Steel Corporations Forge Tyranny The 1960s marked a time of great change, turmoil, and innovation in American history. President John F. Kennedy worked hard to ensure the best for the citizens of the United States and that is why, when steel corporations raised their prices 3.5 percent in a time of economic distress, Kennedy responded with outrage. In his speech to the American people on April 11, 1962, President John F. Kennedy used a plethora of rhetorical strategies to persuade the American public to join his crusade against the greed of large steel companies. President Kennedy begins his address by immediately stating his opinion on the issue; that the actions of steel corporations “constitute a wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible He creates a judgemental and disappointed tone when discussing what “a few gigantic corporations have decided to” do rather than what “they could” do. He once again paints this narrative that steel companies don’t act out of public interest, and that the the audience must force them to. The “Steel Workers Union”, “Department of Justice”, “Federal Trade Commission”, and “the Department of Defense” can “be proud” of what they are doing, however, it is not enough. This is key in Kennedy’s speech, because it is the final reason as to why the public needs to retaliate against the recent greedy actions of steel corporations. Kennedy entertains the rights of companies, that their decisions “ought to be freely and privately made.” Therefore, the American people have the right “to expect in return for that freedom, a higher sense of business responsibility for the welfare of their country than has been shown in the last two day.” The shame and disappointment Kennedy portrays convinces the public that they deserve more, that they must act. Kennedy concludes, “Some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for his country and I asked the steel companies. In the last 24 hours we had their answers.” His concluding remarks, soured by the condemnation in his diction and tone, ring with a sense of finality. By alluding to a quote from his previous speech on patriotism, he raises the critical question: Is it fair that you sacrifice everything for your country and that steel companies simply refuse to? This statement attacks the nationalism of the steel companies, and brings the ‘us vs. them’ mentality full
He used a very selective vocabulary, purposely using emotionally charged words such as: “wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance” (lines 4-5), “ruthless disregard” (line 82), and “restraint and sacrifice” (lines 14-15). By using words with strong connotation, he powers the emotions of his audience once again directing support for himself and appearing as the calm figurehead amongst the emotional chaos. He also makes his speech very personal by mentioning individual American families, literally using the phrase “every American family” (line 25). He appeals to the strong sense of patriotism in the American public by mentioning the four servicemen who died in Vietnam. Despite the fact that they are almost completely unrelated to the rise in steel prices and, if they were alive, would be unaffected by the rise in price, either. And yet, Kennedy mentions the servicemen to make the situation appear that much more dire. By mentioning the tragic deaths of these men, Kennedy aims to trigger a strong emotional response in his audience that would turn into support for
Kennedy, in his speech appeals mostly to logos by using hards facts and statistics. For example, in line 20 he explains how the inflation of steel is affecting “185 million Americans”. He continues using logos throughout his speech when he introduces Sect of Defense McNamara and tells the American people the steel inflation would an “estimated one billion dollars to cost of defenses, at a time when every dollar is needed for national security”. However, this is also an
He has the audience infer that the steel companies raising their prices was what they were doing for their country, and what they were doing was not helping like Kennedy has wished. This reference back to something that had a huge impact on many people strengthens Kennedy’s point of view and helps him achieve his
This speech proves that Kennedy had a way with words and knew the best way to get a message across. He clearly expressed his feelings but did so without letting them take over. He didn’t scream or shout, but showed he could handle his anger while still letting it shine through. Kennedy used the three appeals, strong diction and syntax, and a well-organized structure of his ideas to convey his purpose; Raise anger in Americans and side with them, while making the steel companies feel guilty for their
For decades, the steel industry has been one of the toughest markets on a global scale with most steel corporations ending up in bankruptcy. Foreign and domestic competitors, management issues, environmental issues, political agenda’s and technology have had much to do with the demise and more so of the success of the steel industry. The issues that this case focus on Nucor Corporation was of:
: The 1960’S AMERICA COLD WAR RACISM AFFLUENCE ZENITH PIVOTAL POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT. AN ELECTION WAS FAST APPROACHING, SEEMED LIKE A PRETTY SET IN STONE CHOICE FOR LEADER. BUT HEY JFK WAS A SUPER BABE, MILLIONAIRE, AND WAS FINNA GET THE PRESIDENT SEAT WHICH WAS UP FOR GRABS. YO HE WAS AN UNDERDOG THOUGH. John F. Kennedy made a remarkable and courageous effort during the campaign of 1960. A Massachusetts-born Democrat, not only was Kennedy the youngest person ever to run for the presidency, but he was a Catholic with new and different political ideas campaigning against Vice President Richard Nixon, who had the upperhand because of his political experience. Thus, Kennedy created a campaign specifically for his time, one that appealed to the
The dawning of the sixties erupted with John F. Kennedy as President, the beginning of an anti-war movement, and the fear of communism. It was a new decade and called for many changes, domestic and foreign. New policies were initiated in the hopes for a better economy and relations with other countries. In 1961, President Kennedy called for the establishment of the Alliance for Progress. The program was aimed towards promoting the social and economic development of Latin America.
By delivering his inaugural speech, President Kennedy mentioned not only the American people, but also people from over the world including new states, old allies, and the Soviet Union. He also sought to inspire the nation after a long, divided election; to alleviate the growing fearful of drawn-out cold war, and to bless the hope for peace in the nuclear age. By using the extensive use of rhetorical devices, President successfully completed and fulfilled the goals of his speech. Therefore, after reading his inaugural speech, I strongly want to choose this speech to analysis for my research paper. I will analysis John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech based on the idea of social cohesion about liberty, give evidence and number how this speech has influenced thousands of people based on its eloquence and persuasiveness.
The local response — divided, rarely ambivalent — is fascinating to the outside observer. Old and not so old men hang on to memories or fight old battles in bars, greasy spoons, and ethnic clubs. Others (perhaps most, though `most´ have died so it´s hard to say) escape to the hills and suburbs and pay little attention to the now dangerous towns in which they were raised unless a shopping mall, complete with the chain restaurants, turns their bad memories into nostalgia.The great steel cities of the past- places like Pittsburgh and Birmingham in the US and Sheffield in the UK- have all experienced the painful shock that occurs when the invisible hand of the market withdraws its support. What has happened since to people of these regions is both a reflection of the legacy of steel production and of the extreme social uncertainty created by its absence.
In many ways John F. Kennedy’s decision to have this speech as well as the contents itself, reflected how he was instrumental to success in keeping the public calm. The president could hav...
So what was going on leading up to John F. Kennedy’s famous speech? After war world II and when America used nukes, everyone in the world was trying to gain nuclear capabilities so they could become a world power. So with everyone having nukes, there was a giant fear that “Dooms Day” was coming and the Earth would be destroyed. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite. This scarred Americans to death because they had no idea what they were dealing with. Is this satellite spying on them 24/7 or was it preparing to launch missiles at the USA? The fact of not knowing is what scarred the citizens of the United States. So with the 1960 election coming around and communism seeming to be getting stronger every day, America needed a strong leader.
During the early 1960’s, the United States was emerging from a recession. Many people were struggling, but some big businesses were taking advantage of the economic distress. On April 11th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy held a news conference to talk about such big businesses, namely, steel companies. President Kennedy criticized these companies for increasing the price of steel by 3.5 percent. By appealing compellingly to logos, effectively to pathos, and rivetingly to ethos, President John F. Kennedy argues that the price increase of steel during the hard times by large companies has been a blatant disregard for their public responsibilities during an emerging recession.
After World War II, tensions between the United States, its allies, and the Soviet Union became very apparent. When John F. Kennedy (JFK) was elected in 1960, this “Cold War” between the communist government of the Soviet Union and the democratic government of the United States had strained relationships around the world for over 15 years. After losing their sense of security, the American people elected John F. Kennedy in 1960 as the 35th President of the United States because they believed he could lead the country to peace and prosperity. Although President Kennedy knew these goals of peace and prosperity would not be achieved in the term of his presidency or his lifetime, he also knew the world could eventually accomplish them through
Since President Kennedy served first of the two, I will follow the logic of chronological order in this paper and begin by saying that President Kennedy used several different sources to gather information, including high ranking security officers, congressional advisors and members, state governors, and numerous other aides and committees. Despite the sometimes "pointed" commentary by officials providing the president with information, President Kennedy maintained his profile as "The Rational Executive" just as the chapter about him in this book is named (Doyle, 93). President Kennedy's tenure forced him to face some very difficult issues that were very important and had severe impacts on the way our country has been governed since. The civil rights movement, the bay of pigs and Cuban missile crisis just to name a few. President Kennedy, through no real fault of his own, took this country to the brink of nuclear war but by his swift, rational governing avoided catastrophe not only on the national level but also locally in situations such as the integration of The University of Mississippi (Doyle, 106). Keeping a calm and level head about the integration situation, Kennedy advised Governor Barnett on how to continue to maintain law and order, a civil protest (Doyle, 106). Even when the situation erupted into an uncontrollable riot, Kennedy took the ultimate blame on himself, "Kennedy cursed himself for not sending the troops in earlier" (Doyle, 120).
Reutter, Mark. Sparrows Point: Making Steel : the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might. New York: Summit Books, 1988. Print.