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John F Kennedy City Upon A Hill Speech Analysis

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John F. Kennedy was known for his charming, charismatic, and relatable personality which significantly attributed to him winning the presidency in 1960. These admirable characteristics of his were easily seen in his speeches as U.S. senator and as president, in which it was apparent he not only had the charm, but also incorporated his personal values into his administration as a public servent. One speech in particular which highlights this fact is his “City Upon a Hill” speech. John F. Kennedy’s “City Upon a Hill” speech was given on Jan. 9th 1961 as his final speech prior to being sworn in as president, which he delivered to the general court of Massachusetts. In this speech, Kennedy compared the impending challenges of his presidency to the troubles facing the first Puritan settlers of Massachusetts in the 1600's in John Winthrop’s original “city upon a hill” speech. In the original sermon, Winthrop delivered this speech to the puritans aboard the Arbella, before they disembarked in Massachusetts. …show more content…

He begins his speech by acknowledging the significance and importance of the state of Massachusetts to the history and development of this country, stating “Its leaders have shaped our destiny long before the great republic was born. Its principles have guided our footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm”. Kennedy goes on to argue that “Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities”. With with the eyes of the world watching us for example and guidance in the new era of war, technology, and globalization, the U.S. needed to be governed by a higher standard, as they are looked at as the standard to strive

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In his speech Kennedy uses different rhetorical devices to unify the citizens of both the United States and the world. Kennedy was giving this speech after winning by a very small margin of votes so he was trying to unite the people of the United States and show he was the correct choice for the president. This speech was given during the Cold War so he was trying to connect the people around the whole world and establish peace. Kennedy was able to unify the people and try to establish peace while at the same time making himself seem like a very competent leader. In his speech Kennedy tries to build his credibility as a personable leader by creating ethos.

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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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The Inaugural speech by John F. Kennedy is a landmark type of speech that was given to the American populace in order to inspire confidence and to provoke them to take immediate action. His speech made extensive use of rhetorical devices in order to successfully express his goals. His stylistic devices include antithesis, parallelism, and varying structure flows in order to attract attention and to show what his service will accomplish. Kennedy details “a new generation of Americans” by contrasting old and new with his antithesis. He states, “Symbolizes an end as well as a beginning” and “signifies renewal as well as change” in order to do so.

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Also, he is stating to never be afraid and figure out ways to face them. By doing this, Kennedy left a greater impact on people by making his speech more

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On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was in Indianapolis for a campaign stop, when he received news that Martin Luther King was killed, causing Kennedy to write and deliver a speech regarding the assassination. This speech was succinct but not only was it about the assassination, it was also to tell the people there is still wisdom and hope in this time of turmoil. To reach this purpose, he first builds up his ethos, uses pathos to add mood and hope, and unifies the people. The combination of these elements makes it a very powerful and memorable speech. Robert F. Kennedy builds his credibility by relating his personal experience and knowledge of what the audience is feeling to the current events.

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John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address On Friday, January 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as 35th President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address President Kennedy delivered a speech to unite and celebrate the peaceful transition of power that stands to this day as one of the most powerful addresses in modern history. Widely considered a call to action, President Kennedy challenged the American people to move beyond the precincts of the past to make a difference to move the world into an era of peace and prosperity. His promise to the other states on the world stage was no less spectacular when he swore “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,

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“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present will certain to miss the future.” -John F. Kennedy The reason I chose JFK is because he was a president that everyone had loved. They loved him for his views on America and it tragically ended with assassination in Texas.

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On April 10, 1962, steel companies raised the prices by 3.5 percent of their products. President John F. Kennedy had tried to maintain steel prices at a stable rate. President John F. Kennedy, known for his diligence and persuasion, held a news conference about the hikes in steel prices. President John F. Kennedy, in his speech, uses rhetorical strategies such as diction, emotional appeals, and a persuasive tone to convince Americans that steel companies are declining the standards to maintain stable prices. Kennedy states that the steel companies are a national problem due to the increase of steel prices.

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John F. Kennedy discusses and analyzes on how the nation differs from the past and present day in that time period. Kennedy narrators on the division and war in the the world to appeal to the audience patriotism by using pathos and logos. In this speech President Kennedy states “to thoses who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request; that both sides begin the quest for peace, before the dark power of destruction unleashed.” He uses this quote to obtain a logical appeal to the appeal to the people. Kennedy uses logos to show that he wants the nation to come together and be humble together in one peace.

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Kennedy realized how easy it was for a country to break apart in a time that they needed to come together. Being sworn into office, he could see the fear of the future in the eyes of the nation and truly wanted to reassure them that by being willing to face change as one, success was possible. Kennedy was able to assertively get his point across by emphasizing how prioritizing unification of the country is by relying on

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Lastly Kennedy states, “ My fellow citizens of the world; ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” In this famous quote from Kennedy’s inaugural speech, he says that together, the people of America can do

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His diction is very inclusive; he commences his speech with several uses of the words ‘we’ and ‘our’, which makes way for inclusivity. JFK is blurring the distinction between citizen and superior governor by including the people in his proclamation. While describing the hardships and challenges that the country is facing, Kennedy mentions how imperative the occasion is on a global level; in the midst of the Cold War, he reminds his audience of the importance of uniting. Through the use of the lexical field of danger — words such as: ‘defiance’, ‘serious’, ‘risk’, and ‘sacrifice’ — he creates a feeling of tension and urgency, and engages his audience to the concern. To conclude his speech, the President mentions self-guilt on the part of the country on how they had not displayed the “sense of business responsibility” that they should have, a rhetorical strategy that approximates the audience to the government.

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Robert Kennedy’s speech was given during a campaign rally in 1968, he broke the news to a crowd of supporters that MLK had been killed. This speech was analyzed through a PDF copy of the text. The purpose of RFK’s speech is to inform the audience of MLK’s death, create a sense of comfort and calmness. RFK includes a quote from the poet Aeschylus

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On September 12, 1962, at Rice University in Houston Texas, John F. Kennedy gave a powerful speech to garner support for the funding of the space race for the USA. He stated the importance of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade in its efforts against the Soviet Union and the expectation was met in 1969 by the astronaut Neil Armstrong. His speech forged a new path that the US was heading and inherently started the revolution of the exploration of outer space. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” makes use of ethos and Kairos to persuade the people of America to become interested in and invest in the ongoing space race. A very important factor in JFK’s speech was his effective use of rhetoric, notably ethos, which he used to make himself become more believable and authoritative.

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Robert Francis Kennedy gave one of the most important speeches of American history in the twentieth century. This speech, given just hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was one that had a tremendous impact on those who listened. Even today this speech has a timeless aura about it considering that this country still faces racial tension and violence every day. The speech was given on April 4th, 1968, on the same day of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Senator Robert Kennedy had just spoken at Notre Dame and Ball State University when he learned that King had been assassinated.

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