Analysis of Ronald Reagan's First Inaugural Speech Essay

The purpose of Reagan's address was to inspire the people to revitalize the American government and rebuild the economy. Reagan emphasizes the importance of returning power to the people, and he motivates the people to take part in improving the economy by calling the everyday working man an "American hero." Reagan creates the argument that a better future is in the hands of the people, not in the hands of the federal government. He specifies that the people are the everyday heroes that keep the economy alive. Reagan builds unity and a sense of togetherness in the American people through the use of rhetorical strategies like Kairos, anaphora, and rhetorical questions. He also drives his argument home by directly addressing the people, and by

The first inaugural address of Franklin D. Roosevelt was one that strove to lift the American people off their feet as the country entered some of it's worst years during the Great Depression. One of Roosevelt's strong advantages during his address was his ability to relate to the very real concerns of the everyday American citizens. With pressures of the failing economy facing the President-elect, he delivered this speech, addressing the nation about his plans for a New Deal. Roosevelt made his first point in his address by stating, “...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This statement later became one of the most famous Presidential lines in all of history. The purpose of this statement was to remind the nation that for this

Due to the rapidly changing America, in his farewell address, Ronald Reagan expresses the need for unification of America, and America’s culture. In Reagan’s address, he uses many rhetorical devices to advance his purpose of unifying America, for instance, Reagan utilizes tone, syntax, and pathos to portray his pride, hopefulness, and patriotism for America. He uses these devices to show Americans of the unification America needs.

On January 28, 1986, a day that was supposed to be filled with excitement and exploration, suddenly turned into a day filled with tragedy and sadness. The space shuttle Challenger was supposed to carry a seven member crew into orbit with one unique member along for this particular mission. Christa McAuliffe was supposed to be the first teacher to go into space as a member of the Teacher in Space Project. Due to this occasion, the media coverage and the number of viewers of this mission was extensive, particularly in schools across the nation. The Challenger lifted off shortly after 11:30 A.M., but tragically only seventy three seconds after takeoff it exploded sending debris and the seven crew members back to earth and into the Atlantic

With many changes on the horizon at the time, America was given something and someone to believe in. Many speakers in history have had powerful points and strong words sometimes expressing through a forceful nature intended to scare listeners. Reagan was a speaker who developed a commanding but soothing way that was appealing to the world. Regardless of his background as an actor, the

Ronald Reagan is known as “The great communicator” and it shows in his speech, he is able connect to the audience and this works very well for him, his speech “Address to the national challenger” it is a drastically emotional and important speech for the American people at the time it became one of Reagan’s great speeches and it was crucial to the American’s as they were all in such pain due to the accident which was the Challenger disaster. Instead of doing his report on the state union, he talks about the disaster and honors the members who had passed on board and he wishes that the United States will not stop its space exploration due to this. When listening to the speech is it distinguishable that is the speech is not something to joke about and the tone had an emotional and solemn feel with great respect to all involved being felt.

For the audience he gives them examples of how government interference hurts Americans and also allusions to past times such as the revolution and how the founding fathers did not want a big government. He shares that he has “an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn’t something on which we base our hopes the future.” Reagan’s ability to connect with his audience was rare and unlike many of his colleagues. Whether the topics he spoke on were always relevant to that of the listener, it did not always matter.

     Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States of America, was arguably the best president the United States has ever had. Raised in rural Illinois, Reagan grew up as country boy, and kept his ideals and faith through his presidency. Reagan never faltered when he dealt with communism, dealt with a slipping economy, or in any other foreign affairs. His strong convictions led him to being one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. (Thomas, 22)

Reagan was a well open speaker that impacted the audience. Before Reagan was president and the head of California, he was an actor. Since he was an actor, he knew how to talk to people out loud. In the speech, Reagan speaks effectively to the audience that gets a reaction out of them as well as making the audience interested in the things he says. After Reagan greets the crowd, he grabs the audience’s attention. Reagan remained a Democrat until he converted to the Republican side, the acting career was beneficial for talking to the audience to tell an anecdote about his switch.

He uses amplification by repeating the word truth for emphasis during his speech“to speak the truth, the whole truth” (“American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - First Inaugural Address”). Furthermore, he used pathos ,a quality that evokes pity or sadness, by asserting that he was going through the same difficulties as his people. The wording that was used was“ we face our common difficulties”(“American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - First Inaugural Address”). When his audience had heard that sentence they may have felt the sympathy with him because they were battling the same obstacles as he was. Nevertheless, he gave an inspirational speech by continuing

The most obvious way President Reagan delivers rhetoric to his audience is through his own ethos. Ronald Reagan wasn’t just your average president; he was a communicator. Reagan started his career as a sports announcer and continued on as an actor, which led to his later career in state and national politics. By the time President Reagan had delivered his address, the president had been in the spotlight his entire career and was looked up to worldwide. He had established an extrinsic ethos well before delivering this speech. By being the president of the free world, Reagan’s audience

For my project I chose Ronald Reagan, his full name Ronald Wilson Reagan. The 40th president of the United States. A man who started as a young radio announcer and actor, moved on to be what some consider one of the greatest presidents of all time. He was always interested in politics, but his life before presidency would claim he was not the right fit for a president. He was an honest man, with a bright future ahead of him. Although he never expected to be president, he was well fit for the job. He went through some struggles before presidency. Including marriage, jobs, and some other things. He also went through some hard times during his presidency. When he ran against Gerald Ford in 1976,

There have been many presidents come in and out of office, doing a mediocre performance, but one president who grabbed the hearts of many and truly made an impact, was non other than Ronald Wilson Reagan. This man, as president, transformed the idea of government and helped encourage the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. Not only this, but Reagan also embodied the true All-American guy, not just with his crooked smile and boy-like charm, but through his outstanding ability as a Hollywood actor and president, later demonstrating and uplifting the idea of American Conservativism. In a nutshell, Ronald Reagan was what one could say, quite intelligent, military minded, and very loyal his country, the United States of America, and this is all learned through the biography, Ronald Reagan, by Jules Tygiel, and edited by Marc C. Carnes.

On January 11, 1989, President Ronald Reagan sat at his desk in the Oval Office to address his nation for the final time. This rhetorical moment was not the first of its kind. Rather, the Farewell Address is a Presidential tradition, started by George Washington, that every president takes part in before leaving office. As a sort of “goodbye” to the nation, the President discusses the accomplishments of his administration while offering pieces of advice for the future. Washington warned against a government with an “unmoderated” political party system (Spalding 75), Ronald Reagan warned of the effects of an America devoid of patriotism.

To do a rhetorical analysis of this speech we would follow the Neo-Aristotelian approach. The Neo-Aristotelian approach consists of five canons which are invention, organization, style, memory and delivery. First I will start off with Invention. According to Foss "the critic's concern in applying the canon of invention is with the speaker's major ideas, line of argument, or content" (29). Invention is divided into two categories: external proofs and internal proofs. External proofs "include sources used by the author but does not create, including testimony of eyewitnesses" (Foss 29). I will focus on the internal proofs of this speech, which are logos or logical argument; ethos, the appeal of the speaker's character and pathos, emotional appeal.