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How to perform a rhetorical analysis
How to perform a rhetorical analysis
How to perform a rhetorical analysis
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This primary purpose of this paper is to assess the rhetoric of Donald Trump’s inaugural address as it relates to the Declaration of Independence, American political culture and past political speeches. President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech on January 20, 2017 resonates the ideas and inspiration behind the Declaration of Independence address of July 4, 1776. They both advocate a country which is governed by the people, for the people and of the people. This form of government is called Democracy which is the framework of the American political culture. The concept of the American political culture can be classified as a Democratic Republic whereby the people rule through elected representatives in the interest of the people. According to the President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech, “Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. because we are not merely transferring power not from one administration to another, or from one party to another but we are transferring power from Washington D.C and giving it back to you, the American People” (paragraph 6). This statement reflects the American culture of the people’s influence in government decision making. Also, the Declaration of Independence address states that “we hold the truth to be self – evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by …show more content…
Elite theory as explained by our course text, advocates power actually rests in the hands of a small number of wealthy and powerful individuals – especially corporate executives and top government officials (James Monroe and Rogan Kersh pg 4). President Trump promised to put in place an effective and efficient concept of pluralism whereby the voice of every American will be heard and significant in the decision making process as adopted by Declaration of Independence address and the American
Many speeches have shaped the nation we live in today. Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” and Benjamin Franklin’s “Speech in the Convention” are two of the most prominent speeches that have assisted in the forging of our new nation. The “Speech in the Virginia Convention” serves to encourage those that listened to take arms against the British and fight the injustice being done to them. The “Speech in the Convention” admits to the imperfections of the Constitution but supports its ultimate purpose. Both Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin believe leaders must do away with compromise and lead when it’s best for the people as a whole. However, Patrick discourages any future compromise, while Benjamin Franklin feels that future
The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776 when the country was founded. Today, our democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper-class have a monopoly over
There have been many historical events in history that have impacted America in many ways. For example, famous Speeches given by important people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the united states which his main goal was to help America recover from the severe economic issues during the 1930’s. Roosevelt used rhetorical devices to persuade desperate Americans, wounded from the Great Depression, by introducing a plan which it will be the best way to recover from the severe crisis that affected Americans. In Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, he used personification, diction, and antimetabole to convey his conflicting feelings about the New Deal, in order to face the economic issues
Throughout the speech, the Former President George W Bush strives to empower Americans by instructing them to remain resolute, but to “go back to [their] lives and routines”. He uses the personal pronoun we and the common pronoun us repeatedly to indicate that the people of the United States, who either saw the event on television or experienced this event firsthand, were and still are involved in this national tragedy. He implements this emotional appeal into his speech to involve all Americans--people living in the United States of America, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or culture, and to acknowledge that the American people have endured this together, and that they will continue to advance after this event with stronger resolve, stronger than ever. In addition, he implements personification to motivate and empower the American people. “Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future” (Bush, 2001). “This generation”, again a synonym for the American people, with its unwavering resolve, will fight for its freedom persistently. He intimates that the future of America and of democratic freedom is in the hands of the American people: that the American people have the power to control their fate. The next sentence leads into America’s “philanthropically” democratic nature: “We will rally the world to this cause, by our efforts and by our courage” (Bush, 2001). This statement has been followed up by action only a few years later, when the United States intervened in the Iraqi War, Libyan Revolution, and even more civil wars to ensure the freedom of citizens from dictatorships, which in Islāmic nations, were militant groups, like the Hamas and Taliban. Lastly, the president utilized anaphora, specifically a tripartite structure, by affirming that the American people “will not tire”, “will not falter”, and “will not fail”. He implies that the American people will relentlessly fight for the worldwide establishment of peace and democratic institutions, a promise which America has kept even in the face of its own national crisis.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.
The character of the United States is illuminated by the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wanted to build a government where people are free and where the government “derives its power from the consent of the governed and it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it” (Jefferson, 247). T...
In the United States' Declaration of Independence the founding fathers stated: "…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
President Obama’s Inaugural Speech: Rhetorical Analysis. Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be in safe hands. The speech is similar to ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve his ethos.
Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office.
The elite theory is the belief that a select, powerful few make all of the decisions in America. The Americans trust in these elite to make the decisions for them. “It is just that the people are of necessity confused and must, like trusting children, place all the new world of foreign policy and strategy and executive action in the hands of experts” (C. Wright Mills, 78). To prove his elite theory Mills makes the claim that Americans are rather uneducated in the fields of government. We the people require someone above us to run things smoothly while also keeping in mind the public wants and the greater good. Someone that holds more knowledge will make better decisions for America.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
...ional, full and touching speeches by influential speakers in history, such as bullet or the ballot by Malcolm X. There are many ways and means to advocate ones ideas for what American political theory is or should be. We are fortunate enough to have a country governed by the consent of the citizens in which it governs, and the option for those citizens to express in literature or voice what they want to see remain the same or change within our American political theory. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what American Political theory is because we are a country from many different ethnicities, nationalities and backgrounds. But to me, from reading the writings and listening to the speeches of great American thinkers, it is evident that American political theory is the mediation of conflict between minority and majority interests in order to form a more perfect union.
At the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s language is elaborate and elegant. He uses long flowing sentences filled with philosophical concepts, like ‘Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,’ borrowed from John Locke’s ideas regarding the Natural Rights of Man. His choice of words like ‘self-evident’ and ‘unalienable’ makes the Declaration formal yet he still communicates a very personal message to his audience. When he states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” this phrasing shows that Americans believe, like Jefferson, they have rights that are absolute. Also, the term “self-evident” shows that there is an awareness of perspective held by Americans of their value or worth which is not understood by the British. Words like ‘usurpations’ and ‘despotism’ are graceful words that describe graceless situations where the British have behaved in a way well beyond their authority over the col...
Bush’s method of topic by topic argument along with many emotional appeals was a rather effective way of winning the audience’s support. By appealing to the emotions of the audience Bush was able to give the audience issues they could relate to as well as issues they would feel strongly about. With an emotionally involved audience Bush was able to gather a great number of supporters of his party, just as he intended in his original purpose. The further reference to the character of the people involved in the issues really paid off by drawing the crowd closer to the people working for them. With the topical structure and the appeals used, the speech was a very effective tool in gaining support for the Republican Party from the northern Arizonan audience.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” (Declaration of Independence,1776)