JFK Inaugural Address Analysis

John F. Kennedy will always be remembered for two things; his triumphant inauguration and his tragic assassination. After being sworn in, Kennedy gave the traditional inaugural speech. He addressed America, as well as the rest of the world, to inform them what his intentions were during his presidency. By referencing current events such as the Cold War, he was able to identify dilemmas in need of a remedy. Kennedy's overall message was meant to inspire his nation and convey strength and hope to the world abroad. At the beginning of his speech, Kennedy condensed his message. He stated the problems in need of fixing during his presidency while also proposing solutions for them. By doing this, Kennedy was able to evoke confidence from Americans that he will follow through with his claims. Kennedy used anaphora, allusions, and emotional appeal to create an effective argument in the first half of his inaugural speech.

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.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.

Even though John F. Kennedy was well known as a man passionate about the United States, his family and friends recall the humanistic moments of Kennedy’s life, both of which are demonstrated repeatedly by the sources. One of the sources is Kennedys inauguration speech which showed is passion towards the United States and the feelings it evokes in the audience made it an important moment in history, the proud tone that Kennedy continues all the way through the speech also helps evokes emotion in the audience. Article two was a news article by Eleanor Cliff titled “50 years” that shows the memories from Kennedy’s family and friends 50 years later, the memories create a very nostalgic tone while also showing Kennedy passion and the importance of his inauguration at the same time. The photo of inauguration is comparable to the speech in a way that the photo shows the passion and the importance of the moment and the tone is dignified but also proud like the speech.

As a person who was known for his ability to speak publicly, and communicate comprehensible meanings while inspiring the people of his nation, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) gave his inaugural address on January 20th, 1961 in Washington D.C.. JFK was widely distinguished for his ability to use rhetoric in front of the masses, and in mass media. Like many authors and penman, President Kennedy implemented huge doses of rhetorical strategies in his speech, focusing on the appeals of Aristotle: ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos is used to convince the audience of the author’s credibility, logos is an appeal through the use of logic and reasoning, while pathos is an emotional appeal (Gayle et al). JFK applied all these rhetorical appeals

Prior to John F. Kennedy’s inauguration was, of course, the election of 1960, in which Kennedy went face to face with Richard Nixon on issues such as, the Cold War, Kennedy’s religious beliefs, and the display of each’s competence. In Kennedy’s inaugural address, he not only alludes, but also addresses to the Cold War, and makes mention of his future plans and Roman Catholic religious beliefs; and, he does so through use of allusions and anaphoras. Through the use of allusions and anaphoras, Kennedy effectively achieves his purpose of fulfilling citizen’s expectations, addressing the Cold War, and stating the United States’s future plans to his audience, the United States of America and other nations, through emphasis and rhetorical appeals towards pathos and ethos.

While the speech’s respectful eloquence is appropriate for the occasion of an inauguration, its youthful energy and look to the future make it distinctly John F. Kennedy’s. , The people of the United States desperately needed a boost in morale with ongoing tension of races, inequalities, the fight against communism and the cold war. The people were convinced that this war would be never ending, and believed in another inevitable war. From the beginning to the end of JFK’s speech, he uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to comfort the people and fill them with confidence.

Unlike Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, Eleanor Clift’s, Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 Years On, used only pathos and personal accounts from citizens to narrate their similar overall style of unity persuasion. Clift added personal accounts such as one from Richard Goodwin stating, “Dick, did you see the Coast Guard contingent in the parade? There was not a single black face in that delegation, and I want you to do something about it right away.”, to emphasize Goodwins trust in Kennedy to unify races. This statement, concluded that the author had faith in Kennedy, and was persuading her audience to do so too. Pathos was also utilized briefly throughout the dialogue between Rep. Charles Buckley and Seigenthaler that articulates ”What’s the

On January 20,1961, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was inaugurated into office. According to many, like Representative Charles Buckley of New York, this was the most outstanding inauguration in history. Within the three documents: Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 by John F. Kennedy, Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 Years On by Eleanor Clift, and Inauguration of John F. Kennedy by the United States Army Signal Corps, they show that day in diverse ways, but all hold a significant meaning. The styles of the three documents are widely contrasting. The contrast comes from the deviation in purpose, tone, and the effect that each gives to President Kennedy’s legacy.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, arguably one of our greater presidents in our nation’s history, was assassinated on a Friday in the early stages of winter in 1963; however, he had accomplished much more than a man with lesser courage could have in his services to our country. One of President Kennedy’s most memorable actions while in office, actually took place very early on in his presidency; his Inaugural Speech in January of 1961. When attempting to motivate our citizens, Kennedy speaks of our citizens being “tempered by war,” and “proud of our ancient heritage,” he very successfully appeals to the emotions of his audience. Furthermore, his use of ethos quite effective when he speaks of

Freedom is something that every American citizen is entitled to. It is one of the attributes that our country was founded on. John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural Address” and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech focuses around the concern of maintaining America’s freedom. However, while both speeches speak of making sure that America is still the free, safe nation is was meant to be, the two former presidents had different ideas on how to do so.

On snowy, freezing cold January morning in 1961, five hundred thousand people lined Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The temperature was only twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit and eight inches of snow blanketed the ground in the American capitol that morning, causing even more traffic than usual, but that didn’t stop these hundreds of thousands of people from attending John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inauguration ceremony. Little did they know, they would be hearing one of the most famous and memorable speeches of all time. Out of all forty five presidents, the inaugural address that American citizens would remember more than all the rest was that of John F. Kennedy. But what made it so memorable? After all, each president has given at least one, sometimes even two or more, inaugural address. Kennedy’s speech was neither the most elaborate nor the longest; it had one thousand three hundred and sixty four words and took thirteen minutes and fifty five seconds to read and it used relatively simple language. The importance of the address laid not in the length or the intricacy, but in the theme and the rhetoric. With figurative language, themes of unity and freedom, and appeal to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Kennedy’s address became not only one of the most memorable inaugural addresses, but one of the most memorable speeches of all time.

Compared to Kennedy’s speech, Eleanor Clift’s, “ Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 Years On,” utilizes a journalistic approach while still appealing to ethos and pathos to achieve her purpose. Clift establishes her credibility through the use of many direct quotes within her article rather than establishing shared values like within Kennedy’s speech. The article is structured so that each paragraph of the article is the recollection of a different person who attended; a different perspective of the inauguration is discussed each time in chronological order rather than the use of parallelism and climax. At the same time, Clift appeals to pathos, similar to Kennedy, but instead uses anecdotes rather than figurative language. An example of which is seen in the quote, “We forget, looking back on it, how powerful the anti-catholic was,” which states the difficulty Kennedy faced in the election due to his affiliation with Catholicism. The quote is then followed up further in the text with the quote, “We had to win in West Virginia to prove that a Catholic could win because there were so few Catholics there, only 1 or 2 percent.” A feeling of inspiration and respect toward Kennedy is created similar to the feelings patriotism stirred during his inauguration speech. Clift establishes her article in a different

President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address speech, claims that America will unify and assert peace, in and out of the country with the help of citizens who fight for liberty and protect their country. Kennedy supports his claims by applying rhetorical devices to create a good sense of optimism and community. The author’s purpose is to encourage his listeners to stand up and help others so that America can become a better, stronger nation.

On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy presented a world-famous inaugural speech. People all over the nation and world were overtaken with a feeling of new hope and inspiration. The three documents presented in this activity, John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, Eleanor Clift’s “Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 Years On”, and the photo captured by the United States Army Signal Corps all convey the feelings felt during the moment of Kennedy’s inauguration. John Kennedy, Eleanor and the United States Army Corps all used different methods of style for influencing their audience, however they all had a similar purpose to draw out emotions from those reading and looking at their work.