Pros And Cons Of John F Kennedy Civil Rights Speech

Sydney Johnston Johnston 1
Mrs. Karger
Speech and Debate
20 November 2014
John F. Kennedy Civil Rights Address

John F. Kennedy gave his Civil Rights Address June 11, 1963 (Kennedy). Although he was being told not to give this speech, he went against what his peers told him to do. Afterwards, he was praised for the speech. A week after the speech, Kennedy submitted strong civil rights legislation to Congress. This legislation made the American public far more aware of issues pertaining to equal rights and it incited change throughout America (Peniel).
John F. Kennedy gave this speech on June 11, 1963 at the White House (Kennedy). He is qualified to give this speech for the obvious reason, he is the President of the United States. He was elected at 43, as one of the youngest presidents. Kennedy wasn't planning on giving this speech, and made the speech in only a few hours. He decided to give this speech after The University of Alabama was allowing for admission of multiple African American students into the school and felt this was the time to bring the issue to an end. Previously, the President had been timid on his position on civil rights (Lord 43). Kennedy wrote this speech to get people to realize the horrible way they were treating African Americans. The overall theme is freedom and equality got all people, no matter who they are. Kennedy goes through the speech telling us the disadvantages that African

Americans have at this time and he asks us to reconsider our ethics and morals. Kennedy intends this speech towards Americans, and wants them to take a step back and actually see how poorly we treat people (Kennedy).

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Kennedy starts the speech by getting right to the problem. He starts with a story of Alabama University, and tells us about how they are admitting two African American students into the University. This is one of the ways Kennedy engages the audience. He also uses words like "we" and "my fellow citizens" to bring a feeling of unity to the audience. Kennedy uses Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in the speech. Kennedy tells us that America is, "founded on the idea that all men are equal." This is an appeal to logos. He's using logic to try to get people to understand that this country was supposed to be equal from the beginning. Kennedy also uses Pathos when he says, "therefore, I am asking for your help." This is an appeal to the audiences emotions. Kennedy also uses Ethos. He tells us what he has already done, including talking to business leaders and Congress. This urges them to start acting and treating people equally. Kennedy not only used Logos, Pathos, and Ethos but also uses Rhetoric. Kennedy tells us a startling statement, "The Negro baby born in America today... has about one half a chance of completing high school as a white baby...". He also uses the narrative story of Alabama University at the beginning of the speech. In his conclusion, he restates exactly what he says in his speech. He calls Americans to reevaluate their morals and ethics in order to treat everyone equally (Kennedy).
Although Kennedy doesn't use many gestures while presenting his speech, its the fact that he doesn't use gestures that really speaks.

He wants people to focus solely on what he's saying and doesn't want anyone to be distracted by it. Kennedy uses eye contact with the camera and with the audience to show his sincerity. Kennedy also pauses after he says something important and inflects his voice when he wants you to really pay attention. Kennedy is also dressed appropriately for the situation, in a suit and tie. This shows that he respects

the

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topic he is talking about. Although most people stand during speeches, he is seated sitting upright. Kennedy shows his confidence by his use of vocabulary and not using fillers
(Youtube).

This speech is respected because of how hard it hit people at the time. Previously, Kennedy had not stated his opinion on Civil Rights. In this speech, he comes right out and states his opinion, and this surprises people. This caused Kennedy to start working on making America a more equal country. This was going well, until he was assassinated. Although he was assassinated, this speech started the country on a path to total equality.

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Works Cited