Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Speech

833 Words2 Pages

Economic crisis. Instability. The United States during the 1960s was about as stable as a table with one leg. On April 10, 1962, steel industries unfairly decided to raise steel prices by an immense 3.5 percent. President Kennedy’s separation between the steel industries and Americans through distinct diction sets forth a reasoned argument that establishes the point that the steel industries are being malicious in raising their prices and that other Americans should not follow in the footsteps of their selfish actions Foremost, Kennedy’s establishment of a sharp distinction between the steel industry and all other Americans is extremely apparent. Wasting no time, Kennedy initiates his speech by stating how “wholly unjustifiable” raising steel …show more content…

Specifically in the second paragraph, Kennedy utilizes the word “we” when claiming that “we are confronted” (7) with tragic issues in whichand “we are devoting” all of our efforts towards the greater good of the world(8). Though this, Kennedy establishes a strong sense of unity and brotherhood. So what? The value in creating unity in his speech is that it brings Americans together to battle the evils of the steel industriesy who have been ignoring their “public responsibilities” (19). This is not to any extent limited to just the beginning of Kennedy’s speech. All the way till the end, Kennedy continues to dig the trench between steel industries and Americans: “we had their answer” (110). Why? Why is Kennedy so ardent in his efforts to create a gap between the two? Ultimately, it seems as though Kennedy is attempting to strongly categorize the steel industries’ actions as selfish and he does this so as to limit the possibility of other organizations --such as labor unions-- from also committing selfish actions. After all, if the steel industries can do it, what is to hold others back from doing the same? During the late nineteen …show more content…

After all, a speech is all about building a story that will allow the news conference to follow through and understand every point. After setting up the precedent of a distinction between the steel industries and all other Americans, Kennedy proceeds to fully elaborate on why the steel companies’ actions were egoistical. The consequences of the steel industry will be massive: “Americans goods to compete in foreign markets” would become more arduous, “foreign imports” would become more burdunous, and payments to other countries would be slower (36-40). But Kennedy does not stop there. Traveling on, Kennedy then informs the news conference --and ultimately the common American-- that as a result of the steel industry raising their prices, there will be an increase in their profits (55-61). Beautiful. Not only is America now going to suffer economically from their actions, but now it turns out the steel industries will also be gaining wealth from this. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Conclusively, it is as if Kennedy is drilling over and over the point that the steel industries actions are mercanly malicious, like a carpenter building the foundation of his study palace-to-be. President Kennedy is making it explicitly clear that the steel industry is acting selfishly and is not to be copied. If the steel industries’ actions were to be shadowed by any other organization, then the loss of the Vietnam war --a war already thinning

Open Document