Inaugural Addresses by LBJ and Barack Obama

President Kennedy always wanted above average and never wanted to settle for good, but for greatness. His inaugural address was his first step into greatness. He was a firm believer in unity and being together as one in this country. Throughout his short, but successful presidency, he shows how important togetherness is to make the country strong. January 1961, John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the states and was giving his inaugural address. John F. Kennedy’s pathos, logos, and repetition in the speech allow the American people to be eager for his presidency and allow them to see the changes he foresees for the country during his term.

In this essay, some comparisons are made with the inaugural address of President Kennedy and the recent inaugural address of President Donald J. Trump. This is done is because the Trump inaugural address was viewed before the Kennedy inaugural address. Therefore, I come at the Kennedy address from the context of having had watched that of Trump first. The two speeches are quite different. Part of the reaction I had to the Kennedy inaugural address was I believe because of viewing other Presidential inaugural addresses, including that of President Trump.

The commencement and succession on Inauguration Day of the great commitment exchanged from one existence to another as the President of the United States initiates a time when honor, commitment, and loyalty is expressed through the words spoken forth by the newly appointed Chief Executive of the United States of America. The inauguration of the former John F. Kennedy on Friday, January 20, 1961, in an openly structured portico in the United States Capitol represents a public vow to the entire nation. Meanwhile, as the first televised president in history, the country as a whole was all vigilantly watching and attentively listening on this day in 1961. It was on this day, in Washington D.C. that John F. Kennedy establishes his ethos, pathos, and logos in his infamous, well-articulated speech to the nation before him while delivering one of the most memorable inaugural speeches to the United States. This speech is a paradigm of rhetorical devices working together to form a powerful statement.

Throughout the history of America, many Americans voted on leaders to guide us into prosperity and peace. When they are elected, they promise the people-through an address- to fix the changes their predecessors created. In the inaugural addresses of Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama, they discuss what they want done through different styles of writing. However they share similar qualities as well. Barack and Jefferson focus on unification while Reagan focuses on the economy.

Language plays a crucial role in the development of power. Famous personalities in the United States use rhetorical devices to emphasize a specific point and make it clear to the audience. President Thomas Jefferson is a Democratic-Republican and won the election of 1800. In 1801 he presented his inauguration speech and was significant because it was the first time in the history when the power shifted from one party to the other. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as an American minister and played an active role in the civil rights movement. John F. Kennedy delivered his speech during his inauguration in order to develop relations with the Soviet Union and end Cold War. All the speeches were delivered by most known personalities and made use of rhetorical devices such as allusion and repetition to make their message memorable in the hearts of the citizens of America.

In the general purposes of the three inaugural addresses of FDR, JFK and Barack Obama, they were focused on appreciating the constitutional process which involves the inauguration of the U.S president. For example, recently, President Obama stated in his speech that people gathers each year to observe the enduring strength of the U.S and the act of democracy. FDR also appreciated the need for the inauguration in upholding the constitutional values and cultures.

Obama introduced his speech greeted the audience, and since the beginning he identified himself as one more citizen of the America, by refereeing to his broadly audience as “his fellow citizens,” (Klein) which was an effective way to have the people attention. Then he grounded his words on the Constitution of the United States to introduce his thesis about how the patriots of 1776 fought to give us a republic and a government that defended the rights of its people. He also presented the main points of his speech, and concluded his introduction by sharing common past experiences about the economic success achieved and about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable. This way he put his ideas in context and made his address more credible.

In 1981, a time that was recovering and healing from the Vietnam War, Ronald Reagan was elected president and gave his first Inaugural address. Despite what many Inaugural addresses tend to do, Reagan decided to not just talk about his plans for the country, but take the country by the reins and lead it triumphantly into conservatism. Ronald Reagan’s first Inauguration address, evoked and pointed out that the United States’ greatest weapon is far from a gun, but rather “Freedom” (Woolley). Through the use of allusion and repetition, along with sudden pauses and nostalgic patriotism over words to demonstrate love for fallen heros, Reagan secured many future voters and motivated many citizens to come together and unite as Americans to reveal the hero that is within us all (Brockway).

Lyndon Baines Johnson’s use of ethos, or credibility, in his speech was very simple, but at the same time, very powerful. Johnson’s credibility simply comes from the fact that, at the time of the speech, he was the President of The United States of America. Although this seems very obvious, he reminds the audience of his power several times throughout the speech by referring to himself as “your President” (5,6). He also reminds the audience of his power by speaking about a bill that he plans to present, and three bills he has already passed, in order to fix the issue at hand. Although Johnson does well to make sure he is seen as an authority figure who should be listened to, he also does very well

The Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy and the Farewell Address to the Nation by President Ronald Reagan share similar tones when addressing the American people. As one President enters the white house and the other leaves, both men share their admiration, strength, and compassion that the American people share when working together. The Farewell Address and the Inauguration were two of the most memorable speeches of all time. It is as though both men were speaking to the public as if they personally knew everyone in America.

“I know the heart of America is good,” are words of former President Richard Nixon, whose endless efforts made a significant impact on the history of America during an era of Cold War and increased tensions. Inaugural addresses have been a custom since the first president of America, and have been religiously followed by every president afterwards. Furthermore, Nixon’s vision of fostering a better nation remained constant in both of his inaugural addresses, and his actions were successful in fulfilling his vision effectively. Nixon brought great change both domestically and internationally in the United States.

JFK Inaugural Address Analysis President Kennedy’s inaugural address is one of the most important speeches given in the history of the United States and part of what makes it so memorable is the time in which it was given. Kennedy’s election came at a time, like much of the twentieth century, when the world was unsure of its future. The advent of nuclear weapons and the splitting of the world’s nations into two spheres of influence made people all over the world afraid for what would come next.

Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully executed crafty rhetoric to ensure our country that we will be under safe hands. The speech draws from ideas straight from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to join together and take action on the many problems facing our country. As President Barrack Obama begins his speech, He refrains from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ but instead ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to establish ethos. He makes sure his audience feels at his level, and he at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in turn, aids his

Barak Obama and John F. Kennedy were both inaugurated into their presidencies during crisis in America. The two presidents’ inaugural speeches show their will to aid America in her time of need through the unity of the people.

Every inauguration speech caters to the ideal American values and beliefs, but what separates President Obama’s inauguration speech to other president’s inauguration speeches was the time America was in. American values and beliefs hadn’t really change and it’s an imbedded tradition into every American of always looking forward, thinking big, and working hard for the life you want. What did change the core beliefs of the American dream was the drastic turn from the end of last administration where the economy had slip into a deep recession and heading onwards to a depression. This is where the future started to look uncertain and America needed a new way. “We have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding