Rhetorical Analysis Of Barack Obama's A More Perfect Union

President Barack Obama spoke his remarks at Howard University commencement ceremony for the class of 2016. This special moment in the speech is honoring people of color, especially African Americans and made history at this University, having the president to present his speech (Donnella). Obama explained how America was different when he graduated college and society is now accepting new cultures and backgrounds within today’s workforce and education. Obama wants the audience to take opportunities and learning new skills to expand their education.

At this point in the campaign trail Obama is eight months away from voters heading to the booth and deciding who will be the next ruler of the free world. Obama being a black man, has obviously dealt with criticism involving his race, some saying his race is the only reason he’s gained the support he has so far, that “somehow an exercise in affirmative action” (Obama 2008). Obama tackles this race issue by pointing out that it's not something that reemerged all of sudden because he’s running for office but that this issue has been ingrained in America throughout history, the way he presents the issue and discusses what is next for Americans are in a form of jeremiad rhetoric. This form of rhetoric “a mainstream and deeply American way of thinking about the nation’s past, present, and future” (Murphy 2010), often used to demonstrate a community has failed to live up to what is meant to be common belief and indicates the idealistic place that we would be in if we atone and progress. The speech starts off with “We the people in order to form a perfect union” (Obama 2008), invoking the inaugural lines of the

The use of repetition was one of the rhetorical devices used by Barack Obama in his speech, by mentioning some powerful words that advocate for for unity. Obama used phrases like “You and I,” and “Together, we.” He mentioned more than once the first sentence of the constitution of the United States “We, the people,” and declared that “Our Journey is not complete” (Klein) several times. These words reinforced his ideas of unity and evoked an image of that all Americans are equal and should have the same rights.

In his speech, “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren,” Obama effectively argues his claim, that kids should go to school and try very hard to succeed to schoolchildren around the U.S. He effectively argues his claim because he uses supporting details and stories of students that have undergone tough situations, but still overcame those obstacles to succeed and school. Also, he is trying to tell kids that they should do well in school to get a good job and make a difference. He also uses rhetorical appeals to help with the supporting details. One of supporting evidence that he brought up was that if someone wants to become something such as a doctor, or lawyer you will need a good education to do

In his State of the Union Address for 2016, Barack Obama uses logical and ethical arguments to emphasize shared ground rather than partisan disputes. He also taps into the audience’s desire to feel better about themselves and their country. By using humor and irony, Obama paints his opponents into corners, out of which it would require outrageous extremism to effectively squirm away. At its best, this approach demonstrates how much Americans actually have in common in a culture dominated by ideologically polarized cable-news channels, Facebook, and cultural tribes that increasingly live and socialize apart from one another. The president's technique throughout the speech is to frame issues through a rhetorical jujitsu to persuade his opponents,

Perverse- showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the

In Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama made an effort to educate the American people on the history and importance of race in America. He explained how our nations founding fathers developed our Constitution based on the idea that all men are created equal, without actually practicing this idea themselves. He used the words of the Constitution to discuss the current racial issues and to state his concern of our imperfect nation. This was all in response to the very controversial remarks Barack Obama’s pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright had previously stated, which created much unease among Americans. Obama felt the need to address our nation about this specific problem, since he identifies as a black man himself, and offer a solution to end this built up anger and discrimination between the American people. In his speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama is able to clearly convey the specific racial problem at hand that created the exigency for this speech, as well as effectively share his own personal connection with this issue, in order to help fix our country and work together to find a beneficial solution.

On top of that big fat slab of equality and togetherness, President Obama also begins to usher in a sense of endless possibilities and hope through the audience. He juxtaposes the “ending of war” to the beginning of economic recovery (Isn’t that a lie in the state we’re in?). This solidifies hope and the use parallelism, “ we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together". He begins again, this time using a parallelism that is used throughout the rest of the speech, “we, the people,” to even further establish togetherness and also builds Obama’s presidential

Former President Barack Obama performed a speech in response to a mass shooting that happened in a community college in Oregon. This speech included other gun related incidents which occurred during his time in office in 2015 regarding Umpqua Community College and Roseburg. After giving his condolences and love to those who felt loss in their hearts, Obama gave a powerful argument regarding gun control and how we, as Americans, should fight and strive for better gun laws. While Obama gave a moving speech, I could not help but feel it fell short in its argument while conducting a thorough critique. Obama appealed to his audience utilizing pathos and ethos with ease but fell short for those in the audience looking for logos or specific facts within his performance. I will be taking this opportunity to delve further into an analysis of this speech and both its heights and pitfalls.

Senator Barack Obama had many issues throughout his campaign. Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union”, delivered on March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, conveyed many issues concerning racism throughout the United States, but it starts out stating how the founders of this nation constructed the Declaration of Independence, creating all men equal. Obama then begins to talk about his pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and his racial remarks against America and Israel, as it is “divisive at a time when we need unity”, referring to the “ two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis” going on at the time. (Obama 2) Obama remarks “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas,” (Obama 1) because there is much criticism in his campaign due to his race. Obama argues that race is paralyzing our nation, and that it is still a major issue due to white privilege, and racial inequality. In the end, Obama hopes to move past the “racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years,” (Obama 6) and wishes to improve health care, jobs, schools, and other social issues for the United States.

Obama’s speech on race was a part of his campaign while he was running for the presidential election in 2009. He speaks to the American people with the purpose to gather them and with spirit of fellowship to creates a unity and patriotism. A unity where everyone stands together and in jointly could make the world a better place for everyone, no matter

Move over, parents and teachers. Someone with even more authority wants to tell kids to work harder in school: the president of the United States of America. In 2009, in the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama opened the school year with a speech to students, asking them to take charge of their own education. His speech, which he filled with many anecdotes meant to establish credibility and create inspiration, sent students an important message about their education. However, Obama could have made his speech stronger if he had avoided several missteps in the content and delivery of his message.

Do you believe that the U.S. needs to be more “united” to be able to become better as a country? Former president, Barack Obama does. “A More Perfect Union” is the name of a speech given by Barack Obama in 2008 for his presidential campaign. In his speech, Obama builds an argument on how United States citizens must come together and look past racial and ethnical differences in order to better our country. Throughout his speech, Obama states various reasons to support his argument. Some of the many reasons include: the problem of recurring racism, the fight and work of getting equal rights from generations before, and the need to come together to be able to face certain problems. Along with these reasons, Barack Obama also uses many

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. He went to Harvard Law School. After his graduation, continued his legal work as a civil rights lawyer and a professor teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He served there for three terms (1996-2004). Later on, he started his campaign in 2007 for the presidential election in 2008. He won the presidential election against John McCain, his Republican opponent and started serving in the office in January 20, 2009. He became the 44th President of The United States of America. He is more well-known for being the first African-American who ever served in The White House.

In the beginning of his speech, Obama discusses his family and their past, how his grandfather served the United States and was a veteran of World War II. He speaks about the name that was given to him, Obama, as being African and how his parents felt that it isnt your name that takes you places and makes you who you are, it your character, strength, and personality. He also descibes his encounters with that he