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The Inspirational Outcome of John F. Kennedy's Address As representative leaders of a nation and a dire fundamental of American Democracy, U.S. Presidents must use rhetoric in their everyday lives to successfully express their thoughts and ideas to the public and congress. At a dire moment in American history, John. F Kennedy was elected as the thirty-fifth president of the United States. Kennedy was elected at a time of great disorder in not only the United States, but also throughout the world. With communism increasing throughout the world's nations and dangerous weapons being conceived by the world's greatest powers, the people of the United States were looking for a leader. As the country's youngest president ever to be elected to this …show more content…
Despite his young age, Kennedy is still expected to perform on the same level as past presidents. Aware of this expectation, Kennedy assures his multitude in the first paragraph of his speech that, " [he] has sworn before [the multitude] and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago." He wants his multitude to know that he has gone through the same process as all past presidents, and plans to hold the same American values upon which the nation was founded. Kennedy then moves on to propose several pledges to American citizens, friends of the state, and enemies of the state. The overall oath is one that assures the above groups of peers that the United States will do whatever necessary to, "assure the survival and the success of liberty." This vow establishes Kennedy's credibility as a promoter of democracy and freedom. The speech promises to America's allies that it will continue to maintain a productive and meaningful relationship. To the citizens of third world countries it promises salvation. Kennedy's address dedicates a paragraph to every group of nations in the world, even America's enemies. By appealing to the adversaries of the country, Kennedy institutes credibility as a President who no longer wishes to fight with his enemies, but rather work with them towards a better world. The persuasive appeals used throughout Kennedy's inaugural address …show more content…
In the case of Kennedy's address, the organization of his points and appeals adds to the efficiency of his words. As mentioned above, his address begins strongly with an appeal to ethos. Having established some form of trustworthiness, Kennedy then seeks to set a context of the age in which his listeners live by explaining that, "The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty." Having set an urgent and grave tone to his speech, Kennedy then proceeds to give his series of pledges to the various types of listeners tuning into his address. The newly elected President ends his speech by preaching to the American people that his goals appeal to something larger than the individual. By ending with a broader appeal to a higher power, Kennedy finishes his speech with his multitude ready to work together to accomplish his objectives. The reason that this appeal works within the confines of the speech is because the multitude accepts such a demand for
“Born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage.” (Miss, Daly, Pg.). This show the U.S. people that he really loves this country and really cares about what’s going on and what happens to it in the future. Another way he brings pathos into his speech is by the language/words he uses in his speech. When he is talking he uses a lot of words like “we”, “us”. This makes the U.S. people feel very connected to him and makes the feel like they are a part of it to, it is like they made the decision to vote him president and now they get to help him make his decisions about the future of America. In his address he says “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” (Miss, Daly, Pg.). which again he connects to the people by making them feel involved and by basically saying the future of America is even more in our hands then in his and it really depends on us in how we want America to turn out, and again makes the U.S people feel very patriotic and proud of their country. Overall John F Kennedy was very successful in persuading the U.S. people about their choice by using pathos and by just talking to
“If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”(Kennedy, 1961) Statements such as these demonstrate how Kennedy appealed to the citizens by simply using reason. The use of logos in his speech was minimal compared to the use of pathos, and ethos.
His speech contained persuasive appeals such as logos and pathos. Kennedy says “This peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers...our neighbors know we shall join with them to oppose aggression anywhere…let every power know this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.” This strong quote corresponds with pathos, it pertains to the emotion of hope and courage that the U.S. needs to maintain its high ranking status among other countries. This shows that he wants us to be ready for anything
In conclusion, this speech was structured beautifully. Its use of figurative and expressive language makes it an unforgettable speech. Kennedy does a great job of using pathos, ethos, and logos to reiterate his commitment to the American public as well as discuss expected changes. Given the state of the world at the time of his inauguration, the decision to rely so heavily on pathos and ethos was a wise one which got the job done. His use of the rhetoric triangle effectively conveys Kennedy’s plan for America to not only her citizens, but to the world.
He does this for the reason that he wants to reiterate that American virtues are at the foundations of the people and not the government. Furthermore he creates his earnest tone through parallelism, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This is earnest on the grounds that he not only shows what they need to do, but shows them what they have been doing wrong. His tone was also contemplative in the fact that Kennedy reflects on the issue of nuclear war and the consequences that it entails. The mention of a nuclear crisis intentionally unites everyone, both Republicans and Democrats, in a common goal to defeat a tangible enemy.
In these lines, he showed emotion when asking the world to spread freedom, justice, and to get rid of all the evils in the world. Also in his address, Kennedy asks Americans to stand up to the “long twilight struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war.” As a promoter of world peace, President Kennedy clearly stated that the Soviet Union and the United States were wasting time and money. Following his swearing in, he used allusion in his speech as he stated, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.” Kennedy implies to the countrys independence as an effort to create a great reputation for himself.
John F. Kennedy’s central argument in his inaugural speech is that America needs to act. During this time the Cold War was occurring, causing both America and the Soviet Union to compete in an arms race to see who could make the most nuclear weapons. Kennedy states that America needs to fight for freedom while also negotiating peace with communist countries, especially the Soviet Union. Kennedy does not want a nuclear war to occur so he wants peace before another world war happens. Kennedy also talks about helping the poor people in other countries. In the end Kennedy urges American citizens to help out in any way they can. Even though Kennedy does use pathos and ethos more than logos, it is the combination of all three that make his argument
These addresses contain propaganda techniques that most listeners wouldn’t recognize as propaganda, including: glittering generalities, transfer, plain folks, card stacking, bandwagon, and testimonials. One of the most memorable inaugural speeches in American history was delivered by President John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961. Throughout his speech Kennedy uses the “plain folks” technique, with the use of words like, “we”,,”our”, and “us”, to convince his audience that he was simply an ordinary man of the people. More specifically, he addressed the issues facing Americans regarding tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, and his hopes of managing international affairs.... ... middle of paper ...
Even though much of the address is fervent in tone, Kennedy devotes a large section of his topic to outline his ethos to all inhabitants of the world. JFK introduced the use of the ethos at the inception of his address. Kennedy was very young when he came into office, but he was still obliged to act at the same level as former presidents. Attentive to this condition, Kennedy states, “[he] has sworn before [the audience] and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.” Kennedy wants to make it clear to everyone that he has endured through the same operation as all the other leaders, and intends to uphold the American principle that this country was Jensen 3rd.
With the tone of inspiration, hortatory, and powerful, an inaugural speech by President Kennedy clearly defines the ceremonial purpose based on the first aspect of social cohesion in freedom and liberty. At the very beginning, by using a youthful diction, President Kennedy shows his great achievement in winning the presidential election. Even at his young age, Kennedy still performs at the same level as the past presidents. He proves to his audience by saying that, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago” (“President Kennedy”). Hard work, loyalty, labor, and meticulousness will definitely bring many positive effects to the country.
Those words were, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country” ("Inaugural Address."). In order to achieve all these feats, JFK need a nation united. JFK pulled on the nations heartstrings by reminding the nation of it’s core values, which it was founded on. He appeals to that “tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage” side of the American public ("Inaugural Address."). He later goes on to say that change will not happen overnight, but rather change is a continuous process that is always evolving and
(Kennedy). Kennedy’s usage of “we” rather than “I” gives the audience a sense that they exist as part of something big, perhaps a family, while portraying Kennedy as a people’s president who desires to be a “person in the crowd.” Throughout his address, Kennedy establishes pathos mainly by appealing to American patriotism, a significant concept during the Cold War period in which Americans needed a jingoistic spirit to succeed. By reminding his audience of their forefathers and instigating parallels between “the first revolution” and the present generation, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage,” the president grasps the attention of the audience. He even stresses the value of liberty and this generation’s dedication to the survival of that value to rouse this patriotic spirit.... ...
President John F. Kennedy brings about a new way of thinking in his inaugural speech. He brings in a sense of selflessness and relentlessness for the country. He uses literary devices such as, antithesis, repetition, and rhetorical questions to bring about that sense in the audience. He begins by putting himself to the people and allowing the audience to feel welcomed. The use of literary devices in his speech allows the audience to recognize his goal, which is moving forward and bringing change to the country.
“American Rhetoric: John F. Kennedy – Joint Session Speech on Urgent National Needs (transcript-audio-video).” American Rhetoric: John F. Kennedy - Joint Session Speech on Urgent National Needs (transcript-audio-video). N. p., n.d. Web 8 Dec. 2013.
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This we pledge-and more.” (Kennedy, 1961)