Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Evil Empire' By Ronald Reagan

In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union, already having threatened Western Europe with their superior military, created nuclear missiles that they plan to use to further terrorize western countries. The USSR’s imperialistic behavior towards weaker countries gives the U.S. and Europe reason to believe they want to use their growing military to expand their western border. Reagan supported the idea for the U.S. to install their own missiles, and even offered an alternative plan to the Soviets called the “Zero Option”. This plan required the USSR to remove all of their nuclear missiles from Europe, and in turn, the United States would not install any of their own (Fuller). On March 8, 1983, President Ronald Reagan gives the “Evil Empire” speech to

He first breaks the ice by making a few good-spirited jokes about Christianity as if to show the audience that despite his position he is still one of them. Reagan then goes on to discuss a controversy concerning abortion that is taking place in Washington. Keeping his audience’s beliefs and values in mind, he brings up a specific instance when “a court permitted the death by starvation of a handicapped infant” (Reagan 5). Being Christians, Reagan knows the audience condemns abortion and the killing of innocent children, so he takes it even further with the telling of this tragedy. Reagan pulls at their heart strings, moving the audience and America to action against this

Throughout his entire speech, Reagan repeats the words “America’s greatness” or a similar form of this phrase (Reagan 2). The reiteration of this phrase exhibits Reagan’s genuine pride in America. He sincerely loves his country and declares his confidence in the U.S. to combat this global issue. Reagan also used words such as we, our, and together to point out that they are in this fight side by side. No one stands alone in this war against the Soviets and for the people behind the Iron Curtain. The most powerful term that Reagan uses refers to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”. This characterization humiliates the Soviet Union and enrages its leaders, encouraging the American people to accept Reagan’s Zero Option plan (Evil). The phrase not only surprises millions of people across the globe, but they also come to the realization that Russia is undeniably an empire that has evil intentions. Reagan’s address is later titled the “Evil Empire Speech” due to his unforgettable use of the