John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

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.

On June 26, 1963, the famous words “Ich bin ein Berliner” changed the world. These words, which in English mean “I am a Berliner,” were delivered by John F. Kennedy in West Berlin. His speech was viewed worldwide and brought national attention to the Berlin Crisis and the Cold War. Today, most people have heard about the speech, but may not know a whole lot about it. They may ask themselves the following questions:

He believes that “since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe . . . now the trumpet summons us again.”3 Here, Kennedy is appealing to those who have lost loved ones as he draws upon the sorrowful and moving image of slain Americans through mentioning specifically the “graves of young Americans,” and uses the emotions of heartbreak and tragedy to inspire the country to act. This is shown through the pairing of the “testimony to . . . national loyalty” present in the the Americans that gave their life for their country to his statement that “the trumpet summons us again”; this creates a sense of responsibility to serve America in his audience. Using the incentive of avenging the deaths of their countrymen, he hopes that the audience will act to serve their country as so many have done before them; he is placing the destiny of the country in the hands of Americans so that they may support him. Kennedy additionally readily reassures the audience of how he believes in their generation, and that he has faith in them despite the trials and tribulations to come; he appeals to pathos through the emotion of pride and the inspiration that one’s country can create. Kennedy states, “I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring out this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”4 Kennedy affirms his faith in his generation as he explains how no American would give up and take the easy way out by saying that none “of us would

John F Kennedy’s inaugural speech is widely considered one of the best speeches ever given. By the time Kennedy was elected, he had earned a degree from Harvard University, spent time in the Navy during the Second World War, and was already enjoying a successful political career serving in both houses of Congress. Kennedy delivered his eloquent inaugural speech to thousands of people on the steps of the Capitol building and millions more watching the broadcast on television which was the first to be shown in color. Something that I believe that he did better than other political speakers is that not only did he attempt to comfort his audience of the fear of the spread of communism, but he also successfully maintained the same tone throughout his speech; not only did that make his speech easier to comprehend and well received but it has continued to inspire generations since. Ultimately, the newly elected president delivered one of the most quoted and well known inaugural speeches to date.

Kennedy’s speech carries with it a dauntless rhythm of persuasiveness, emboldening and inspiring his audience through emotional conviction and personal attribution. With parallelism and juxtaposition, John F. Kennedy was able to capture the minds and hearts of the American people. During the vast majority of the address, he uses inclusivity (us, we, our) with the audience to show his personal dedication to the public and mankind as a whole. 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 does this in an attempt to establish his credibility as a just and equal leader, who saw past the petty divisions of our bipartisan dichotomy. Aside from this instance, JFK states later that he is a “fellow citizen of the world…” to appeal to his international audience. As much as Kennedy addressed his fellow man, he also referenced God in many occasions throughout his speech. Considering that at the time of its delivery 84% of the

and the Soviet Union had been stockpiling nuclear weapons, about to plunge the world into nuclear warfare, this time it was known as the Cold War. John F. Kennedy had not wanted the United States to engage in the war believing that it would destroy our country. In contrast to Roosevelt’s belief that war was necessary, Kennedy wanted a more peaceful resolution to the nuclear warfare surrounding America. “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us,” (J.F.K. 16). Kennedy had wanted the opposing sides to come together to find a peaceful solution. He wanted the opposing sides to come together and unite, instead of trying to blow each other away. He wanted the opposing sides to come together and lay down their weapons, perhaps to forge alliances. He did not want the opposing sides to invoke the terrors of nuclear weapons and fight each other, all in contrast to Roosevelt’s opinion that war is the answer. Kennedy speaks of freedom that goes back to the Revolutionary War, “And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe-the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God,” (J.F.K. 3). He speaks of freedom and rights as something that comes from God, not something that comes from the government. Kennedy states that

Throughout president John F Kennedy 's inaugural address speech he presents several emotional appeals to convey his feelings towards the American people. The purpose of Kennedy 's Inaugural Address speech was to inform the people of what his intentions were for the future of this country. Since this speech was based on his intentions for the future of his country, a sense of trust needed to be established between him and the people, he accomplished this by applying emotional appeals to his speech. President John F Kennedy charged up his speech by making sure he built bridges between him and the people. Through his speech, he capitalized on change, not only for America alone but for the globe itself. Since this time was not a time of peace, where war, inequality, racism was transpiring, President kennedy included numerous lines of hope, that could have potentially been used to persuade the audience to strongly believe in what he was communicating with them. He mentions “For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty…”(Kennedy para2) ,relating to all people of lower class, providing them a sense of hope in which they could look forward to. John F Kennedy then continues by summarizing that it is time for America to shape its own future and that the people as a whole can overcome any obstacle that is bestowed upon them. People at this time found these words very

In John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961, Kennedy addresses the citizens of the United States as well as the country’s allies in regards to his plans on how he will run the country during his time as president. He speaks with passion about hope for an improved United States, as well as an improved planet overall. To deliver his message profoundly and clearly, Kennedy uses many rhetorical devices in his speech that give his message a conversational tone as well as a clear and compelling structure.

Throughout his inaugural address John F. Kennedy uses anaphora, calls to action, and appeals to ethos to gain the peoples support in spreading freedom and peace around the

Throughout his inaugural address, Kennedy brings to light the lack of unity throughout the country and the world. He states that “we are the heirs of that first revolution” (¶4) that broke the countries apart, and that the country that stood that day would unite against “those human rights” (¶4) that were promised in the founding of our nation. He connects to his audience by noting significant events in history that everyone knows, such as the founding of our country or the revolutionary war, but that few people truly live by. He awakens in his audience the yearning for connectedness to the birth of our country. On the day he accepted his place as the leader of our country, Kennedy unified his citizens by generating a feeling of

In the Essential American documents and Speeches, volume one and two, there are many great speeches given by some of America’s greatest people. There are many great speeches, JFK with his “Inaugural Address” and “Cuban Missile Crisis speech”, Benjamin Franklin and his “On the Faults of the Constitution speech”, plus many others. A few of these speeches will be talked about, and the basics of each speech will be covered. Details and important areas will be covered and hopefully most questions will be covered.

In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, his main point is to give a hope and comfort to the United States and assure his position as leader, since he was elected during the Cold War. Also, that this was the time to act and that we have to fight for our rights and liberty. During the speech, he wanted to let the world know that we all do bad thing an as a nation they were willing to accept any consequences just to assure the survival and the liberty of the States. To illustrate, here is what he said “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty” (Kennedy). Moreover, Kennedy wanted to let know America that the United States of America were willing to help the other countries in order to obtain liberty, and that the USA is not looking to conquer another country, this can be seen when he says “Let all our neighbors know that we

On a frosty day in 1961, John F. Kennedy conveyed a discourse to the subjects and people groups of both America and the world. After the finish of a nearby and aggressive decision, he utilized this discourse not to praise his triumph as president, but rather to join the gathering of people. He tends to the gathering of people with a discourse that would be associated with years to come, as its call to obligation is an intense one. A solid interest to ethics─ his morals, as well as our morals as a nation joined through basic values─ and effective passionate and coherent contentions are utilized to persuade the group of onlookers to stand firm and have any kind of effect. Moreover, he requests to whatever remains of the world by alluding to various regions and nations of the globe while additionally interfacing every individual together as one populace. In this inaugural address, Kennedy interfaces Americans together as one nation and people together as one populace with a call to obligation that depends on a substantial interest to the morals and ethics of himself and the group of onlookers. Also, the utilization of a fundamentally and coherently stable contention with capable symbolism and feelings utilized all through the discourse enables this suggestion to take action to be so viable in joining Americans and humankind together.

Since the foundation and establishment of the United States of America, Americans, either as a civilian or a politician, have sought after peace and unity. Leaders throughout our history have exploited manifold means to achieve this idealized notion, including diplomacy, appeasement, ransom, and, ironically, war. John F. Kennedy, a young, brilliant, and Catholic Democrat, delivered his inaugural speech on a frigid January 20, 1961. JFK’s inauguration became the first inaugural speech to ever be given on live television; therefore, Kennedy’s rhetorical skills and appearance played a large roll in the viewers’ initial impressions of their newly elected president. Televising JFK’s inaugural speech consequently magnified the audience directly receiving his speech, which now including almost all television-owning Americans. Like many other presidents, JFK delivered an extensive, yet general, outline of what his four next years in office will look like for Americans. However, unlike many other presidents, JFK won the presidential race by a very small margin, which required him to mitigate and mollify the opposing political party’s members. He was unable to introduce any cataclysmic changes that he intended to make because many Americans would be outraged. Due to the cold weather and uneasy tension about a close presidential race, JFK inevitably delivered a succinct message to celebrate his victory, appease the opposing party’s members, and give a guideline to show how the next

The overall theme in this speech unifies the whole speech. JFK's speech shows a theme of progression. This is the perfect theme for an innaugural speech because the whole goal of the country is to progress as a whole once a new president is elected. He shows this theme of rhetoric in his quote, "We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end as well as a beginning—signifying renewal as well as change" (JFK). He uses the word, "we" and "progress" to help signify unity. Repition is combined into the speech to make the theme stand out. "Let both sides" (JFK). is a start to a few paragraphs in this speech, these three words combine the two political parties and is the start of progress and teamwork to making this country stronger. Last but not least, the most important quote in this speech is, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country" (JFK). This famous quote is appealing to the mind because one, JFK says "my fellow Americans" enforcing the fact