ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of Ronald Reagan And The National Association Of Evangelicals

1004 Words5 Pages

Ronald Reagan and the National Association of Evangelicals
Numerous politicians throughout the world will try and make very personal connections to “win” over their audience or try to make it seem like they are just like their audience. This is seen, especially, during their speeches. Ronald Reagan, definitely used his personal connections to his faith in his religion to his advantage, when he addressed the National Association of Evangelicals, in March of 1983. The speech is titled, “Evil Empire Speech” and Reagan talks about his evangelical faith, a lot. Ronald Reagan uses evangelicalism to connect with his audience in order to gain support for military expansion. He does this by joking around and sharing his personal experiences, he also …show more content…

He begins his speech by thanking the audience for their prayers, he says, “Thank you for your prayers. Nancy and I have felt their presence many times in many ways” [3]. Right away, he shows gratitude, which may seem as peculiar, since he is the President of the United States. When talking about how he feels the presence of prayers, Reagan quotes Abraham Lincoln, “I think I understand how Abraham Lincoln felt when he said, ‘I’ve been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go’” [4]. He continues on with the speech by telling a joke. In paragraphs 6 and 7 Ronald Reagan tells a joke about how usually politicians don’t go to heaven. His joke also brought up a stereotype of politicians not being very religious in addition to Reagan showing that he has a sense of humor. Lastly, in his speech he continues with showing his gratitude to the crowd and ends his speech by giving a verse from the Bible and telling the audience, “God bless you,” [55]. However, making strong connections to his faith was not the only way to “win” over his …show more content…

He uses quotes that could be interpreted as religious or have Protestant-like views. But this also could be seen as a very interesting “tactic” for his speech, since some of the people who he quoted are well-known Deists. Deists believe that there is a god, but they are usually not strong believers in religion as a whole; they also believe that their supernatural God doesn’t intervene within their lives. Deists beliefs are not similar to evangelical beliefs in the sense. Although, the people he quoted may not be religious as he is making them out to be, he uses their quotes to his advantage. “The American experiment in democracy rest on this insight. Its discovery was the great triumph of our Founding Fathers” [9]. Then he quotes William Penn, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexis de Tocqueville. In all of the quotes, they use words, such as “God”, “morality”, and “religion”, therefore Reagan was able to quote them and use this to better his speech. When he quotes Alexis de Tocqueville, however, this is where Reagan makes the best connection, since his slogan was, “let’s make America great”. “Alexis de Tocqueville put eloquently… ‘Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and genius of America.’” [10] Lastly, after using a Bible verse to end his speech, Reagan quotes Thomas Paine. “‘We have it within our power to begin the world

Show More
Related
873 Words | 4 Pages

The first rhetorical skill that Reagan uses is ethos. In the very first sentence he implies his status and authority by stating, “I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.” By showing us his power as President of the United States (the

Read More
1123 Words | 5 Pages

Being personal is a good way to unify people. In this speech President Regan uses a rhetorical canon; which is style, effectively. President Reagan personalizes his speech by talking directly to the families of the fallen heroes. Personalizing the speech was a good choice because it is a more effective way of talking about the situation rather than just talking about the incident an informing what happened. Also his choice of using the words “us” and “we” triggers unity among the nation.

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

In his remarkable “Berlin Wall Speech”, Ronald Reagan persuasively applies arguments based on integrity to demonstrate his credibility as a winner of democracy, assertions based on rationale to justify his invocation, and pleas to emotion to strengthen his association to the ethics of Berliners and to liberty, in his ple on Gorbachev to demolish the “Berlin Wall”, advance harmony, and encourage freedom in Berlin. The inauguration of Ronald Reagan’s speech is typified by his appeals to the social and cultural principles of Berliners, their lasting impression of association to Americans, and their understanding of Reagan’s justification of equality, all of which are intended to acquire the audience’s belief. Reagan applies ethos in legislating his character as a speaker when he declares it is his “...duty to

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

Reagan used pronouns to include the audience throughout his speech. One example of Reagan’s speech being inclusive of the entire nation was when he said, “ We’ve grown used to the wonders in this century” (4). He is saying that as a whole country we are used to finding new wonders everyday. Reagan was very confident in NASA and wanted to continue to receive support, so he said, “We’ll continue our quest into space” (6). He believed that America could keep the space program going strong despite the recent tragic events.

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

Analyzing Challenger’s Address Delivered on January 28, 1986, Ronald Reagan’s speech addressing the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a plausible proof of the possibility to communicate various ideas during a tough situation effectively and efficiently. In a speech that lasted less than five minutes, Ronald Reagan managed to express his thoughts verbally and attempt to persuade his audience through an eulogy, a speech characterized by its epideictic occassion, that had been infused with a deliberative content that did not conflict with the core of the speech. Before one can analyze the details of Ronald Reagan’s speech, understanding the purpose behind the creation of the speech might be useful for understanding the context of the speech as a whole. Based on the speech how it relates to common speech purposes

Read More
474 Words | 2 Pages

Reagan states, "Not until I went into the churches of America and hurt her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America. America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great" (1983). Ronald Reagan and the writers of the speech adapted and analyzed the audience because the audience consisted of Christians and the speech included many references to the Bible and to God. Reagan supports the Christians and keeping America good through godly works and prayers (1983).

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

Although Ronald Reagan’s speech about the Challenger explosion was given during a time of great sorrow, the speech was successful for being a way to unite the country as one to deal with the loss as a whole, and to bear the weight of such a horrific tragedy together. With the Challenger disaster being the first one of the space program to have deaths in flight, the United States was completely shocked by the misfortune of the shuttle. Ronald Reagan’s speech on the disaster was a way to have the nation not blame the space program for the deaths of the astronauts, but a way to have the nation face the disaster with strength and push through the event with more courage than before and to continue exploration into space. Ronald Reagan begins his speech by addressing the nation and stating how he is exempting the State of the Union

Read More
139 Words | 1 Pages

Even upon his death, years after his challenging presidency, Reagan was mourned by not only the citizens but also fellow leaders who shared a bond with the former president. One close friend included Margaret Thatcher who presented a heartfelt and knowing eulogy. By utilizing,

Read More
1001 Words | 5 Pages

Reagan, based on an appeal to the general public, chooses to gain credibility and an emotional appeal with religion by using associating his ideas with words like god and morality then repeats this association with all his ideas. His repetition and word choice creates an association of his ideas and religion, in a public of very religious citizens, will create a positive connotation regardless of the actual merit of the idea. This connotation will help make the general public more receptive and accepting of Reagan’s decision making based, as well as have a generally more negative connotation when thinking of the Soviet Union. Having the public’s support can reduce scrutiny of his decision making and minimize public backlash regardless of the merit of his

Read More
1747 Words | 7 Pages

In this address he makes a sweeping critique of liberalism, big government, and federal payments. (Encyclopedia) In this speech, known as “A Time for Choosing” Reagan used logos, pathos, and mood to invoke people’s feelings about making the right choice when choosing their leader in order for society to have a stronger and successful future. Historical background

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

In his emotionally inspiring speech, “Shuttle Challenger Address,” Ronald Reagan expresses his deepest condolences to the people most affected by the Challenger accident. He advances his speech with a gentle yet strong willed facade in order to inspire the future generations of astronauts to not let this tragedy affect their future endeavors. Raegen then briefly puts his presidential status aside in order to further express the depth of his pain, not only at a presidential level, but as an American citizen concerned for the well being of his country. Raegen applies different types of rhetorical devices in order to emotionally appeal to the people most affected by the accident, while at the same time encourage the general public to not let this

Read More
1089 Words | 5 Pages

On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan gave his “First Inaugural Address” with the United States listening; some people were able to experience firsthand Ronald Reagan’s passion and views for our country, in Front of the Capitol Building, while others tuned in to listen on the momentous occasion. Ronald Reagan sets the stage for his presidency using logos through logical sentences that are meant to bring the audience a better perspective on his point of view. Diction was a key factor in showing Ronald Reagan’s strong sense of nationalism; he chose powerful, hopeful words and phrases that were intended to unify the people. He shows syntax through anaphora, repetition, and parallelism. By using these rhetorical devices, he states key phrases more than once to create an urgency and therefore grab listener’s attention.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

He brings us together in this sorrowful time in order to remember those who died because “We mourn seven heroes” (Reagan, 1986) and “We mourn their loss as a nation together” (Reagan, 1986). The President’s loss of emotions creates an assuring tone that

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

In Reagan's address, he uses rhetorical questions to challenge the minds of the people listening by saying, "But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" The quote states that people at the time could not take care of themselves and in return, they could not take care of other people. This adds a little insult towards the people and shows how past leaders have put a top order over everyone because they were too feeble-minded to manage themselves. This opens the minds of the audience by catching their attention as he proceeds speaking throughout the address. Reagan sleekly pops this question in his writing and makes the use of practicing a rhetorical question

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

Reagan used passion, logic, and his great reputation to build up his and Goldwater’s careers. Before Reagan’s political career began he was an actor. Reagan became intrigued by politics after he

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of Ronald Reagan And The National Association Of Evangelicals

Related Topics

Open Document