John F Kennedy Steel Speech Analysis

John F. Kennedy is perturbed by the decision of the Steel Company to raise the price of steel. He calls it an unjustifiable and irresponsible decision for the American people. In his speech he tries to argue for a change of the price by providing the overall negative effects, appealing to basic human nature by backing up his statements with unarguable facts, and pointing out the self-serving act of the Steel Corporations.
Given these points, when the steel corporations made this decision they were oblivious to the effect it would have on the rest of the American people. Doing so, this would “increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other item for every American family.” (line 24-25). People would start to struggle in supporting themselves and surviving, especially those with big families. This would cause an economic distress in

“An estimated one billion dollars to the cost of our defenses, at a time when every dollar is needed for national security and other purposes.” (line 33-35). Kennedy uses Secretary McNamara studies as a credible source to appeal to their logic, proving that he is not ignorant with the downfall economic effect. He continues to use another credible source, Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Commissioner informed Kennedy that the steel industry, “has [also] been declining, and for an industry that has been generally operating at less than two-thirds of capacity…” (line 63-65). Adding this fact in order to prove that raising the steel prices won’t even have a positive effect because the industry is already in decline. There was no thought put into this decision, meaning the Steel Corporations jeopardized the human nature of the American people for no apparent reason. Kennedy uses these respected people to support his claim, so the Steel Corporations can't argue against the given