On a bitter cold, snow-laden, 1961 January morning, twenty thousand people waited in front of Capital Hill to listen to John F Kennedy’s (JFK) inaugural address. Besides that, his audience included eighty million Americans viewing it on televisions, and about three billion listening over the radio. JFK was elected during a time period in which the United States seemed to be at its peak. The mood from the 1950’s was that of an affluent society, a capitalistic golden age where there was a classless middle class, a rise in white-collar job, and very high paying unionized blue-collar jobs. However, there were also underlying inequalities, like the race divisions in the south, and a great fear of confrontation with communistic countries. Additionally, JFK’s predecessor created an inactive government of insufficient action and only went so far as to placate problems but not solve them. JFK needed to convince the country to change. His purpose was to challenge to young generation to get involved and contribute to society, …show more content…
He also assigned Sorenson the task to studying other inaugural speeches, like Thomas Jefferson’s, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to find the secrets of successful speeches and addresses. Resources and constraints: Audience was a resource and constraint. Kennedy consciously spoke not only to Americans but also to the people around the world as a globe. Because of this, and the want for peace, he had to be very careful about what he said so as not upset the communistic counterparts. His audience was a resource though in the fact that the entire world got to hear it. Ultimately, from the materials that JFK used, his medium, his rhetorical appeals, his resources and constraints, and his language, it can be concluded that John F Kennedy’s inaugural address was a fitting response to the public during that
It was on January 20th 1961 that John F Kennedy gave his inaugural address after winning the presidential race and beating future president Richard Nixon. President, John F Kennedy in his speech, The Inaugural Address, he describes his plans for growth in America. Kennedy’s purpose is unite the people of the U.S. and bring everyone together for the good cause of promoting growth in the country. He creates a very inspirational tone in order to establish a connection with the U.S. people. In his speech Kennedy really used several rhetorical strategies of persuasion to motivate and persuade the U.S. people that they made the right choice in choosing him.
Although both Mark Antony’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s speeches were successful largely due to the strength of their arguments, their careful choice and placement of their words and sentences is also an important factor in the delivery of their messages. The clever use of stylistic devices and techniques of both Antony and Kennedy’s speeches is a testimony to their much admired speaking styles. The use of repetition, caesuras, and personal references augment their speeches so that it is concise, purposeful, memorable and emotionally engaging. The influential nature of both Mark Antony and Robert F. Kennedy is in part due to their high level of skill in speech-making, a rewarding skill to have in any language, and an important asset required for any leader.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He graduated from Harvard, and joined the navy. He worked as a reporter before entering the political arena. He later wrote “profiles in courage” which won the Pulitzer Prize Award. Being that JFK was the youngest president to ever be in office there is no doubt that he encountered a lot of skepticism. This speech had many purposes but most importantly it gave him positive recognition. The inaugural address was written to encourage the American public to get actively involved with their country. It also reassured them that it was not a contest that he won but rather chance at a beginning. This speech reassured the voters that they made the right choice and informed a country that they were going to see some changes.
On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made his inaugural address to the nation. He stood in front of the podium to convince citizens that he is the best person to turn the country around. He used experiences from the past, such as war, poverty, and the need for peace to get the attention of those who wish to see change within the country as well as countries we work with. Kennedy spoke in a way to to persuade the american people, as well as the soviet union to come together. In this speech President John F. Kennedy used ethos, pathos, and logos as well as other rhetorical devices to convince his audience.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy presents a very authoritative and persuasive inaugural address with a surplus of rhetoric. His speech is full of rhetoric in order to manipulate or sway his audience to his new policies. Kennedy’s objective is to unite the country and he does this through fear, duty, and pride. In order to create unity, Kennedy appeals to fear by revealing one common enemy: nuclear warfare. Nuclear warfare could mean the destruction of many countries, which Kennedy effectively presents to America and the world. Kennedy’s earnest tone push the people to invest in his purpose to provide freedom and peace around the world. He stirs at their emotions by effectively using imagery, which helps create pictures of mass destruction. In
One of the most memorable inaugural speeches in American history was delivered by President John F. Kennedy on January 20th, 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 internationa...
One of the first things listeners recognize in JFK’s speech is his constant repetition. He continually repeats the phrasing “to those,” “let both,” and “my fellow” to maintain a rhythmic pace to the speech and also to give his words a poetic lilt. JFK also uses antithesis to provide a sense of contrast to his words—such as in lines like “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for you country” (Kennedy, 1961). President Kennedy often uses the word “not” in his speech to set up the antithesis, using contrast to bring about a sense of American spirit and pride. President Kennedy also frequently employs metaphorical imagery to drive his message home to the American public. For example, in the line, “To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery,” Kennedy gives listeners an image of an oppressed foreign populace struggling under communist regimes (an obvious reference to the forthcoming Vietnam conflict). By using metaphorical imagery, Kennedy preys on the fears of the American public at the height of the Cold War. This would give him leverage in public opinion as his agenda would shift to combating communism, particularly against Fidel Castro and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis the following
John F. Kennedy was elected president on November 8, 1960. This was a particularly rough time in the world. The United states along with several nations were being threatened by poverty, tyranny, disease, communism, and war and weapons. During this time John F. Kennedy, our 35th elected president, gave one of the top four historical speeches of all time. The use of ethos, pathos, and logos where fair and showed how knowledgeable he was about his topic, and makes a clear claim about his topic that the people of The United states and its fellow nations needed to step up to make this world a better place. His intention was to show despite he was the youngest president ever elected, he would be a great leader, and that he will bring change as long as the people were there to help. He wanted to exhort the American people and the world that there is hope.
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy uses ethos in his inauguration speech to appeal to the audience. Halfway down the second page President Kennedy says “...not because the Communists are doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right.”. This phrase appeals to the audience ethically by saying “right”. President Kennedy strengthens this use of ethos by saying two choices followed by the ethical decision. Then near the end of page three President Kennedy says “...to struggle against the common enemies”. President Kennedy appeals to his audience by calling them to “bear the burden of a long twilight struggle”. President Kennedy calls the audience to do the right thing and not to surrender to “the common enemies of man”. Which,
John F. Kennedy chose to write this essay because he was attempting to show us the vision the he had for our world. Kennedy’s purpose of writing the “Inaugural Address” was to challenge us to change our way of thinking and become better not only for ourselves, but for our country so that we may function more efficiently. The major groups Kennedy addresses in his speech are the United States and the other nations who are enemies of the United States. Kennedy’s central point for the entire essay is that we as a nation need to defend our freedoms all around the world. In order to defend our freedoms we must stop fighting amongst each other and join together in unison. We have the ability to share all different types of ideas, cultures, and experiences.
President John F. Kennedy brings about a new judgment 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 for the people and allows the audience to feel welcomed. The use of literary devices in his speech allows audience to recognize his goal which is moving forward and bring change and allows his audience to identify with his goal.
The Logical appeal of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address is substantial. In multiple points of the speech he uses comparisons to say five main commodities: to unite the country after the split of parties from election, his generation isn’t that of World WarⅡ, to call the Americans ready for war, forced the other countries to choose an ally, and individually address the USSR to make them aware of the potential problems that will arise. At the very beginning of the speech Kennedy states “...we observe today not as
By delivering his inaugural speech, President Kennedy mentioned not only the American people, but also people from all 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 fear of drawn-out cold war, and to bless the hope for peace in the nuclear age. By using the extensive use of rhetorical devices, the President successfully completed and fulfilled the goals of his speech. Therefore, after reading his inaugural speech, I strongly want to choose this speech as an analysis for my research paper. I will analyze 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.
On January 20th, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave a speech to the nation, which encompassed a new vision for the country with a new generation. That speech was JFK’s Inaugural Address. As the new 35th president, JFK was the youngest president to enter the oval office at the age of forty-three ("Inaugural Address."). The nation was still in in the process of healing after World War II. In the eyes of the masses, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a breath of fresh air for the American People. He was a youthful president, with his youthful image; he was able to rally the younger generations with a progressive vision. This speech was a message to the nation in which JFK outlines a new direction for The United States by securing it’s freedom, being a competitive nation in all aspects, and rallying the citizens behind the government.