A Comparative Study Of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Addresses In The Light Of Aristotelian Three Appeals

An American presidential inaugural speech is one of the most significant forms of American political discourse. The president elect usually declares his new policies, advocates traditional American values and endeavors to win the trust and support of the audience in his inaugural speech. Currently, the research interest in presidential inaugural addresses continues to increase. Studies of American presidential inaugurals are frequently conducted from the following aspects:stylistics, political history, religion, conceptual metaphor, systemic-functional grammar and critical discourse analysis. Indeed, the research results have been fruitful. However, there are still some areas for further exploration. For example, the research focus of the previous studies is not properly balanced. Firstly, much research focuses on the micro-analysis of inaugurals at the level of lexicology and syntax while overlooking the macro-analysis of inaugurals at the textual level. Secondly, a number of studies treat the audience as passive listeners, and seldom take the psychological changes of them into consideration. In view of this, based on the Aristotelian three rhetorical appeals, this thesis studies the realization of the three rhetorical appeals in the four inaugural speeches of the 32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, combining micro-analysis and macro-analysis. This thesis not only analyzes the realization of three appeals at the level of lexicology and syntax, but also investigates a common persuasive pattern at the level of discourse. Furthermore, it explores the relationship between the persuasive pattern and the psychological changes of the audience.The corner stone of Aristotelian rhetorical theory is concerned with persuasion, and the means used to achieve persuasion are ethos, pathos and logos, namely, the three appeals. Ethos refers to the credibility of the speaker with the audience established through the speech. In other words, it is the evoking of the audience’s impression of good sense, virtue and goodwill on the part of the speaker. Pathos is the speaker’s ignition of the audience’s emotions, the stirring up of the desired feelings or the kind of emotional response that the speaker wishes to excite. Logos refers to the use of reasoning by way of argument, syllogism and the use of various kinds of evidence to appeal to the rational mind of the audience so that they will be convinced that what the speaker says is in their best interest. Due to their effectiveness in persuasive discourse, the three rhetorical appeals have been studied and applied in the analysis of advertisements, literature works and ceremonial speeches. However, the research on persuasive speeches from the perspective of the three appeals as used in American presidential inaugurals is far and few between, nor is there much data on the consistent study focusing on successive inaugurals by one president. Therefore, the present study sets out to investigate how the three appeals are employed in this particular case, the four inaugurals by Roosevelt, who served four terms in succession. Since this study focuses on the presidential inaugurals by one president in different rhetorical situations, the research findings can be of some theoretical and practical significance in understanding the persuasive strategies employed by US presidents and in appreciating the language used to achieve persuasion. Thus, this study can add new dimensions to the former research in this connection.The research methods used in this thesis include case study, contrastive analysis and qualitative analysis. This thesis aims to answer the following research questions. How are the three rhetorical appeals realized at the micro-level of these speeches? How do the three rhetorical appeals operate at the macro-level of these speeches? What is the recurrent pattern of persuasion employed by Roosevelt?The major findings of this study are summarized as follows.Firstly, at the level of lexicology and syntax, various language means are used to realize the rhetorical appeals. As to the realization of ethos, Roosevelt mainly focused on demonstrating his good sense, his good moral character and his goodwill by quoting from the founding fathers, making personal commitments and using a modest tone. With regard to the actualization of pathos, Roosevelt mainly resorted to the use of rhythmical, connotative language and language of images to evoke the sensory response of the public. With regard to the realization of logos, Roosevelt preferred the employment of logical arguments based on testimony, examples and enthymemes.Secondly, at the textual level, Roosevelt was apt to use pathos and ethos in the introduction and the conclusion of these speeches. In the body of the speeches, Roosevelt was inclined to employ logos in his former two speeches when dealing with the domestic problems in the country, while in the latter two speeches he employed pathos more frequently when handling the threat from World War Ⅱ.Thirdly, there is a recurrent persuasive pattern in Roosevelt’s speeches in terms of the psychological changes of the audience. It can be demonstrated as follows.In the introduction, Roosevelt was more liable to present the broad issues, historical or current, which confronted the nation and then he narrowed down to the key problem that was imminent. This evoking of a sense of crisis and urgency was pertinent to the times he lived in, and was effective in attracting attention.With regard to the body, Roosevelt was inclined to demonstrate the deficiencies of certain institutions which were subtly linked to the legacy of the previous government prior to announcing his own policies or plans on how to handle them. In this way, the president alleviated the anxiety of the audience and justified the legitimacy of his own policies, thus convincing the audience that supporting him was in their best interest in a rational manner. Next, he was apt to depict a better life that followed after these deficiencies of society were addressed. This could inspire hope among the audience.Finally, Roosevelt appealed to God frequently in the conclusion so as to make people identify themselves as one nation under God, thus, passionately urging them to be united around the new president.In line with the psychological changes of people, this mode of persuasion can functionally integrate the three appeals into the speeches to realize the ultimate goal of winning support from the public in a powerfully persuasive manner.