Delgado
Ober O. Delgado
ENGL 1010
Jessica Frogley
July 13, 2011
Rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical analysis of Roosevelt’s speech.
Theodore Roosevelt, during the Seventh Annual Message to Congress in 1907, explained in
his speech There must be the look ahead to Congress, the purpose of the Conservation Movement,
association which he presided. During his talk, he discussed the value of conservation and the
problems that will result from excessive consumption of natural resources. He states that we have to
keep an eye on what we are doing with nature; that nowadays we are not only taking too much
advantage of it, but we are destroying it and making bad use of it. According to him, the fact that
this is happening within our society, will bring issues in the future and affect our children. He
provides some solutions to the problem. He calls the Federal Government to create committees in
order to launch plans where natural resources, like the river system, can be developed as national
water highways. He makes it clear that based on previous experiences, where the government has
been involved, people who work for the public sector are very interested in the money they can
make out of it, so that’s why he explains that there has to be some kind of regulation over these
groups who try to get paid and overpaid by doing nothing. He wants to let government, farmers,
people who live near rivers and whoever is involved in this subject, that there has to be something
done about these resources, that we must change the way we’re using them in order to improve the
system used so far, so in the future, the generations to come can enjoy of a better economy and not
be affected by the environment that we are creating today.
During his speech, Roosevelt points out several things. He makes it clear who is addressing
to, his claims are specific, and his purpose is well define.
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Theodore Roosevelt’s audience was the Government, he said during the Seventh Annual
Message to Congress that “.The National Government should undertake this work, and I hope a
beginning will be made in the present Congress…”. Previous to this quote, he provided an idea of
what should be done with the river system and with the natural resources in general. But not only to
the government he is addressing to; he mentioned that several years ago, a commission
recommended a solution to the problem but, “Their examination specifically showed the existence
of great fraud upon the public domain” and he also is addressing to these public organizations.
There is one main reason why the author decided to address this topic with the Congress.
This is the situation that inspired him to write and talk about it and is the fact that the natural
resources are, nowadays, being destroyed and not used wisely. Roosevelt states:
But there must be the look ahead, there must be a realization of the fact that to
waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of
using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in the undermining in the days of
our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to the
amplified and developed.
By alleging that there must be a realization, Roosevelt is stating that the problem has been
there for quite some time, he is calling for a change. He noticed that the lack of control of
the Government over the natural resources is what causes this use and abuse of the land.
His source in order to fulfill his purpose, is to have the National Government take
action on this public issue. Roosevelt wants to see the “great river system developed as
National water highways that goes from the east, to the west”, so it can relieve the
congestion of the railroads. His object, according to the text, in doing all these changes is
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“to protect the rights and interest of the small ranchman,” the man who works for himself
to provide for his family. By stating this, he makes clear what his final goal is.
Most of his claims are claims of policy due to the fact that he’s calling for an
action, for a change; “…there must be the look ahead, there must be a realization of the
fact that to waste, to destroy…” he supports this claim by stating that the Government has
been directing people who already are using the land wisely, to use it lacking any obvious
principle of organization. Roosevelt also mentioned, in order to support this statement,
that the Government and the Reclamation Service, have been trying to put home makers
into this territory so they can use it for their own benefit and for their children and
children’s children. However, he claims, “…there has been some interested men, who
desire to exhaust the land for their own immediate profit without regard to the welfare of
the next generation…”.
After providing options of solution to the problem on his speech There must be the
look ahead, Roosevelt also claimed that “The present annual consumption of lumber is
certainly three times as great as the annual growth”, he does not back up this information,
perhaps, he mentioned that there has been a preservation of the forests in the past, but
that the country will, soon enough, experience a lack of timber. The author does not
provide a source to verify where he is getting this information from, which leaves his thesis
questionable.
Roosevelt uses different means of persuasion, his interest for the issue and being
connected with, what is actually happening with the people who live near the land that is
being abused, definitely shows that he’s community focused; he makes the connection with
the public by stating that this issue “…will result in undermining in the days of our
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children…” and leaves his persuasive arguments as pathos, just to mention one. Including
the words “our children” he is letting everybody know that he is also being affected; that
he is part of those families that are controlled by industries who want to take advantage of
the place where they live.
Definitely Roosevelt wanted to accomplish something, I don’t know if he really
cared about the natural resources and the ranchmen or this was just another “political”
talk. I’m basing my comment on the fact that he was the president of the Conservation
Movement and that was his job. However, analyzing the actual speech, he did provide
arguments to the Congress with proof of what he was talking about. By analyzing deeply
the text, it does sound like people from this Conservation Movement has been researching
in the communities to see if the Government actually has done something about it or not
What I like about Roosevelt is his boldness and confidence while addressing to
congress men, because while he’s addressing the problem that currently exists, he let them
know that yes, there was some kind of “intervention” from their part, but that was just a
waste of time and money because people from the committees, from “their people” were
committing fraud.
Something that I was thinking while I read this, and that I thought it was necessary
to back up his information even more, is that it would of being more supportive to his
thesis, to have a testimony of some of the ranchmen; to mention a name of a certain
family and indicate how they are being affected, definitely would of have a bigger impact.
I think the way he persuaded is a key, not only to accomplish his purpose, but also
to be seeing as leader who cares about “his” people.
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