President Ronald Reagan in his first inaugural speech unites the nation through three strategies: harsh reality, unity, and future plans. His purpose is to unite the country in order to defeat a great economic depression. He is speaking to the citizens of the United States as a whole. Beginning his speech, Reagan uses the harsh reality of the situation the country is in to stir emotions. He enlightens the audience to the fact that the citizens have suffered from “the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history.” He goes further by using negative connotations: “distorts,” “penalizes,” and “crushes.” Reagan displays the destruction of the depression. By stirring these emotions he is able to move onto his next