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Rhetorical Analysis Of John F Kennedy's Inaugural Address

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The date was January 20th, 1961 on a chilly Friday morning 21,000 plus individuals gathered together in the Capitol to witness the 35th president of the United States of America John Fitzgerald Kennedy to be sworn into office and with that he brought one of the best speeches in possibly all-American History. This inauguration speech was so powerful and impactful that it seized the entire nation of America’s attention during that time and this day in age through television, newspapers, books, you name it. It is one of the if not best speeches ever written. Providing a solid appeal to ethos, pathos and logos, Kennedy wanted his speech to encourage The United States of America and send a clear statement overseas signaling the challenging encounters of the Cold War sending his hope for harmony during the nuclear age. …show more content…

John F. Kennedy along with Vice President Richard M. Nixon both vowed to toughen the American military forces also promising the American people a threatening stance towards the Soviet Union. Kennedy also cautioned of the Soviet’s unbelievable fast-growing collection of worldwide ballistic missiles and promised to rejuvenate our American nuclear forces alerting all against calls about the strikes against the Soviet Union. Stating that, because of all that is going on with deadly nuclear weapons, we "happen to live in the most dangerous time in American history of humanity.” (The Inaguration of John F. Kennedy) Time and again, Kennedy utilized the threat of force, good negotiation, and incredible judgement to keep the entire world from sinking into a nuclear

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At the start of the recession steel prices increased by almost 6 dollars a ton. President Kennedy addressed the issue on April 11th, 1962 at a news conference. During this conference President Kennedy stated on line 5 that this was “wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of the public interest”. Throughout the conference President Kennedy uses many rhetorical techniques such as using an ethical appeal through shared values, diction through a somber tone and word choice, and an emotional appeal to illuminate the issues that increased steel prices have caused. President Kennedy also uses intelligent, formal fiction through this speech regarding the increase in steel prices.

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448 Words | 2 Pages

After a recession in 1962 steel companies decided to raise prices dramatically. Consequently, President Kennedy approached the steel companies and asked them to lower prices, but they continued to raise them. The steel company raised prices, therefore, America could not afford it with a war occurring. President Kennedy then held a press conference for the public, with many different rhetorical strategies, turn the American public against the steel companies.

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1037 Words | 5 Pages

On a cold day in 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech that will live on in fame, to unite everyone in the world. JFK did not use his close victory as a bragging point or talk about his crowd size, but he expertly crafted his speech to address the crowd in a tone of unity, and hope. His speech features a strong appeal not only to his ethics but our ethics as a country to come together. JFK also displays powerful emotion through his many call to actions to help the country. His implementation of logical arguments are used to convince the audience to take a stand and make a difference.

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1295 Words | 6 Pages

In a time where many countries of the world were unsettled and feared another atomic bomb explosion, President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961 on a cold winter afternoon. He then proceeded to give an inaugural address that would last through the ages and inspire people not only in America, but also people around the world to unite together and achieve peace. His speech was eloquent and smooth, because of his use of many rhetorical strategies. He uses diction, appeals, parallelism and other literary devices all throughout the speech. President Kennedy wise use of diction greatly helped him appeal to the audiences.

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In his speech, Kennedy highlighted that his goal was to bring change as a leader, and addressing the USSR, did not want to continue in the Cold War. As an inauguration speech, Kennedy’s goal was to inform the country, as well as the world, of his intentions as a leader. The first instance of Kennedy using rhetoric to meet this goal is through his use of ethos, pathos and logos. Using these Aristotelian proofs allowed him to evoke the intended response, from the immediate audience. Kennedy’s use of ethos and pathos makes the audience feel a strong bond to him, as they are all of a new generation, which implies that they can bring change.

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301 Words | 2 Pages

John F. Kennedy (JFK) delivered one of the most memorable lines in American politics at his inaugural speech in 1961. His thesis was to enforce the American citizens to take responsibility for their own success or failure. JFK started his sentence with the use of pathos to provide a warm embrace and a sense of unity with his audience allowing him to soften the impact of his serious message. This enabled JFK to set the tone for his message. He aimed to inspire his audience, an appeal to emotion, and not to impose upon.

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In his speech Kennedy uses different rhetorical devices to unify the citizens of both the United States and the world. Kennedy was giving this speech after winning by a very small margin of votes so he was trying to unite the people of the United States and show he was the correct choice for the president. This speech was given during the Cold War so he was trying to connect the people around the whole world and establish peace. Kennedy was able to unify the people and try to establish peace while at the same time making himself seem like a very competent leader. In his speech Kennedy tries to build his credibility as a personable leader by creating ethos.

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In President John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech he uses the Rhetorical appeal of Ethos to make the audience feel as if they are the ones truly in control and that he is a reputable source for them to listen to. Right off the bat, we see Kennedy working to strengthen the trustworthiness of himself, by bringing up the fact that he is "sworn before you and Almighty God" at the beginning of the speech. By bringing up the fact that he has sworn before God, Kennedy attempts to provide the reader/listener with reassurance than anything Kennedy says is trustworthy. Throughout his speech, Kennedy offers several examples of how tough and frightening the world truly is just to turn right back around and offer a solution the United States, that solution

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In his impassioned speech at a fundraising event for the Kennedy Library Foundation, Ronald Reagan described the sensational man that John F Kennedy was and the legacy that followed him. The event at which the speech was given was held under the premise of raising money to further support the presidential library, and Reagan made it a priority to recognize the admirable and important contributions Kennedy made to the entire world and pay tribute to a great figure in history. He prioritized the recognition of Kennedy’s character, actions, and impact that the audience would relate to and understand. His audience was the possible donors to the fund so it was important that they were aware of what Kennedy stood for and what he contributed to society

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1677 Words | 7 Pages

He exclaimed that if something is done to the nation, there will be consequences. He lets other countries know he will be a president that no one wants to meddle with. His purpose is concise. Kennedy promised we would overcome any challenge, further threatening any opposing nations that he would crush them. Kennedy stated, “But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course–both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays at the hand of mankind’s final war”.

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Oziel Rios S. Nambiar English 1302. SP3 12 February 2018 Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis On Friday, January of 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered a speech to the citizens of the United States of America and the world. Kennedy made a speech that he knew would be remembered for many years to come even after his presidential term.

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843 Words | 4 Pages

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States and was inaugurated in January 1962. The space race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. lasted for a few years at the time of Kennedy's speech. Kennedy wanted the United States to lead and win the race to demonstrate how powerful the United States' technology was. As the U.S. President, the audience of his speech was directed towards persuading the American public to support the race to space to have the United States lead in space science. Kennedy alludes to a historical figure to motivate Americans that being a nation that leads in space science will not be easy but memorable actions are never easy, and he also uses anaphora when describing the United State's past and present power

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929 Words | 4 Pages

John F. Kennedy’s was known as a very patriotic person, and that would raise the question why. Well, the answer can simply be found in his inauguration speech. He gave the speech to bolster the fighting spirit and act as an inspiration for the Americans. How he does this is interestingly simple by smart actually. He used a plethora of stylistic devices extensively in his speech.

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1079 Words | 5 Pages

Injustice and Racism against Fellow Americans (African Americans), John Kennedy wrote this speech off of the fact that two African American kids had to be taken to school by Guards in order to not be harassed by people who do not welcome them. The speech was in response to the U.S. National Guard being sent to protect two African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood enrolling at the University of Alabama. Kennedy uses Parallelism , innuendo, pathos, and logos to effectively convince his fellow citizens that discrimination against people just because of their race is immoral. In the opening of his speech Kennedy uses Pathos and logos to persuade Americans that the fact that these two students had to be taken to school with guards

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311 Words | 2 Pages

In his inaugural address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy acknowledges the uncertain international crises of the era to not only unite America, but the world. To do so, Kennedy frequently contrasts the extremes of peace, unity and prosperity with war, division, and poverty. In the third paragraph of the speech, Kennedy says that “man holds the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” Kennedy recognizes the American public’s shared fears of nuclear destruction, so he plays with these fears to appeal to a broader audience. However, Kennedy not only addresses the crippling fear of war, he addresses the potential for world prosperity ,which many Americans were not aware of at the time with the fear of war.

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