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John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speach
John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speach
The Position of John F. Kennedy in American History
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After narrowly winning the popular vote over former vice President and Republican Candidate Richard Nixon by only two tenths, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of the United States of America. President John F. Kennedy delivered his Inaugural Address in the cold on January 20, 1961 with roughly 8 inches of snow on the ground. Before the inauguration could take place, Army flamethrowers had to clear the snow from Pennsylvania Avenue so fellow Americans could make their way to the swearing in. The newly sworn in President began his address by letting his fellow Americans know that he was willing to work with everyone, to make not only the United States, but each country a greater place for everyone to live rather than Kennedy used rhetorical devices including logos, ethos and pathos to show America that he was best for the job, as well as bring much needed hope to the people of the United States as well as the In the opening of his speech, Kennedy expressed that his presidential victory is a “celebration of freedom” with it – “symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning – signifying renewal, as well as change.” Throughout his address, Kennedy showed emotion in several lines. In these lines, he showed emotion when asking the world to spread freedom, justice, and to get rid of all the evils in the world. Also in his address, Kennedy asks Americans to stand up to the “long twilight struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war.” As a promoter of world peace, President Kennedy clearly stated that the Soviet Union and United States were wasting time and money. Following his swearing in, he used allusion in his speech as he stated, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.” Kennedy implies to the country`s independence as an effort to create a great reputation for himself. He does this by alluding to a large moment of when America gained independence. The quote by Kennedy, “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it”, President Kennedy was displaying his devotion to stop the war. He wishes to start a new beginning of
“Born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage.” (Miss, Daly, Pg.). This show the U.S. people that he really loves this country and really cares about what’s going on and what happens to it in the future. Another way he brings pathos into his speech is by the language/words he uses in his speech. When he is talking he uses a lot of words like “we”, “us”. This makes the U.S. people feel very connected to him and makes the feel like they are a part of it to, it is like they made the decision to vote him president and now they get to help him make his decisions about the future of America. In his address he says “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” (Miss, Daly, Pg.). which again he connects to the people by making them feel involved and by basically saying the future of America is even more in our hands then in his and it really depends on us in how we want America to turn out, and again makes the U.S people feel very patriotic and proud of their country. Overall John F Kennedy was very successful in persuading the U.S. people about their choice by using pathos and by just talking to
Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, he suggests that an obligation of freedom is to helping foreign countries. John F. Kennedy was America’s thirty-fifth president, and arguably one of the most influential before his assassination. In his, Inaugural Address, he discussed many issues, many of which dealt with the idea of freedom. While discusses these issues, he talks about many things that, to him, represent an obligation of freedom. An obligation of freedom being understood as something that should always be associated with freedom even if it is not discussed. One of these that Kennedy talks about in his address is helping foreign countries. In his address he states, “To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge-to convert our good words into good deeds-in a new alliance for progress-to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty.” This is a promise to foreign countries south of America that have already adopted the ideas of freedom that they will have our support and help in defeating poverty as a nation. Kennedy clearly saw helping foreign countries as an obligation of
“If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”(Kennedy, 1961) Statements such as these demonstrate how Kennedy appealed to the citizens by simply using reason. The use of logos in his speech was minimal compared to the use of pathos, and ethos.
In terms of logos, John F. Kennedy understood America’s fight for future stability, so his speech addressed how two separate ideologies could world together under a new goal, of peace. During this period in American history, the civil rights movement was in full effect, which was a national embarrassment. It is important to note, that Kennedy failed to side with the civil rights movement, up to this point, so by addressing the world citizens, he could ignore U.S. problems and generalize America’s freedom. Thus, his speech was a logical way of downplaying America’s problems, and concentrate on our world problems. “My fellow citizens of the world,” was his plea to work together to create a free country, however, not all people in America were
In conclusion, this speech was structured beautifully. Its use of figurative and expressive language makes it an unforgettable speech. Kennedy does a great job of using pathos, ethos, and logos to reiterate his commitment to the American public as well as discuss expected changes. Given the state of the world at the time of his inauguration, the decision to rely so heavily on pathos and ethos was a wise one which got the job done. His use of the rhetoric triangle effectively conveys Kennedy’s plan for America to not only her citizens, but to the world.
John emphasized if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. He felt Americans needed to use their freedoms to do great things, not just be thankful they have them. Pres. Kennedy’s heart longed for the nation of America to grab hold of the reigns of their freedom and take it to the extreme. The extreme would be to feed the hungry, help those in poverty fight their way out of it, and make peace in the world more often than war.
Since the main reason of his sermon is to inspire rather than educate, Kennedy rarely uses any logical pleads. Yet, Kennedy adequately uses passionate dialect to make the people sense their involvement in what all the President says. Kennedy composes the assignment to bring back tranquility and good-wealth as not only his aim, but of the public as well. With famed verses like, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” Kennedy makes the spectators feel inclined to make an impact in the world they live. Apart from infusing a sense of obligation in the crowd, Kennedy’s greatest element in his speech was the aptitude to arouse a feeling of esteem in the audience. Kennedy constantly uses phrases about freedom and sovereignty to remind the people they still are. “The heirs of that first revolution.” This dialect portrays America as a powerful and patriarch republic that possesses greater philanthropy of all the other nations around the world. Even though much of the address is fervent in tone, Kennedy devotes a large section of his topic to outline his ethos to all inhabitants of the world. JFK introduced the use of ethos at the inception of his address. Kennedy was very young when he came into office, but he was still obliged to act at the same status as former presidents. Attentive to this condition, Kennedy
Lots of things were happening in 1960 with John F. Kennedy was to be the president of the United States of America. America is going through a period of where they are scared and worried about what is going on in the world around them. They needed a strong leader to turn them around and get them back on top. John F. Kennedy gave them just what they need to hear with his inauguration address. He spoke of helping others, working together and protecting are freedom at all cost. It was exactly what the citizens of the United States needed to hear at exact moment.
In his Inaugural Address he said, that he would bear any burden, pay any price, and the hardship, to oppose any foe and success of liberty(Kennedy.5). This meant that he was to do as much as he possibly could to ensure and spread freedom around the world. Because European countries wanted a communist country which was to have all of your property owned not by you but everyone. Since there was no freedom or constitution Kennedy’s wasn’t going to approve of this idea. President Kennedy also stated, “...those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.” (Kennedy.8). He stated something very powerful with how the Nuclear attacks were occurring then that he said, that people who want power and use force will be destroyed before he can control
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated into office on January 20, 1961. The day of the inauguration it was a cold and clear day, the capital was covered in snow from the previous night. The Inauguration began with a religious invocation and prayers. Then African-American opera singer Marian Anderson sang the Star Spangled Banner. Then Robert Frost recited his poem “The Gift Outright”. Then John F. Kennedy was administrated the oath of office by Cheif Justice Earl Warren. During JFK’s inauguration
Kennedy’s inaugural address speech was completely focused towards the American people which he was persuading. He used different techniques to present his speech so that the information being presented would be clear and concise. He used the rhetoric to persuade the audience, and in his speech he states “..Where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.” By using this statement in his speech he was able to convey to the audience something that would be easy to remember as well as keeping them interested in what he had to offer. The speech encouraged the use of ethos, pathos and logos. He describes and establishes his ethos as all of the speakers and other presidents who were present. He starts to persuade his audience that he is the right man for the job and that they did not make any mistake in electing him to lead the United States. Kennedy states in his speech that this isn’t just a victory for the Democratic Party. He goes to great lengths to show the American people that he is a president who will stand for the joining of the country as a whole and will not be bias towards the Republican
January 20, 1961 will forever be a day that marks a special moment in time in which President John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American History. His Inaugural address is one in which many famous quotes come from and one that is emulated in present speeches. In order to understand the importance of this inoculation one must understand the atmosphere of our nation at that time and what President Kennedy was trying to get across to his constituents. In this essay I will give you background information pertaining to the state our union in 1961; discuss the tone of the speech; and finally examine the impact that President Kennedy’s term played on our nation.
Being the country’s youngest president elected, President Kennedy was still expected to perform the same as past presidents. He was aware of this expectation, as he assured his audience that he had “… sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago” (Kennedy). JFK meant for the American people to recognize that he would be trustworthy and planned to hold the same American values that the nation was founded upon.
He uses a large amount of antithesis, and one of the most famous lines of this address is antithesis. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" is a good example of antithesis in this speech, but there are multiples throughout (Atkinson). Using antithesis in uniting the country is catchy and people remembered it. Kennedy also uses a hearty amount of alliteration throughout his speech. Using alliteration creates catchy phrases and sentences that people remember. A good example of alliteration that is used is the phrase "Let us go forth to lead the land we love."(Atkinson). This phrase can be easily remembered and flows well in a speech. Kennedy also uses juxtaposition when he says, “peaceful revolution,” and this adds gusto to the speech because of the contradiction of the two powerful
Dressed at his best, John F. Kennedy walked to the podium on January 20th, 1961, hoping to embody the positive outlook he had in mind for America in his forthcoming speech. With a fresh, young face in front of them, the audience was captivated by every word that passed through his lips, and rightfully so. An eccentric, new president made it feel as if a new era had begun, and soon changes for the better would be ushered in. With a strong focus on ethics and logic, Kennedy let the people know that we are much stronger united as one, and everyone in the country plays their part. He touches on the importance of our fellow countries on our borders and overseas, and instead of treating the people of these countries like outcasts (like some of our other presidents have), he shows how despite where you may live the entire Earth really just makes up one population of humans. America is a