In 1962, the United States was emerging from battling recession. As a response to this recession, many private business began to raise prices to make as much profit as they could. In President John F. Kennedy’s eyes, taking these desperate actions were ludicrous. Kennedy was struck with disbelief when he witnessed a private steel company raise steel prices to the American public, wholly ignoring Kennedy’s wishes for stable prices and wages. These actions prompted the President to address the American populace about this decision. Throughout his speech regarding this hike in prices, he expresses his uttermost disgust at the steel companies’ actions. He displays his contempt in order to urge the people of the United States to support his position …show more content…
on prices and wages. Kennedy achieves this goal by employing syntax and hypothetical situations in his response to the United States Steel corporation’s choice. All throughout his speech, Kennedy applies syntax in the form of periodic sentences. To commence his statement, Kennedy uses an “end-loaded sentence,” to indicate what his speech is about, “Simultaneous… actions of United States Steel and other[s], increasing steel prices by some 6 dollars a ton, constitute a… defiance of the public interest.” Although this sentence structure does not remain constant in his the rest of speech, Kennedy chooses to apply it in specific parts. Another instance of periodic sentences can be found on lines 75-83, “... at a time when they could be exploring how more efficiency and better prices could be obtained, reducing prices in this industry in recognition of lower costs… their… good labor contract, their foreign competition and their increase in production… which are coming this year, a few… corporations have decided to increase prices in… disregard of their… responsibilities.” He repeats this same strategy in his second paragraph composing of lines 6-21 when the sentence only makes sense when it reaches the end. With this, Kennedy builds suspense in his audience. As a result, they remain on the edge of their seat as they wait until Kennedy's thoughts are finalized. This furthers his purpose to gain their support, as it keeps the audience attentive and allows them to later comprehend Kennedy’s goal. Not only this, but the position chosen for the periodic sentences also impact the purpose. He keeps these suspenseful sentences in the beginning (lines 1-21) up until one of the last paragraphs in the oration (lines 75-83). This fortifies the captivation of the audience, as they are kept in uncertainty from the beginning to end. In other words, the position of these sentences allows Kennedy to ensure the audience’s attention and therefore ensure that his purpose is made clear. Moreover, he uses syntax in the form of long sentences.
In the second paragraph of his speech, his thoughts remain continuous; the only thing that separates one thought from another are commas and dashes - all which create a prolonged idea. He begins, “In this serious hour in our nation’s history...” and extends this same thought until the end, “..for the interests of 185 million Americans.” Another example is lines 99-106, where there is no finalizing period until the last thought. Hence, by using these lengthened sentences, Kennedy demonstrates the passion he possesses; he does not “stop to breathe,” indicating that what he is saying is so important to him that he cannot seem to find an appropriate time to stop. Thus, the syntax utilized creates a fervent tone. Herewith, Kennedy shows that - in his eyes - the raising of prices by the steel company is so absurd that he he deems it necessary to assert these feelings onto the people. As a result, Kennedy’s manipulation of tone created by syntax brings out similar feelings from the audience, as they began to relate to their President by witnessing someone with so much power and influence feel the necessity to make his contempt clear. Which, in turn, furthers Kennedy’s purpose by revealing his passion toward the subject and therefore allowing Kennedy to gain to support from his …show more content…
audience. Finally, Kennedy employs hypothetical situations to further obtain backing from the American people.
He lists off what will happen if this exploitation continues: “... would increase the costs of homes, autos, appliances… it would increase the cost of machinery and tools… it would… handicap our efforts to prevent an inflationary spiral from eating up the pensions of our older citizens,” “it would add… an estimated one billion dollars to the cost of out defenses… it would make it more difficult to withstand competition… and thus more difficult to improve our balance of payments position… it would handicap our efforts to induce other industries… to adopt responsible price and wage policies.” By means of this, Kennedy creates a vision in the American public, one that is not so desirable. This directly shows his scorn for their actions. since he ties these unwanted situation to the recklessness of the steel company. With this, Kennedy stimulates fear into his audience. By describing the unwanted possibilities from the type of behavior the steel company is exhibiting, Kennedy causes many of the people in the audience to realize that the corporation's choice can affect more than just the government. Kennedy extends the effect of the decision to the personal lives of his audience, and the fear of possibility of losing their homes and money causes many people to begin to agree with Kennedy’s point of view. This “scare tactic” allows Kennedy to, in a way, pressure people into
supporting him, which is coincidentally his purpose with this oration. John F. Kennedy desires for Americans to understand the idiocy of the United States Steel corporation. He heavily believes that the nation must aid Kennedy on his belief for equal prices and wages to be able to make a change in his country. He yearns for his audience to apprehend this concept. Ergo, Kennedy’s use of rhetorical strategies allows the American people to believe in the significance of his purpose as they listen to to Kennedy’s argument. By utilizing syntax and hypothetical situations in his letter, he gains support from the American people as they begin to comprehend his frustration with the steel company.
His use of an absolute and unwavering tone establishes an incompatibility between the interests of the public and the recent greedy actions of steel corporations. This creates an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, that Kennedy continuously emphasizes throughout his speech to further justify his opposition to steel companies as a defense for the “public interest.” After directly stating his opinion, Kennedy shifts his speech towards the current events of the time, citing the “grave crises in Berlin”, the Vietnam War, and the limitations on union members. This use of logic seeks to sway the audience to join his opposition to the 3.5 percent rise in steel prices.
Every president strives to remain positive in the public’s eye. Yes, a despised president can still hold office, but the country will always respond much more positively and remember the president better if he or she is viewed favorably. This is particularly true during times of great distress or crises, such as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, or Hurricane Sandy in 2012. On April 10, 1962, the United States’ largest steel companies raised steel prices by 3.5 percent. President John F. Kennedy had repeatedly called for stable prices and wages, as the country was already under economic strain from foreign affairs. Kennedy held a news conference on April 11, 1962 in order to address this sharp increase in steel prices. He was well aware of the fact that he had to maintain a positive image to
In 1964, the United States was still recovering from a recession when the steel companies decided to raise the price of steel by 3.5 percent. President John F. Kennedy held a press conference to discuss the issue of steel prices. In his speech, John F. Kennedy attempts to reverse the public support for the steel companies by casting them as unpatriotic and greedy to make them look bad.
Kennedy, in his speech appeals mostly to logos by using hards facts and statistics. For example, in line 20 he explains how the inflation of steel is affecting “185 million Americans”. He continues using logos throughout his speech when he introduces Sect of Defense McNamara and tells the American people the steel inflation would an “estimated one billion dollars to cost of defenses, at a time when every dollar is needed for national security”. However, this is also an
During the early 1960’s, the United States was emerging from a recession. Many people were struggling, but some big businesses were taking advantage of the economic distress. On April 11th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy held a news conference to talk about such big businesses, namely, steel companies. President Kennedy criticized these companies for increasing the price of steel by 3.5 percent. By appealing compellingly to logos, effectively to pathos, and rivetingly to ethos, President John F. Kennedy argues that the price increase of steel during the hard times by large companies has been a blatant disregard for their public responsibilities during an emerging recession.
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.
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.
John F Kennedy delivered one of the finest speeches on January 20, 1961 after being sworn into office. His inauguration speech was so powerful that it captured the entire nations attention, and quotes from it are still remembered by people today. It is one of the finest speeches ever written. It provides a strong appeal to pathos, ethos and logos, and it is because of this that people who never heard the speech can quote lines from it.
1962 in America brought the emergence from a recession. During this time of economic worries in America, steel companies raised their prices of steel despite the President stressing how important stable prices and wages were. This brought out a powerful response from President John F. Kennedy, which resulted in him making a speech. He gave this speech to the nation on April 11, 1962, making his feelings heard loud and clear. Kennedy used this speech to raise anger in Americans by showing how the steel companies were only trying to help themselves. He also used this as a platform to make the steel companies feel guilty for their actions and urge them to stop, and to lower the prices. Kennedy uses the three appeals, strong diction and syntax,
President John F Kennedy ran on a political platform during his campaign that focused on calling for stable wages and stable prices to boost the American economy to pull it out of a recession. Once he won the presidency, this view point continued and was implemented within Kennedy’s legislations. The economy was just starting to find its’ way out of the economic slumps when steel companies raised prices in 1962. This rise in prices would damage the US’ economy greatly, reversing the affects of Kennedy’s legislation. The president’s response was holding a news conference in which he questioned the steel companies’ choices to convince them to reverse their choices. Using parallelism, trustworthy sources and statistics, and all the Aristotle’s appeals.
middle of paper ... ... Interchanging between the short sentences and the lengthy sentences grabs the audience’s full attention, permitting Kennedy to persuade them that he qualifies for his position as U.S. President. Hence, through various rhetorical strategies, Kennedy achieves his purpose of gaining the spectators’ favor by stressing major current events that concern the American people. These significant concepts include American patriotism and American diplomacy, stressed when he begins four subsequent paragraphs with the same recurring three words, “Let both sides.”
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.
In focusing on the National economy and ending the recession, Kennedy accomplished a meek increase to the minimum wages for workers, during his presidency. But, he lost the confidence of business leaders in 1962, by seeking to rollback what the administration regarded as excessive price increases within the steel trade. Although, he succeeded in his direct objective, this did not come without a price. President Kennedy ultimately, alienated an important source of support by later calling for a large tax cut to grant capital to large corporations, meant for stimulating the economy (Hoagland, 2008).
John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address is a puissant speech that conveys a mighty theme. The steady use of fervent dialect stimulates in the crowd a sense of esteem and obligation, which makes the speech even more impressive. The structure of the diction enhances the ability for all people of the audience to connect. Beginning with an intimate remark and closing with a broad regard, marks the address as both authentic and propelling. Nevertheless, what is most effective is Kennedy’s skill to access the atmosphere of the crowd and examine the circumstances of the juncture that is primarily the cause for the prosperity of this distinguished
Kennedy uses refrences from past events in history to emphasize his point of taking a risk and trying something new, and inspiring his audience. An event from 1630 is used in JFK’s speech as an allusion to make the reader feel a sense of , “William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage” (Kennedy 2). He is proving that after all the hard work, it is succesful and worth it. William Bradford created a colony by the devotion and hard work. Kennedy is relating himself and the country to Bradford, showing the audience that it is possible. Using an example from history makes the audience more committed to landing on the moon when they think the probability for success is high. It gives off the encouraging thought of, “if they did it, we can do it”, which is exactly what JFK was trying to succeed. Kennedy also uses an allusion to exaggerate to sudden change in tecchnology and show how advanced this country...