Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Speech

On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy gave the speech “Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs.” The President of the United States used his credible position and popularity to persuade congress on the need to send men back to the moon. Kennedy used careful tactics of invoking patriotism, pushing a sense of urgency, and prompting confidence in the future of our nation in order to convince the necessity to gain leadership in the race to space. His deliverance to the joint session displays his understanding that military and technology can advance through the funding and support of science.
President John F. Kennedy began his speech by renewing the morality of the United States. His goal was to invoke patriotic emotions that would

urge the congress to understand the importance of being a free nation. After he announced the need for devotion, Kennedy continued on to contrast the United States to Russia. His comparison furthermore established that the United States is an example of freedom, rather than a tyrant nation that is Russia. He delicately depicted the U.S. as a hero who needed to stop a country that was set to exploit, control, and destroy (CITE ORIGINAL). Kennedy cautiously pollutes the status of Russia to inflate the enthusiasm of the American congregation. Also, he wisely illustrated Russia’s progress to show a sense of urgency for the United States to advance beyond Russia’s capabilities. Kennedy ultimately believed that space would be a new frontier. If the United States participated in his request to fund space research, a new sense of power would be grasped.
Kennedy ended his speech strongly by assuring the nation of the indisputable ability to succeed. He entails the large costs of such an assignment, however, he contrasts the large financial commitment to the developments that would prosper. He cleverly places the decision in the hands of the Members of the Congress, but established his confidence in such an important conclusion.
Ultimately, Kennedy smoothly uses his credible and powerful position as the President of the United States to persuade the Members of Congress to agree upon his project to send men to the moon and back. He applied a strong patriotic theme to his speech in order to invoke pride in the citizens of his country, pride that would hopefully sway the members to be in unison with him. Kennedy’s push for urgency helped his argument by promoting a need to start the project before Russia accomplished anything more; the United States was not an inferior country to an oppressor. He ended his speech by expressing confidence in his country to make the correct decision by agreeing with his plans. Kennedy established, through his speech, that science needed the support of the entire country in order to further military and technological advances.