TOW #14- FDR's New Deal

            While delving into the causes of the Great Depression, I came across a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt in a political cartoon as he was elected as a President after Herbert Hoover lost the election. Shown on the picture below, Roosevelt is a doctor and Uncle Sam is an old, sick man as the nurse is a congress. The medicine bottle are labeled as SCC, FDIC, SS, AAA, WPA, and other parts of the New Deal that Franklin D Roosevelt created to fix the Great Depression. Through positive connotation and appealing to ethos, the artist was able to portray his positive view towards FDR’s efforts in trying to heal the broken economics in the United States.

            One part of the cartoon that stands out the most is the character of the congress. It is hard to identify the gender of the character as it has a face of a male but has a body of a female. The body language of the character also shows respect for the doctor, implying the artist’s positive view towards FDR.

            Not only that, but Uncle Sam in this political cartoon is unlike the man who points at people on posters with bold colors of clothing and facial expression. However, we can figure out that it is uncle same by the patriotic clothes that is under his robe and the initials “US” on his slippers. In this particular cartoon, he is an old man who is sick. This portrays how Franklin Roosevelt was trying to help the poor, old, unemployed citizens through the system of New Deal and as shown on the conversation bubble in the picture, how he stopped at nothing to cure the sick economics in the America.

            The artist, by including positive connotations and appealing to pathos, successfully displays how he feels about Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal. By observing the rhetorical devices that artist incorporated in the political cartoon, I was able to understand more about the Great Depression and America’s view on FDR as well.