Rhetorical Devices In Jfk Inaugural Address

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As political leaders of this nation and a critical person of American Democracy, United States Presidents, uses rhetoric appeals in their speeches and everyday lives to express their ideas and thoughts to us as a nation and congress. During a moment in United States history President John F. Kennedy was elected to be the 35th President of the United States. During the time Kennedy was elected the country and also the world was going through a lot of turmoil. The United States was going through a racial tension and social inequalities. While communism was spreading throughout the world and protecting the nation from weapons, the nation was looking for a leader in which they found in John F. Kennedy. He reassured us in his inaugural speech. Kennedy …show more content…

Kennedy’s dedication to his people and God was enough to gain the support of the nation, from both political parties; he proclaims that it was “not the victory of a party, but a celebration of freedom” (Kennedy, 3). Kennedy says this in an attempt to establish his credibility as a just and equal leader, who saw past the turmoil of our nation. Later on JFK goes on to say that he is a “fellow citizen of the world” (Kennedy, 106) where he tries to appeal to his international audience. As much as Kennedy addressed his people, he also spoke about God on some occasions in his speech. At the time of his speech a big percentage of the world believed in God or had some understanding with a God. This allowed JFK to draw attention from those listeners. Kennedy’s final line of his speech, which states that, "God's work must truly be our own"(Kennedy, 112). Here he is comparing his ambitions to that of God's, so he gains support from millions of …show more content…

In his speech he tries to make his audience feel like they’re included in his goals as President. He also was trying to inspire the nation on how he change the country and give them hope during the turmoil. He uses several appeals to gain the trust of his listeners. Kennedy goes on to instill some sought of responsibility for his audience. With his famous quote saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for country,” (Kennedy, 104) Here he making the audience feel like they have a responsibility to make this nation a better place to live. While trying to educate his audience on responsibility, Kennedy uses certain languages to educate his audience on pride of being an American. Kennedy constantly uses images to portray freedom and liberty as he reminds his audience that they are, "The heirs of that first revolution." (Kennedy, 12) Here he prompts the audience to think of America as a strong, father-figured nation that is responsible for the goodwill for this world. Kennedy also spends portions of his speech addressing ethos to not only us, the American people, but also the entire

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