This document will analyze the state of the union addresses of President John F. Kennedy, Ronald Regan, and Barack Obama. In this research paper, the author will summarize each speech, compare and contrast the three, as well as provide multiple literary articles that analyze each and provide the author’s personal opinion.
On January 14, 1963 President John F. Kennedy addressed 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The eighty-eighth congress was made up of 259 Democrats and 176 Republicans. President Kennedy began with foreign policy. He went on to of speak domestic issues and the end of the recession, but stressed economic urgency. He stated that a reduction in income tax would achieve the desired results.
Kennedy moves on to American life, stating that we should support our youth and positive educational and social programs such as the Peace Corps. He then expresses his concern of the general health and wellness of citizens, and introduced numerous programs. President Kennedy stresses the security of democracy and our competition for furthering current technology such as the space program, new forms of arms, as well as our defense against tyrant forces.
Finally, JFK returns his focus to foreign policy. He offers ideas on nuclear defense and his ultimate economic goals of trade and growth. He comments on developing nations and believes that communism must be prevented from entering these new, fragile structures and that it is our job to help.
On February 4, 1986 President Ronald Reagan presented his state of the union address the ninety-ninth congress. The congress was made up of 435 Representatives and 100 Senators that consisted of 253 Democrats and 182 Republicans. He begins with the progress of the nation. He speaks of eco...
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Roberts, Steven. "DEMOCRATS PAINT BLEAKER PICTURE." The New York Times. Web. 6 May 2014. .
Staff, NPR. "Inside The State Of The Union: What The President Proposed." NPR. Web. 6 May 2014. .
"State of the Union Addresses of the Presidents of the United States." State of the Union Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. 6 May 2014. .
"US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives." US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Web. 6 May 2014. .
In his “State of the Union” speech, President Barack Obama effectively uses the rhetorical devices of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to convey a more convincing message to the citizens of the United States to urge them to follow the example of the many people that have made their nation greater.
In order to grasp the rhetorical situation, one must first understand the correlation between the purpose of the State of the Union Address and the response to the address. Before discussing the response in detail, one needs to know why the State of the Union Address is given. According to the website, This Nation, the intent of the State of the Union Address shall convey a message of what America is striving to become in the form of speech to the citizens. The website defines the State of the Union Address by stating, “ shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the
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
Once more, President Obama presented the annual State of the Union Address to the American people. For the most part, Mr. Obama focused on the issues of immigration and health care reform, wages, energy, infrastructure and education; all the while particularly stressing the value of hard work. Like any other discourse, his speech employs various rhetorical devices as well as the elements of the “rhetorical triangle”: ethos, pathos and logos. Thus, in order to gauge the effectiveness of Mr. Obama’s address, one must examine the speech wholly on a rhetorical level, making sure to ignore any personal political views and notions of inaccuracy. Arguably, it also seems that of his various methods, the President’s most effective strategy was to mention personal anecdotes of people planted within his audience. Basically, it appears that the various rhetorical strategies utilized by President Obama in his address were mostly effective; while still, of course, holding some notable flaws.
Kennedy was elected president in the year of 1961. Which was during the time that the Cold War was in full swing. The Cold War being the tension filled era between the superpowers in the east and the superpowers in the west. Contrary to the other two presidents, JFK was not speaking to the American public at the time of the war 's conclusion but right near the middle of the 40 plus year issue. Regardless he was assuring the public. He stated, “...that the torch has been passed to a new generation of American-”. That optimism cannot be matched. Even at the darkest of times could he stand up there, the president of the United States, and tell the young people of America that their time is now. Not only that but he attempts to inspire Americans when he says “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”, which was definitely a knock at the Russians. JFK overall had this persona about him. This was the speech where muttered that historic and uplifting quote, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” His message of peace and coexisting really stand the test of
John F Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States and at 43 years old he was the youngest president to take office. Because of his youth, he stumbled upon much skepticism from his opposition and even a little from his supporters. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was so vital because he needed to make a quick and powerful first impression to America and to the entire world. The address was written to encourage American citizens to get involved with their country and with the issues of the time. This speech reassured the voters that they made the correct choice and informed the country that changes were on there way.
.... Address to the 46th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States of America: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=20012
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.
As emblematic representatives of their country, U.S. Presidents exercise their beliefs and concepts regularly through the use of eloquence. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected president of the United States in 1960. Kennedy became president during times of great danger and fear for the nation of America, and others around the globe. With Communism being further more popular, and large weapon’s being frequently produced all around the world, the people of America needed a new premier commander. As the youngest elected official to ever govern the White House, Kennedy wanted to show his genuineness as a ruler, and verify that his presidency would lead to great hope and future. The president’s inaugural address allows the president to lay out his
He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and at hiss. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his statement of unity. Using various examples of parallelism, anaphora and refrain, Obama brands the theme of equality and togetherness in our country throughout the speech, vital to gaining the respect of his audience. Obama recalls the ‘enduring strength of the constitution’ by delving into the past alluding to America’s allegiance to the Declaration of Independence by quoting “we hold these truths. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
President Barack H. Obama has been always using rhetorical strategies in his political speeches. He used these strategies to present important points and views of his in front of public. Delivering points and views properly and logically got him to be the president in the first place. President Obama used mostly ethos and pathos, yet some logos to deliver his inaugural and the state of union speeches. Being that, he was able to reach the audience emotionally and make the speech flow efficiently while he preserved his credibility. Each speech has own audience that differs from the other. In the inaugural speech the audience was the public and therefor the speech was short and used short sentences that are easy to understand. On the other hand, the state of union speech’s audience was mostly the congers members and therefore the language was more specific and filled with political terminology. Both speeches will be discussed upon context and using ethos, pathos and logos consecutively.
Podell, J.,& Anzovin, S. (2001). Speeches of the American Presidents. Bronx, NY: H.W. Wilson Company.
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
With the Cold War in full swing when he stepped into office, President Kennedy had no choice but to turn to Cold War ideology when determining the country’s foreign policy. For example, the Peace Corps, which “…sent young Americans abroad to aid in the economic and educational progress of developing countries” (Foner 969) was spawned out of the desperation to improve the global image of America. When President Kennedy took office in 1961, the United States’ image was still subpar to that of other nations. The Cold War ideology obsessed over making the United States the image of freedom and conveyer of lifestyle ideals, and Kennedy’s Peace Corps aimed to show the rest of the world that Americans cared deeply about the success of other countries. Through the Kennedy Administration, the United States also showed that they cared for other countries, in an effort to improve their global image and spread their ideals of freedom, through the Alliance for Progress. Much like the Marshall Plan, the Alliance for Progress provided sums of money to economically support Latin American countries. Kennedy claimed that the program would promote “…‘political’ and ‘material freedom’” (Foner 970), with the hopes of diminishing the appeal communism could have on the countries. In addition to aiming to improve the United States’ image, some of Kennedy’s foreign policy had roots in the Cold War ideology of containment. As tensions with Cuba began to rise after Fidel Castro took over the government, Kennedy sought for ways to eliminate Castro’s control in order to contain his revolution’s influence. Most notorious, the Bay of Pigs disaster was a U.S.-planned...
Those words were, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country” ("Inaugural Address."). In order to achieve all these feats, JFK need a nation united. JFK pulled on the nations heartstrings by reminding the nation of it’s core values, which it was founded on. He appeals to that “tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage” side of the American public ("Inaugural Address."). He later goes on to say that change will not happen overnight, but rather change is a continuous process that is always evolving and