Unity in the 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address by Obama

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.

After the tragic incidents displayed on 9/11, Americans came to together as ONE nation united. Some gathered in church and synagogues while others in community centers and homes to show strength and support for our nation. For our country, we echoed to the rest of the world ‘United We Stand.’

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.

In the beginning of his speech, Obama discusses his family and their past, how his grandfather served the United States and was a veteran of World War II. He speaks about the name that was given to him, Obama, as being African and how his parents felt that it isnt your name that takes you places and makes you who you are, it your character, strength, and personality. He also descibes his encounters with that he

Though, knowing some of Obama’s background, it seems as if he was trying to get a point across. The point I have mention before, our differences should not separate us but unite us. Obama speech is inspiring, because he mentions how we all come from different backgrounds and we have our racist view points, but these points are simply from the past in which hardly anyone today has lived in. If we could overlook all the bad from the past and the negativity from being from different communities, we could have a better and stronger nation. Obama also uses his own background as a way to show how we can overcome different ethic backgrounds. It may be hard in some ways but as he states in his speech, “These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.” We are all apart of America, a country that we love, and we are surrounded by the people we love. Yes, we do come from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds, and some may be a mix of many. This is the inspiring part from his speech. Even though he gets many view points from his family and is from a mix of ethnic backgrounds, all that matters is that his family is apart of him and he loves them for who they are not the ethnicity.

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

Speaking to a record audience of 1.8 million Americans packed in the National Mall, along with over 300 million Americans watching on television, President Barack Obama shouldered the monumental task of uniting the nation, by showing his audience that they share the commonplace of being American citizens. Obama accomplishes this feat by embracing the sacred ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers, emphasizing the idea that Americans are endowed with the “God-given promise that all

“One nation under God, indivisible” (Bellamy) is a motto that is lived by Americans every single day. Americans are a united force that can not be broken apart and will do anything for other fellow Americans. From the use of heart wrenching pathos in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and The Quilt of a Country: Out of Many, One? by Anna Quindlen to the immaculate lighting in the beautifully famous painting George Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, we can see that American people will always unite and stick as one. Americans will stick together after a horrendous event has occurred or when there is beauty to rejoice about.

The President begins his next point, starting his next paragraph with “but” , bringing out a change in tone and dropping in the central argument, or message, into perspective. Using deductive reasoning, Obama explains more plainly than before that America can’t function under a single person, but work as a single unit as “American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world” and “ No single person can train all the… teachers we’ll need…” but “… now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people.” At this point if you don’t sense a feeling of unity in the depths of your brain then you are Helen Keller and I respect that.

The speech titled “A More Perfect Union” was delivered by Senator Barack Obama on March 18, 2008 near the historical site of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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.

The President begins his next point, starting his next paragraph with “but” , bringing out a change in tone and dropping in the central argument, or message, into perspective. Using deductive reasoning, Obama explains more plainly than before that America can’t function under a single person, but work as a single unit as “American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world” and “ No single person can train all the… teachers we’ll need…” but “… now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people.” At this point if you don’t sense a feeling of unity in the depths of your brain then you are Helen Keller and I respect that.

During his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama introduced himself as a skinny kid with a funny name. The rising star of Illinois politics was elected to the U.S. Senate three months later. His delivery, using rhetoric, was full of fervid sentiment that reminds us of what we love about the United States of America. His passionate speech inspired Americans to renew their faith in their country and persist their individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family.