A More Perfect Union Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis (Essay #3)

In his speech “A More Perfect Union,” Barack Obama uses different types of rhetorical concepts to emphasize his views on the importance of unity in America in order to eradicate racism. The purpose of the speech was to address Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s (His former pastor) racial comment, and to encourage people to form “A More Perfect Union”. The speech is effective because Obama uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the audience to come together as one nation, regardless of any differences, to put an end to racist thinking and racism in America.

Obama‘s speech accentuates the significance of unity in a divisive multi-cultural country in expectancy of his election. He explains that the goals of the founding fathers were to establish unity but that these goals have not been met for generations. Obama uses his own experience to show that he too has been through racism. He states, “At various stages in the

Pathos is the use emotions to influence the audience. He states, “This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of Black children and White children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children…and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, and every walk of life” (563). By making these problems evident, Obama appeals to the emotions of the audience by making them feel compassionate towards the children of America and the struggles that they face. He intelligently makes no distinction based on race regarding the education of children. Being able to talk about education in this way, influences the audience to believe that Obama will fight for their children’s education, regardless of race. Obama also uses this appeal to the audience’s emotions to create a sense of unity that he hopes would motivate them to change