John F Kennedy Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The United States’ President, John F. Kennedy, in response to the nation’s largest steel companies raising their prices (1962), asserts that there is “no justification for an increase in steel prices” (Line 46-47). President Kennedy supports this claim with logos, formal diction, and ethos. During this time, America recently escaped a recession and their economy was looking to rebuild and attempting to gain strength. Consequently, John F. Kennedy demands that the steel companies must lower their prices in regards to the wellbeing of the United States. His goal is to attack the steel companies, so it is obvious that they must change their prices. Logos, meaning an appeal to the audience’s logic, can be found in several examples in this piece. President Kennedy uses the lack of the steel companies’ wisdom to point out all the elements affected by increasing steel prices. He describes how the price of steel affects necessities such as homes, automobiles, appliances, and “most other items for every American family” (Line 25). Additionally, President Kennedy argues that steel companies lack a “sense of public responsibility” (Line 19).

Kennedy uses precise diction to make this assertion. When he spoke about the steel companies lack of public interest, he described it as, "unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance" (Line 4-5). Again, he spoke of their lack of care for the public again and said they had "ruthless disregard" (Line 82). Throughout this letter, President Kennedy utilizes formal, precise diction to emphasize that the steel companies lacked compassion for the American