Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama's Farewell Address

In 2004, Obama walked up to the podium at the Democratic National Convention as a political novelty. The speech he delivered established Obama as a natural leader and transformed him into a future presidential candidate. Rich in demonstrative rhetoric, its purpose was to unite the American people through nationalism. The exploration of his rhetoric and style throughout this paper will cement why the speech was beneficially identity transforming for Obama's political career.

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

Barack Obama's powerful diction creates hope for the future of the United States with word choices such as “continue,” “shifted” and “ambitions.” Barack’s shift from informal to formal diction constructs an image of unity through the usage of simple, personal pronouns, such as “we” and “us.” The shifts from informal to formal and back appeal to the emotions of the audience because they feel as if Obama is talking directly to them. His allusions to the Bible are sentimental because when he says "the God given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" he creates a bond between himself and his audience. His words have a motivating connotation that appeal to both logos and pathos. The way in which Barack Obama presents his ideas allows his audience to have confidence in him and his role as president.

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.

In his 2004 speech, Barack Obama stated “I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.”

The presidential inauguration is uniquely sacramental: the peaceful transition of power is representative of the strength that has made the United States the oldest democracy on Earth. Every 4 years, a new or incumbent president delivers this address to the nation, setting forth the principles that will guide the new administration, and uniting the nation under shared commonplaces. Each president is given the opportunity to establish themselves as distinct from the presidents before them. In the past decade, we have seen two unique presidents with two drastically different visions of America deliver their message to the United States of America. While both call upon shared national values and the unity of the nation under difficult circumstances, they differ in terms of inclusion and diversity within America. Both presidents deliver compelling arguments that encourage the American people to serve their country in diverse ways.

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.

The Farewell Address embodied Washington’s political principles and hopes for the United States, a newly developed nation, to grow strong and remain independent. He stressed the importance of national unity. Despite the confidence Washington had for his country to continue to thrive without his leadership, he felt obligated to forewarn the American people and future generations the greatest dangers, or threats, to the United States. Washington believed threats such as political parties, and associations with foreign alliances could weaken the nation. Today, it is believed that the Farewell Address is a prophetic warning for contemporary politics.

During his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Barack Obama observed that there was not a red America or a blue America, but a United States of America. Such sentiment implied that every citizen, hailing from all fifty states, shares a common set of principles and rights that distinctly marks him or her as a member of this nation. Although unmentioned during that landmark speech, one may assume that universal suffrage is one such right that all Americans share, binding our diverse nation together. However, although voter intimidation and violence is much less prevalent within America as it was in the past, disenfranchisement remains a reality as a result of partisan manipulation of election-administration laws. As

Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be under safe hands. The speech is similar from ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barrack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve ethos. He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and him at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his

The 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, in his speech, his 2009 inauguration, describes his plans for his term in office, as well as his belief that if we follow the ideals of our founding fathers, that we will be able to accomplish anything. Obama’s purpose is to explain to the American people that with the right ideas, we can do anything as a country. He adopts a patriotic tone in order to draw pride from his fellow Americans. Obama pulls Fear, calls upon Pathos, and uses Patriotism to get support from the nation in allowing his changes.

On January 21, 2013, President Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term. As tradition with previous Presidents, a speech is given as a way for the President to connect with the citizens of the country. The significance about a second inaugural address is that the President has already run the country for 4 years and instead of connecting for the first time, Obama is reconnecting with America and articulating how he sees the progress of America and how he wants to continue to improve the country. Critical aspects of his speech address what makes us American, how to protect American values such as freedom and liberty, and how citizens of the United States have to take a responsibility to change and revamp different institutions within the country; such as in government and schools. Obama employs anaphora, repetition, pronouns, and allusions to confront many social inequalities that still linger within the United States and demonstrates how he believes change can be elicited by American unity.

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

“It is a shift in the practice of democracy from hostility to civility, from advocacy to engagement, from confrontation to conversation, from debate to dialogue, and from separation to community.” (p. 4)

First of all, this paper will be analysing its context and purpose of Bill Clinton’s speech. On September 5th, 2012, Bill Clinton delivered his amazing speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although his speech mostly consist of logos appeals to persuade his audience in a ceremonial setting, he begins his speech in an epideictic tone focusing on developing the ethos of Barack Obama. At the Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party and the rest of the Americans witness Bill Clinton proclaiming his support for Obama to be re-elected while stating the reasons why he should be reappointed. The purpose of his speech was not only to express the president’s future objectives but also to show