JFK Inaugural Address

871 Words4 Pages

Top 100 Rhetorical Speeches: John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address In 1945, World War Two ended with the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Empire. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by ten European nations, the United States of America, and Canada in order to organize a united front against the Soviet threat. In 1955, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union signed the Warsaw Pact as a communist counter to the capitalist NATO. In 1961, in the midst of a heated cold war, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) stood in front of the nation and delivered his inaugural address as the 35th president of the United States of America (USA). He stood in front of a nation …show more content…

We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.” This statement not only embodied the message that JFK advocates for in his inaugural address but this statement is also an example of an aphorism. Throughout his address, JFK utilizes rhetorical devices for various micro-purposes but for the macro-purpose of strengthening his position and furthering the endless mission of mankind: global equality and prosperity. For example, JFK’s repeated use of ad hominem fallacy throughout his address united a fractured world, temporarily at least. This is especially evident when he states, “Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation, a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?” As previously referenced, JFK was heinously struck down on November 22, 1962, but in spite of his devastating death, JFK’s call for an end to the Cold War and an embrace of equality continued to resonate and as a result the