Answer:
Listed below is the response that I gave on Edge 2020. I hope this is in some way useful to anyone who needs the answer to this question in the future.
Explanation:
I believe that the speech was effective, because it addressed specific issues that people during the Great Depression were going through, and assured those who were suffering from such issues that the government would be taking steps to absolve them. For example, the speech states, "Because of undermined confidence on the part of the public, there was a general rush by a large portion of our population to turn bank deposits into currency or gold—a rush so great that the soundest banks couldn't get enough currency to meet the demand..." The solution that Roosevelt then provides is that, "This law [the legislation that Roosevelt supported and then saw to be passed in Congress] also gave authority to develop a program of rehabilitation of our banking facilities, and I want to tell our citizens in every part of the nation that the national Congress—Republicans and Democrats alike—showed by this action a devotion to public welfare and a realization of the emergency and the necessity for speed that it is difficult to match in all our history."
The format that Roosevelt used, addressing an issue and then providing a solution, made the public feel like their problems were being heard, and that effort was being put forth to solve them. This would mean that the speech was indeed effective, as the general discontent that was growing among people during the Great Depression was alleviated, preventing any large-scale riots or panics in the future.
