Becoming “The Great Arsenal of Democracy”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Pre-War “Fireside Chats” A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Allison M. Prasch IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS Under the direction of Dr. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell December 2011 © Allison M. Prasch 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are like dwarfs standing upon the shoulders of giants, and so able to see more and see further . . . - Bernard of Chartres My parents, Ben and Rochelle Platter, encouraged a love of learning and intellectual curiosity from an early age. They enthusiastically supported my goals and dreams, whether that meant driving to Hillsdale, Michigan, in the dead of winter or moving me to Washington, D.C., during my junior year of college. They have continued to show this same encouragement and support during graduate school, and I am blessed to be their daughter. My in-laws, Greg and Sue Prasch, have welcomed me into their family as their own daughter. I am grateful to call them friends. During my undergraduate education, Dr. Brad Birzer was a terrific advisor, mentor, and friend. Dr. Kirstin Kiledal challenged me to pursue my interest in rhetoric and cheered me on through the graduate school application process. Without their example and encouragement, this project would not exist. The University of Minnesota Department of Communication Studies and the Council of Graduate Students provided generous funding for a summer research trip to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York. Archivists Matt Hanson, Virginia Lewick, and Mark Renovitch provided invaluable assistance during my visit. My committee members gave generously of their time and vast knowledge of rhetoric and history. Dr. Elaine Tyler May provided a rich and stimulating classroom environment where I could talk through my ideas and challenges with other graduate ii students. Dr. Arthur Walzer helped me struggle through theoretical questions, making time for me during his sabbatical leave. My advisor, Dr. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, provided thoughtful criticism, encouraging pep-talks, and dared me to think like a rhetorician. I am a better scholar and teacher because of her. Rebecca Kuehl welcomed me to the University of Minnesota in 2009 and graciously gave of her time and critical eye as I applied to the rhetoric program. Dana Schowalter talked me through the prospectus writing process and has been a kind mentor and friend. My research partner, Shannon Stevens, embraced the idea of a summer trip to the Roosevelt Library and motivated me each day through her optimism, intellectual curiosity, and our shared love of good food. Shelby Bell, my writing partner and friend, read every chapter, pushed me to make each revision better than the last, and made sure I got out of the office each week for a Starbucks run. My “Saturday Morning Girls,” Anna Gustafson and Brooke Johnson, reminded me of what was really important each week. Rebecca May brought me coffee and was a gracious, caring friend when I disappeared for weeks on end. Amy Gaetano and Laurel Good took time out of their busy lives, marriages, and motherhood to read each chapter and listen to my incessant ramblings about Roosevelt. Their love, encouragement, and support have been one of the greatest blessings in my life these past eight years. Words cannot express the debt of gratitude I owe to my husband, Jason. He has reassured me, challenged me, and loved me through months of research, long nights of writing, and many weekend revisions. He knew when to leave me alone and when to bring home a bottle of wine. He is my best friend, and the day I met him in the fall of 2000 was the first day of the rest of my life. This project is dedicated to him. iii To Jason, for making memories of us iv I can recall walking eastward on the Chicago Midway on a summer evening. The light held after nine o’clock, and the ground was covered with clover, more than a mile of green between Cottage Grove and Stony Island. The blight hadn’t yet carried off the elms, and under them drivers had pulled over, parking bumper to bumper, and turned on their radios to hear Roosevelt. They had rolled down the windows and opened their car doors. Everywhere the same voice, its odd Eastern accent, which in anyone else would have irritated Midwesterners. You could follow without missing a single word as you strolled by. You felt joined to these unknown drivers, men and women smoking their cigarettes in silence, not so much considering the President’s words as affirming the rightness of his tone and taking assurance from it. You had in some sense the weight of the troubles that made them so attentive, and of the ponderable fact, the one common element, on which so many unknowns could agree. Saul Bellow, “In the Days of Mr. Roosevelt” v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................1 Historical Background and Discussion of the Texts ............................................................5 The Rise of Radio .................................................................................................................5 Roosevelt and the Radio.......................................................................................................7 The Rhetorical Appeal of Roosevelt’s Pre-War “Fireside Chats” ....................................12 September 3, 1939: “On the European War” ...................................................................13 May 26, 1940: “On National Defense” .............................................................................15 December 29, 1940: “On National Security” ...................................................................16 May 27, 1941: “Announcing Unlimited National Emergency” ........................................22 September 11, 1941: “On Maintaining Freedom of the Seas” .........................................25 Theoretical Methods and Literature ...................................................................................29 Current Scholarship on the “Fireside Chats” .....................................................................33 Outline of Chapters ............................................................................................................38 vi CHAPTER TWO: CITIZEN ADDRESSED, CITIZENRY INVOKED: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S CALL FOR CIVIC DUTY .....................................40 Historical Context ..............................................................................................................42 Theorizing the Citizen Addressed, Citizenry Invoked .......................................................49 Roosevelt’s Call for Civic Duty .........................................................................................53 Evoking Public Memory .....................................................................................................53 Identifying Shared Values ..................................................................................................58 Emphasizing Commitment to “The Great Social Gains” ..................................................62 Appealing to the “Patriotism of Labor” ............................................................................66 Equating German Victory with Economic Strangulation of the United States ..................71 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................75 CHAPTER THREE: “THE GREAT ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY”: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S ARGUMENT FOR LEND-LEASE .......................78 Historical Context ..............................................................................................................80 World War I and U.S. Disillusionment over “Entangling Alliances” ...............................80 Isolationist Sentiments towards World War II ...................................................................86 The America First Committee ............................................................................................90 vii Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Argument for Lend-Lease ..........................................................96 Unifying the U.S. Public through Identification with Them ..............................................99 Appealing to Their Concern for National Security ..........................................................104 H.R. 1776: A Policy to Promote Peace............................................................................109 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................114 CHAPTER FOUR: “ON MAINTAINING FREEDOM OF THE SEAS”: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S SHIFT TO WAR RHETORIC ............................117 The U.S.S. Greer Incident: Historical Context ................................................................121 “On Maintaining Freedom of the Seas” as War Rhetoric ................................................127 Narrative Justification .....................................................................................................127 Deliberate, Thoughtful Action .........................................................................................129 Citizens Invoked to National Purpose..............................................................................131 Adoption of the Role of Commander in Chief ..................................................................133 Strategic Misrepresentations ...........................................................................................134 Public Response ...............................................................................................................136 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................138 viii CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ..............................................................................140 Roosevelt as President .....................................................................................................144 Roosevelt as Rhetorician..................................................................................................147 Roosevelt and the U.S. Public..........................................................................................149 Areas for Future Study .....................................................................................................150 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................152 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................154 NOTES ............................................................................................................................163 ix
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