Rhetorical Analysis Of John F Kennedy's Inaugural Address

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.

The thesis of “President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address” speech is that united we (America) can do anything. He integrates the ideas of unity, helping others and power to help convey the idea of patriotism. Kennedy starts the speech by saying “We observe today not a victory of party” (1) which emphasizes the importance of America being united. Instead of saying “I think”, for example he said “we think” making everyone feel like they are included and that their opinions are significant. Further through the speech Kennedy comments on how much ability Americans have as “world leader”.

On a cold January day America’s newly appointed president John F. Kennedy delivered his inauguration address that was incredibly important to America’s success during the Cold War. Kennedy uses his speech as a call to arms, but not only to America but the World and our allies as a whole. He uses his strong powerful voice to appeal to the ethics of the country in the beginning of his speech telling America about the promise we made when we were founded and that we must uphold it still today, telling America we must make a difference. Kennedy also uses ethics to explain that we the people are united no matter what your background or where you are from, he refers to the Americas as one place, because he wants for us to feel unified not divided. Furthermore Kennedy’s use of powerful imagery, logic and pathos allows for him to effectively call the people of the World together during this terrible time.

On Friday, January 20, 1961, in the midst of physical cold and mental Cold War fears, John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural address to the citizens of America and the world, assuring his audience that peace will prevail, and that America, as a unified superpower, will lead the world once again into a new era of peace. His speech, infused with rhetorical appeals, has an anxious and discontent tone, calling for change and the implementation of his vision. To express his vision, Kennedy used various tools such as anaphoras, diction, and antithesis to form rhetorical appeals that effectively communicate his vision of peace.

In John F Kennedy’s “Inaugural address”, he tries to bring the nation together by speaking confidently and powerful. Kennedy’s vigorous use of rhetorical devices including Antithesis, Reasoning, Emotional Appeal, Allusion, and Anaphora that contribute to the success of his speech. JFK uses these rhetorical devices to convey his ambitions and hopes for america as a nation in a whole. Also hoping for a pledge of peace; that we do not show weakness. In his hopes of coming together our acts individually would make us look and be stronger. Kennedy used his speech as a way to draw all of the audience in by pulling us together.

One of the most influential presidents in United States history, John F. Kennedy was a brilliant politician and public speaker. In his inaugural address, he sparked hope around the world by discussing the hardships faced by all of society in the present time and then leaving them with a message of freedom, power, and hope. This measure of impact is not achieved easily; Kennedy masterfully utilized the art of rhetoric to emphasize his message and win the hearts of his people. In the middle of the speech, he discusses the dangers of the modern world and his drive toward international peace and cooperation. These messages are stressed through his use of charismatic language to signify his vision of a new and better world.

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

On a cold day in 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered an Inaugural speech to the citizens and peoples of both America and the world. After the end of a close and competitive election, he used this speech not to celebrate his victory as president, but to unite the audience. In this inaugural address, Kennedy connects Americans together as one country and humans together as one population with a call to duty that relies on a heavy appeal to the ethics and morals of himself and the audience. Additionally, the use of a structurally and logically sound argument with powerful imagery and emotions used throughout the speech allows this call to action to be so effective in uniting Americans and the human race together.

I am bewildered by the fact that one of the greatest American speeches ever written is unknown to the majority of the American public. A speech so powerful that it prevented a major city from rioting. The words of Robert F. Kennedy on April 4th, 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana still persists strong in the sight of his burial in Arlington Cemetery and in the minds and hearts of the individuals who got to witness this live. The speech was known to be so dynamic that some scholarly institutions like that of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas A&M regard the speech as the seventeenth greatest American speech of the twentieth century (Wisconsin-Madison & Texas A&M). Whether it is your first or fifteenth time reading or watching the speech, it is still fascinating to grasp how Robert F. Kennedy is able to convey his message of unity and peace in such an equivocal way in order to try to prevent the city of Indianapolis, Indiana from rioting in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. I believe Kennedy accomplishes this through the usages of rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos and pathos. To further understand this principle, the reader would have to understand the context which led up to the speech and how it affects the speech itself.

Kennedy continues his appeal to emotion with a weaker, yet still successful attempt. Around election time, seemingly all American’s reveal their inner-patriot, understanding this Kennedy speaks to that inner patriot. Speaking of foreign affairs, he says, “…let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.”(3) This appeal is successful, as speaking of the Hemisphere as a whole represents unity, and also reaches out to the pride within the audience, stating that Americans shall remain in power of all they have worked so hard to obtain.

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.

On a cold January afternoon in 1961, John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address is directed at a generation of Americans that have the potential to achieve national and humanitarian goals. Kennedy’s inaugural speech joined the country in the determination upon a peaceful victory in the long cold war struggle with the Soviet Union. In addition, Kennedy wanted to gain more allies for the United States by stressing his concern for global poverty as well as his opposition to dictatorship. As a result, Kennedy’s purpose was to let the nation know that together, Americans and the administration, could effect change and achieve all of his goals intended to create a nation that set the tone for humanitarian efforts. Kennedy achieves this by using specific diction, impactful syntax, and effective organizational strategies.

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.

The distinctive voices, inherent in any text, are intended to have an impact on the audience. Significant voices are influenced by the values and beliefs of the composer, as well as cultural, political and historical content. Composers use a range of language tools and features to successfully covey messages to their audience. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s Address to the Plenary Session, Earth Summit and Charlie Chaplin’s Let us all unite, all provide excellent examples of a distinctive voice. Each of these distinctive voices is formed through the use of emotive language, tone, repetition and rhetorical devices.

An analysis of John F. Kennedy reveals a myriad of ideas that he had for the people of America. This is despite the rhetoric that was present in his speech; three dominant themes emerged from his Inaugural address. These are freedom, leadership and the use of rhetoric in addressing multitudes.