The Great Arsenal of Democracy

188 Pages·2011·1.1 MB·English

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
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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.
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To Jason,

for making memories of us

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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”

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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

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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
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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

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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

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