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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By John F. Kennedy

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In John F. Kennedys irritated speech to the American people via news broadcast, he exemplifies his point that there is no reason for the steel prices to rise other than the greed of the steel executives by the use of exemplification and logic; he furthers his argument by evoking a sense of frustration and remorse in the people viewing his speech and ultimately concludes by showing the betrayal of the steel company executives to the people. John F. Kennedy begins by showing what some people are doing for their country versus how others are working against their country, therefore evoking a sense of first remorse and then frustration. Kennedy states “...we are asking.. servicemen to risk their lives – and four were killed in the last two days in Viet Nam...” This evokes a sense of remorse for the ones who were killed, their families, and for …show more content…

He furthers the feeling of frustration by showing what this raise in prices will do to the regular American people. “...It would increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other items for every American family.” This shows their blatant disregard for the normal, middle class people in which they are disservicing, all the while making much more money all for themselves and their industry. Kennedy goes on to exemplify this greed and selfishness by using direct examples against the steel workers. Kennedy says that he himself had a conversation with the Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in which informed him that the employment costs, when compared to the units of steel output, were the same in present day 1961 as they were in

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On April 10, 1962, the United States’ largest steel companies raised their prices by 3.5 percent. The people of the nation were unhappy and had wondered why this change had occurred. I compare this to when gas prices go up; no one is happy when gas prices raise. Some figure that we already spend enough. Kennedy uses a number of rhetorical devices in his speech which help to justice the reasons behind the raised prices.

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John F. Kennedy gave a speech in 1962 ,during the aftermath of a recession, in regards to the steel companies increase in steel prices. He spoke out as one of the people, he spoke for the consumers as well as the American citizens affected by the recent recession. Kennedy made sure to shame the steel companies, with his strict yet disappointed tone, for not standing by their duties to help and be fair to the consumers. John F. Kennedy’s tone,in his speech regarding the increase in steel prices, shifts from anger to disappointment by using parallelism and , in order to speak about the ongoing unfair placement of power. John F. Kennedy uses parallelism to conceive himself as any other normal American citizen in order to call

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President Kennedy starts the speech by setting a somber tone on line 6 by saying “in this serious hourly our nations history, when we are confronted with grave crisis in Berlin and Southeast Asia, when we are devoting our energies to economic recovery and stability, when we are asking reservists to leave their homes and families for months on end, and servicemen to risk their lives.” President Kennedy is aiming this speech, this quote in particular, to the steel industry in hopes of them realizing that their choice to raise steel prices by 6 dollars affects everyone. For example, in the speech President Kennedy

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He draws a line between them, the “185 million Americans” (ln 20-21) and a “tiny handful of steel executives” (ln 17) who don’t have a “sense of public responsibility” (ln 19). Kennedy concludes his speech by saying, “Some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for his country. I asked the steel companies. In the last 24 hours, we had their answer” (ln 107-110). This jab at the steel companies also helps to make a point that the American people are doing more for their country than the steel companies are.

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Considering Americans are willing to, “leave their homes and families… and servicemen to risk their lives” shows corporation do not care what impact it leaves on them. He holds companies accountable of having a plan to pursue “private power” while not showing interest in 185 million American lives. Kennedy intends on grasping the attention of these steel corporations in order to explain how the rise in steel prices will not only affect the people but also others involved in the money

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When explaining this relationship Kennedy states, “it would surely handicap our efforts to induce other industries and unions to adopt responsible price and wage policies”. Kennedy shows that the raise in steel prices goes against what he has been trying to implement as president. By pointing out the negative effects the raise in steel prices will have on American citizens and American industry, Kennedy is able to show his audience that he is not okay, and does agree with the steel corporation’s increased steel prices. This enables Kennedy to relate to his audience, and to let them know that he is on there side and is not in favor with the corporation’s decisions to raise the prices of

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This empowering tone of his comes through in his other devices such as the parallelism in the early sections of his speech and through the upbringing of irony in the situation. This makes listeners and readers aware of how Kennedy himself feels of the current problem at hand, so they can connect to his passion and feelings, therefore making an appeal to pathos. When people listen to their hearts rather than their heads, they can make decisions they normally would not without facts. Kennedy has introduced both, he has shown the statistics confidently while still being able to connect to the lives of his people. The argument that steel prices should be kept stable can have many ends.

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Kennedy wisely sticks to using pathos throughout his entire speech, rather than relying on his then-minimal ethos or allowing his stirring speech to become bogged down by logos represented by the dull facts and figures of statistics. As a very young President just starting his first term, Kennedy lacks the reputation and reliability that an older, more experienced politician might have available. While it is true that most of the nation had seen him on television during the Nixon-Kennedy Presidential debates, those debates were the near-total of the people’s exposure to the dashing young President, and a pretty face does not a solid political reputation make! However, no matter how dashing and heroic he might have appeared to be in those

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Kennedy lists the negative effects raising steel prices will have on American citizens. “It would increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other items for every American family.” Kennedy uses common appeals that American citizens have to help them realize there is a bigger effect if the steel prices rise than they might have thought. The next evidence: “It would add… an estimated one

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Kennedy begins his speech by detailing just how disrespectful to the American people the rise in steel prices is. He lists the war, the soldiers that risk their lives, the international crises, and yet steel companies are still selfish enough to disregard the American people. In paragraphs 2 and 3 he uses emotions, or pathos, to connect with his audience. He shows how the rise of steel prices would affect everyone, and he uses family to arouse feelings in his audience.

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Kennedy appeal to his audience emotions, “…we are asking Reservist to leave their homes and families…service men to risk their live‒and four week killed in the last two days in Viet Nam‒” (9-13). The fact that four people gave up their lives to protect citizens of America appeal emotional to the audience. The audience emotions allows then to agree with Kennedy that the steel companies should not have change their prices. In addition, Kennedy uses multitude of statistics in his speech. Kennedy mention, “Employment costs per unit of steel output in 1961 were essentially the same as they were in 1958” (60-61).

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In 1962, in the midst of the international space race, steel prices in the U.S. began to rise. In this speech delivered by John F. Kennedy, he claims that there is no justification for these increasing steel prices through the use of logos and pathos. Whilst attempting to convince and create reason for steel companies to reduce their prices, JFK employs the use of logic-best argumentation in order to convey his message. However, at times, because his audience isn't merely citizens of the country but also executives of the steel companies, the line between pathos and logos is subtle, for he appeals to the emotions general American public through the use of verifiable data.

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As America entered and went through dark economic tensions, President Kennedy strived for stable prices and wages. After the largest steel companies raised steel prices by 3.5 percent, Kennedy gave a speech in response. In the speech, Kennedy calls out the steel companies for actions that were “wholly unjustifiable” and “irresponsibly defiant” to the American people. He appeals to the audience’s emotion, uses repetition, and applies logic to achieve his goal in persuading the companies to lower steel prices.

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In the beginning of his speech Kennedy uses words like “unjustifiable,” and, “a responsible,” to show how he feels about the actions of the leading steel corporations. Later in his speech Kennedy uses the phrase “ruthless disregard of their public responsibilities,” to show his complete disagreement with the steel corporations and their decision to unreasonably raise the steel prices in America. By using negative words Kennedy is able to clearly get his opinion across to the audience of the press conference. In his speech there are many more examples of diction with the way he uses specific words. Most of these words happen to be negatively charged at the Steel Industries.

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