blame for the condition of the country.

Churchill also had propaganda posters made of him. The posters portrayed a negative

image as Roosevelt’s does. The Poster shows Churchill sitting idly while a mother and her child

starve. When translated the poster states “His last hope…..The Blockade, Will I have enough for

both of them”. The main point of the poster was to blame the British for their strict ration

instituted by France rather than the German occupation. I was not convinced that it was the

British's fault because the only reason they set up a blockade was that Germany occupied France
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after the French signed an armistice. The poster uses Straw Man fallacy, pathos, and ethos as

they appealed to the emotion of those suffering and blamed the British.

Roosevelt and Churchill both try to appeal to their audiences with ethos, pathos, and

strawman fallacies. Both also gave speeches during desperate times. They also both were

depicted as evil and uncaring. Most of all both these speakers were successful in giving hope to

their audience. They do not have many differences in terms of their speeches. One thing is for

certain, that these two are great leaders.

Works Cited
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Franklin D Roosevelt. Inaugural Address. 4 March 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt Speeches:

Inaugural Address | Pepperdine School of Public Policy

Sir Winston Churchill, “We Shall Never Surrender” 4 June 1940 Grenadier Guards

(thegrenadierguards.co.uk)

Franklin D. Roosevelt “ Declares war on Japan” 8 December 1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Declares War on Japan (Full Speech) | War Archives - YouTube

Sir Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain Speech” 5 March 1946

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMt7zCaVOWU

Franklin D Roosevelt Propaganda Poster

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.366b128d8fee1f3016a9a9a834bc2819?rik=XS2a5qs1S6Xfsg

Sir Winston Churchill Propaganda Poster 1941

https://www.ushmm.org/media/emu/get?irn=513602&mm_irn=500809&file=primary