Rhetorical Analysis of Ronald Reagan Essay examples

Two-hundred and nine thousand. That is the number of lives that were nobly given to save the many during the invasion of Normandy (D-day and the Battle of Normandy). The courageous men and women fought continuously for days on end, climbing the jagged cliffs of Normandy, France. Under rifle fire from gun nests from above, the allied troops were able to take control of the coastline, but not without great sacrifice. The speech given by Ronald Reagan was made to commemorate those who fearlessly fought for our country and the many thousands that gave their lives during those hard days of war. His speech had a clear message, to honor and remember those who gave and risked their lives during the invasion of Normandy.

Ronald Reagan was an inspirational speaker who planted hope in the minds of Americans through his speeches. He echoed throughout the streets of this democracy what true revolutionary ideas were. His ideas and beliefs rang true within the hearts of our fellow country-men as proven by his landslide second term victory. One of his most famous speeches, his First Inaugural Address, was spoken when he won the race for Presidency in 1980. President Reagan wanted to inspire the American people and inform them of how he planned to run the United States of America. He was not only speaking to his fellow citizens, but

In the speech “Tear Down this Wall”, the author, Peter Robinson a speechwriter for the White House, attempts to end the divide between East and West Berlin. Robinson wrote the speech; however, former President Ronald Reagan brought it to life when he delivered the speech in West Berlin in June of 1987. Reagan presented this speech in a calm yet persuasive manner, ultimately winning over his immediate Berlin audience. President Reagan’s speech did not just reach Berlin. It was broadcasted all over from Western Europe to North America resulting in Reagan’s tremendous contributions to ending the Cold War. In order to persuade his audience, Reagan uses various rhetorical tools such as suggestions of hope, liberty, and freedom to grab the alienated German forces and reunite the opposing sides.

Additionally, President Reagan employs pathos in his speech when he announces, "I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner: 'This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.'" Reagan states this to emotionally impact the people of Berlin; he wants people to feel sympathetic for the people surrounding them who are trapped and enclosed as prisoners inside the wall as well as themselves. He wants people to know that the spray-painted words came from someone within the wall who does not have freedom but is hopeful that eventually, he or she will. To evaluate, Reagan aims to make the West Berlin people feel sympathetic and hopeful when he includes that a person, possibly a child, desires for the wall to fall, to gain freedom; that this thought will soon be a reality and people will no longer be imprisoned.

While in office Ronald Reagan had a disapproval rating that soared to 54% in 1983 (How the Presidents Stack Up). However, in 2001, his retrospective disapproval rating was a mere 27% (Newport). Often the focus of criticism while in office, Ronald Reagan has become known within the ranks of historians as one of the most influential American Presidents, ranking 10th in the Annual C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leaders in 2009 (C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership). Lauded as the “Great Communicator,” much has been said of Reagan and his oratorical skills, including his simplicity, clarity, and sincerity of speech (Thompson). While his speech at the Bradenburg Gate, with its famous line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” has

"For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the west, in this firm, this unalterable belief: there is only one Berlin." This short excerpt from Ronald Reagan's speech, "Tear Down This Wall" relates to how I feel about the wall. I feel that there should be no wall dividing the country. There are many downfalls with having this wall, both physically and emotionally. Having this wall means there is no freedom, less job opportunities, it separates friends and families, and not only does it affect the environment but people around it too, and not in a positive way. By keeping the wall we would only be hurting ourselves, if we tore it down, there would be much more opportunities and less conflicts within the country.

Reagan has many opinions on the way the government should function. Although he became the president, Reagan thought government should be limited. He thought it was not the solution, but the problem in America (Reagan: “Inaugural Address”). Reagan was also extremely anti-communist and served on the Screen Actor’s Guild. He even became the board president and helped get the blacklist established. During his presidency he continued his condemnation of the communist ideals and displayed this strongly during his speech to the people of West Berlin. He speaks of the Berlin Wall that was built by Communists in August 1961. He addresses General Secretary Gorbachev saying, “If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall (Reagan: ‘Tear Down this Wall’)!” This monumental declaration by Reagan clearly demonstrates his passionate thoughts on the idea of how a government should conduct itself: for the people, not for itself. Due to a strong opposition to Communism, Reagan also helped to add to the mass hysteria, when he became a spy by denouncing his fellow actors for having possible Communist views or ties. In addition, Reagan believed the

During the cold war era, President Reagan’s strong anti-Soviet feelings and rhetorical “attack” style was an approach that his own administration saw as extreme and even dangerous (Rowland, p 23). And unlike many American leaders before him, who avoided the strained relations between the United States and Soviet Union, President Reagan set out to exploit and end communist tyranny. President Reagan’s devotion to ending tyranny was stronger than any other leader during the time period. For example, he criticized the Carter administration for their failure to deal with "the adventurousness of the Soviet Union" (Fisher, p 303). He believed that their foreign policy enabled the Soviet Union to view the United States in a weak and vulnerable state. President Reagan 's staunch opposition to communism and his willingness to confront the Soviet Union during a time when it was not popular, played a key role in the failure of the Soviet Union. Aiding him in his lone stand against tyranny was his rhetoric style of "ideological and moral clarity." A rhetoric style that he utilized to demonstrate a strong moral position towards the Soviet Union, while reducing the risk of conflict. In doing so he was able to set the stage for successful negotiation between the two nations (Rowland, p 24). This essay will examine Ronald Reagan 's June 12, 1987, address at the Brandenburg Gate. Mainly, the rhetoric style of "ideological and moral clarity", he utilized to exploit the Soviet Union, while

President Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America during the Cold War, which was a political and military tension between United States of America and Soviet Union in the second half of the twentieth century. Even though the conflict was not fighting directly between those two sides, it affected plenty of countries around the world and was a cause of the Vietnam and Korean war. During the Cold War, the Western and Eastern Block were divided by a border which did not divide in a half just whole Germany, but also its own capital, Berlin. Berlin was divided by a wall that was known as the Berlin Wall, a wall that was longer than 96 miles and was a reason of death of 139 people. This essay is about a speech that President

President , Gerald R. Ford, in his speech, “Address After Taking the Oath of the Presidency”, tries to reassure a nation that he is the right man for the job. Ford’s purpose is to connect with Americans and to tell them that he will not shy away from this challenge. Ford uses a formal tone, precise diction and creates his ethos in order to show that he qualified to be President.

As I was on my way to Germany to share my thoughts on the Berlin Wall and the separation of people, I was kind of nervous. I was afraid I might be assassinated, but I still wanted to stand up for what I believe in. To calm myself down, I thought to myself.

President Reagan read his speech in public with so much care for the people and their families. Some examples that shows that he cares is that in the first paragraph he says “We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country”. This part of speech says a lot because he is referring to that the deaths of the astronauts has not been hard on the families but also on the country. President Reagan wants the audience and the crowd watching to feel the pain and also the astronauts were brave enough to go up in mission without caring about the consequences.

The two speeches I will be examining given by William (Bill) Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States; he served two consecutive terms from 1993-2001. Ronald Reagan was the 40th President, and was also in office for two consecutive terms from 1981-1989. Both of these speeches were made after moments of great tragedy in our nation; it is at these times when our current president will address the country—extending words of grief and support to encourage us to keep forging ahead. Presidents are asked to give several different types of speeches while in office, ranging from speeches that announce their candidacy, address the nation in times of hardship or triumph, to speeches of farewell as they prepare

After Ronald Reagan had successfully reached common ground with the present crowd he turned his attention to the speech’s intended audience which was that of East Berlin and the Soviet Union. He immediately tried to reach out to by stating that he wished to extend his warmest greetings and good will of the American people (page 1). Reagan then goes on to state that he has one unshakable conviction that there is only one Berlin. In this statement he says two things; he first uses the language of the German people. It is important to realize that the language he choose was not Russian but German. This displayed the fact that his comments were meant for the people of East Berlin and not to their Soviet overseers. He then foreshadows the fact that Berlin and the greater extent East Germany should be rejoined with its Western neighbor which would make it whole free, democratic state.

The blockade provoked a lack of food and resources. The US sent aid by plane to help the Germans and because of this, the government ended the blockade. When the blockade was over in 1949, 2.5 million Germans fled between 1949 and 1961. In order to prevent more Germans from emigrating, the East German government built walls, fences with barbed wire, and minefields in 1952 between East and West Berlin. Because of this, the only way to escape East germany was through Berlin, however that route did not last. The Berlin wall was built to help stop East Germans from fleeing. The wall was constructed from concrete with barbed wire on it and it was built in August 1961. Guards guarded the high wall, watching and capturing every German who tried to escape. The wall did not eliminate the problem but only hindered it. Also it was built to show the division between East and West Germany, therefore it signified the confrontation between communism and