Rhetorical Analysis of Obama Speech Essay

In response to the controversial sermon given by his pastor and the racial remarks that followed him during his 2008 campaign, then Senator Barack Obama, was inherently forced into delivering a speech that would address the comments and prove to the American people that he did in fact shared their “American Dream” and was not an Anti-America charity case. Obama gave his famous “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia, where he seized the opportunity to address the controversy as an indication of a much larger issue, race relations in America and introduce his mission of moving the country toward “a more perfect union.” His speech often coined, “the Race Speech”, had several factors play into its success, one factor being the way the speech was delivered, his speech incorporated the jeremiad form and constitutive form of rhetoric, the use of those two forms helped Obama address the issue while at the same time creating an identity that would encompass all Americans who would then come together in this identity and work toward the solution of the race issue and providing the “American Dream” for everyone.

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.

Obama emphasizes the black community a lot more than any other community, along with, his speech was written after his former Reverend made racist comments. I, probably along with many others, may have taken this speech as a way for him not to look bad in the public eye.

Reverend Wright 's sermon went viral due to the fact he says, "Goddamn America." In the short clips of his sermon, Reverend Wright was riling up the members of his church as he talks about the inequalities African Americans have to face in the country. The statements made in the short clip anger and may even have sparked some fear in people. How dare Wright to have insulted his own country and states that it was in the Bible and did Obama share the same views as his minister? How will these radical views effect Obama 's decision as President if he wins the election? In Obama 's speech, he ultimately disagrees with Reverend Wright 's statements and explains Wright 's background to give some context of the sermon and also reassures the country of his qualifications as a nominee for the Presidential Election. I agree with Obama

Ethos means credibility. In this speech there are a lot of things Martin Luther King Jr. used to make it credible and trustworthy. He uses the Bible, the Gettysburg Address, and

In his speech, he uses a lot of Logical appeals to get his point across. “We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so of the disparities that exist in the African American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passes on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow” (Obama 465).“But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away; to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races” (Obama 466). “We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America-to simplify and stereotype

In President Barack Obama’s A More Perfect Union speech, he addressed racial tension among the nation on March 18, 2008 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His speech was a response to his former pastor, Jeremiah. Wright, the pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ, in Chicago, on the controversial comments he made about racial segregation in America. Obama used various rhetorical strategies while applying historical facts and logical reasoning to support his argument. His use of personal experiences held a sympathetic form of ethos, which helped establish himself as an authority to reach the diverse perspectives on race within the members of his audience. Obama took advantage of this situation not

In Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union”, he addresses the remarks of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Obama was heavily criticised for what Wright had said in his sermon. Obama's purpose for his speech was not only to address his pastors outburst, but also to speak about racial relations and the intricacies revolving around race. He accomplishes this through means of dynamic diction, the use of we instead of I, and by establishing his own credibility as well as Wright's.

He uses this opportunity to show his character to the audience, which doesn’t reflect his former pastors controversial words. What’s important is that he never bashed his former pastor but instead apologized for the controversial and pain it caused people. But how he truly showed his character was explaining to his audience the good pastor Wright has done for him. Obama says, “The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another, to care for the sick and lift up the poor.” This was to share with his audience that he is a man of faith, and that has a heart for those in need of help. He is showing that it’s his Christian duty to care for others and make a change in this

Despite making history as the first African-American to be nominated for the presidency by a major party, let alone be elected as president, Obama did not emphasize his race, as many black politicians had in order to appeal to areas of white majority. He did, however, address race and civil rights—although not directly—through the comprehensive theme of unity, recognizing the shared goals and dreams of all Americans regardless of one's differences to another. The collective aspiration of solidarity was felt as Obama gave his First Inaugural Address; his application of references to the founders and influential leaders of America, history, biblical scripture, and its relevance to today—including a statement acknowledging all religions, instead

At the time of the speech, Reverend Wright, Obama’s pastor, has brought up racial issues in his church. In the speech, Obama is trying to honor Reverend Wright but also makes it clear that he does not agree with everything he says. First, he uses an emotional appeal by stating that Reverend Wright “strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children.” This works because it shows a

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.

Barack Obama the presidential candidate made a speech to potential voters and the American people. His speech was made about the racial divide in America and he made this speech because of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Jeremiah had made some contradicting statements about America. The main point of his speech was that we need to stop ignoring the racial tensions and that there is still good and bad in everyone.

Furthermore, I suppose there are two critical ideas behind Obama’s encouragement of a cosmopolitan civil religion that Frank should explicate. First, the address’s theme can be succinctly expressed as harnessing strength from America’s common history. Beyond simply an advocacy for unity, Obama has the intention to motivate a collective call-to-action in response to the detrimental 2008 Global Financial Crisis (Allen and Carletti, 2009), and to preserve social stability by mitigating prevailing distrust against Muslims due to September 11 attacks (Mcmorris, 2010). Calling for unity is in fact a springboard to motivate a collective call-to-action. Obama mentions, “we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task”. Next, bringing citizens together has a role at the inaugural ceremony itself. As Campbell argues, “Once the audience has been united, it can perform its role in the inaugural ceremony. Inaugural addresses themselves attest to the witnessing

Furthermore, Obama’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention 2004 was not only discussed in the areas of politics and media but also in the academic field. One example for the reception of Obama’s address in the academic area is an essay published by the Michigan State University Press and written by two professors who offer two different views of the keynote speech. David A. Frank of the University of Oregon called his part of the article “In Celebration of Obama’s Rhetoric of Consilience” and praises “the power of Obama’s speech as a prophetic multiracial narrative” (Frank 574). The academic especially emphasizes how Obama includes all classes and races in his narrative (cf. 576). In this context, Frank compares Obama’s address to the speech by civil rights activist Al Sharpton, which was also delivered at the Democratic National Convention 2004. Frank criticizes that Sharpton’s address centered around “the failure of America to live up to its promise to black America” but failed to include the “whites in the