Ralph Waldo Emerson expressed the importance of speech in one short sentence: “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” In 2008, the power of speech changed the course of history; the first African American president was elected, transcending years of racial inequality. For many blacks in the U.S., and many around the world, Barack Obama’s presidency was a step closer to righting America’s 400-year-old wrong: slavery and subsequent discrimination toward the black race. Obama’s victory was traced back to his powerful speech and his natural ability to charismatically orate. In the end, however, it was Obama’s political philosophy that persuaded individuals to support him. Following his victory in 2008, President Barack Obama used rhetoric to advocate for change, hope, and a united America where the window of opportunity could remain open for all. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Barack Hussein Obama II spent most of his life feeling excluded in the racially homogenous state of Hawaii. Despite his childhood hardships, Obama graduated from Columbia University with a political science major in 1983. Later, he entered Harvard Law School where he became the first black “president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review” in 1990 (Nelson). Although a great majority of the journal’s staff was conservative, Obama won as a liberal by promising that he would treat all political beliefs equally and fairly—a promise he was famously known
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 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.
Within his speech, Barack Obama admits that the United States is in the "midst of a crisis" but he believes that it can change, but he also makes it clear that the change cannot happen overnight. Obama's inspirational tone stirs up the nation with phrases such as “dust ourselves off” and “bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions.” Barack Obama's message persuades his audience because the message is believable and delivered by an honest man. In his previous speeches, Obama spoke of race and prejudice, an economic crisis and his hopes and fears with such intelligence that when
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
Obama’s speech demonstrates certain points to engage the audience and to create a connection to emphasize its presence in the speech. One impactful technique he used is his anecdotes to prove his credibility to gain trust within the students. One anecdote that he clearly states is about African Americans are treated different decades ago and how certain races are not able to have the job they wanted, due to their skin tone. Furthermore, he adds his own research on this topic by explaining how “no blacks CEOs of Fortune 500 companies” (Mccaskill). This creates a sense of wisdom and satisfaction because, over time, society changed their views within people of color
Another trick Obama tends to utilize in his writing becomes clear when we notice finely shaped patterns among his usage of wording. “White and black, too black or not black enough, on the streets and in the courts;” all of these statements reference two polar opposite ideals. When Obama attempts to break apart the current system of society and explain the rights and wrongs behind it, he digs to a deeper level to make
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, King also uses rhetorical strategies to appeal to his audience.
After centuries of racial injustice and 43 white presidents, Obama enters office in the history making election. Racial barriers in the government fall as the last position in office to never have had an African American succeed it had seated Obama. In “Barack Obama to be America's first black president,” Ewen MacAskill, Suzanne Goldenberg, and Elana Schor report Obama’s win by a landslide in electoral votes with “338 electoral votes to McCain's 129.” With states so keen on Obama winning, the country has taken a huge step from racial oppression exhibited in Wright’s time. A big part of Obama’s victory was due to the blacks who voted as in the article, “Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls,” Adam Nagourney states, “Mr. Obama benefited from a huge turnout of voters, but particularly among blacks. That group made up 13 percent of the electorate, according to surveys of people leaving the polls, compared with 11 percent in 2006.” Blacks have stepped up and made their voices heard through the votes in comparison to Wright’s time. Instead of writing about how blacks around him have submitted to an inferior position placed by whites, he would write about how they have joined together to place a black person in the highest position in government. It is an immense change from when blacks had to give into Jim Crow laws to
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August fourth. Obama studied at Harvard Law School, he has an undergraduate degree in Political Science and became a community organizer in Harlem. In 1990 he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review journal and was also the first African American to work in the post. Obama’s political supporters come from a diverse range of ethnicities and economic backgrounds, which is rare in American politics. Additionally minority candidates have not done well in voting where predominantly non-minority vote significantly more, even before the election Obama grew in popularity and become a star in the Democratic Party, significantly because if his ethnicity and where he comes from and who he represents. When Obama sought out for a seat in the U.S. Senate some of his supporters said he was aiming too high and he wouldn’t make it, however, he proved them wrong by taking fifty three percent of the vote and
President Obama, like all Presidents before him, delivered a farewell address to the United States on January 20, 2017. As he stepped down as President he was eloquent and it was as clear as ever that he is a master of oration. Obama will go down in history as the first Black President as well as a strong orator who had the ability to captivate an audience through his use of ethos, pathos and logos amongst other rhetorical devices. His farewell address is a perfect example of Obama’s mastery of discourse as it is chock full of oratorical devices. Obama’s message to the American people and to the rest of the world is that it is essential that we maintain a sense of what it means to have a democracy and that in order to maintain peace and
Paul Keating’s speech ‘funeral service of the unknown Australian soldier’ and Noel Pearson’s speech ‘an Australian history for us all’ have developed and expressed ideas using language appropriate to their audience, purpose and form. Despite the fact, it is fundamentally the speaker’s skills in the construction of the speech that determine its decisive success.
President Obama’s victory speech and Martine Luther King’s speech are two of the most famous discourses that everybody is discussing today. The speeches are representation of racial progression, which starts from the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to the election of the first black president in the American history. Both speeches are a symbol of hope and a new start of the upcoming changes. In fact, both speeches called for unity and inclusion to achieve the American dream. Furthermore, both occasions had loud voices echo not only in the United State, but also in the global level. Despite the similarity of Obama’s and King’s speeches in the persuasive and inspirational tones, their goals were for different purposes and audience, also the effects on the audience were different.
The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s
Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. are both very influential African American leaders. Both have had an extremely positive impact on America, especially for the African American community. Obama spoke out about the past struggles, struggles of today, and what can be done to resolve these struggles for African American children in particular during his speech at the NAACP Centennial Convention in 2009. In King’s speech “I Have a Dream” given back in 1963, he spoke about the change that we need and how he believes we can get there. Obama and King’s use of repetition, analogies, and ethos determines the impact they are leaving on their audience. Although Obama gave a strong powerful speech, King used those rhetorical devices more effectively to leave an impact on his audience.
Words hold a great deal of power. They have the ability to change someone’s mindset and inspire anyone who listens. With speech, the speaker has the power to grab the audience’s attention and convey a message. They use their words to make a difference in people’s lives and empower their listeners to take action. One of the most powerful speeches in U.S. history is Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream”, which he delivered in August 1963 during The March on Washington. What King said in his speech is still relevant today - we must fight together and push onward for equality. One particularly striking line in his speech is “We