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Rhetorical Analysis Of I Am An American Day Address

670 Words3 Pages

Amiyah Eason

Cochran

Final Draft

12 June 2023

The Change In America

Learned Hand's 1944 "I Am an American Day Address" sought to prioritize liberty and freedom from oppression and wants. Hand tries to persuade listeners to agree with his priorities using pathos, religion, repetition, and racial justice as a backbone to his speech. While Hand makes some excellent points in his "I am an American Day Address," they are outdated, and no longer as persuasive as they were in 1944.

"We sought liberty, freedom from wants, freedom from oppression, and the ability to be ourselves." This was Learned Hand's response to the question of what America's main purpose was after WWll. These were very inspiring words from Hand that easily evoked emotion …show more content…

He defines the spirit of liberty as "...Him who, two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson which it has never learned but never quite forgotten." In 1944, more than 90% of Americans identified as Christian or Catholic, making Hand's statement very persuasive at the time. This contrasts with many demographics in the United States today, where only 63 percent of Americans identify as Christian or Catholic, as a result of immigration and new religions emerging in the country. Hand's point of view and statements would no longer be reasonable to Americans today, as religion has evolved drastically over the …show more content…

Hand mentions freedom from oppression as a key point to what we would have when we gained America; however, oppression persisted over time, contradicting his statement of "...freedom from oppression." Oppression remains a major issue in society, causing pain for many people. Despite numerous movements throughout history attempting to provide justice for these minorities, many people still consider people of color as a burden to our society. Because of their strong beliefs, those who see the world in this way would disagree with Hand. Childish Gambino, a musician, represents these negative views in his music video "This is America." Many African Americans are depicted in stereotypical situations such as murder and theft in the video. He made this video to show the audience how he believes the people of America perceive his ethnicity. Due to racial injustice in America remaining unresolved challenges Learned Hand's claim that America is a land of freedom from

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