As Jefferson wrote each eloquent word, its apparent that he was proud of what his fellow Americans had accomplished. Fitting with The Declaration of Independence, I chose Thomas Jefferson as my historical figure. I believe he embodies all that pride is, from his freedom fighting, right down to his appearance. Jefferson, intelligent and elegant, never stopped fighting for the rights that he knew every man had proudly deserved. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Action will delineate and define you.” Pride in your actions, pride in your words, and pride in yourself all make for real success and Thomas Jefferson knew, and lived with that mindset.
He states that his election “symbolizes an end as well as a beginning” and “signifies renewal as well as change”. This use of antithesis portrays the gap between the younger generation of Americans and the older generation. He unites them under one goal and one purpose by using antithesis, despite their differences. This rhetorical strategy not only appeals to the audience but also informs his audience that America will be advancing forward in achieving long term accomplishments. He later then applies the rhetorical strategy of declarative.
His inauguration speech was so effective that it captured the entire nation’s attention by the use of rhetorical devises such as antithesis, anaphora and imperative sentences to help him strengthen his purpose of unity and reassure American’s that their freedom would be upheld. John F. Kennedy begins his inaugural speech by using antithesis to emphasize the importance of his success in the presidential race. Kennedy describes his victory as “symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change.” This helps him create his purpose that he is going to take action but still hold onto the beliefs of our founding fathers. Kennedy Is reassuring America that even though they are going through tough times with the cold war, that they have to refer back to their roots for guidance. By describing these responsibilities passed on to the new generation, Kennedy invokes the need for the people to continue to support the ideas of freedom that have made the country so successful.
President elects Barack Obama uses a variety of techniques to address and unify his audience. Obamas use of second person, directly making reference of his audience, tonight is your answer...it belongs to you...it cannot happen without you, is cleverly employed to demonstrate the importance of the individual and how his victory and future effort to change America will rely on the efforts of the collective. In the mind of his audience, it is used to make people feel a sense of belonging, having their presence acknowledged. In his speech, Obama makes several intersexual references to inspirational orators of the past. One such example is Martin Luther King, the road ahead will be long...we will get there where Obama creates the sense that it will be a tough, arduous journey ahead of America in undoing the damage done by past leadership.
John F. Kennedy addressed the country as President for the first time on January 20, 1961, keeping the audience thinking about the future of the United States, but the future of other countries as well. In this Inaugural Address, Kennedy uses antithesis to set up a way of thinking that has to be broken down in order to fully understand what the point is, which is bettering our country as well as others. John F. Kennedy appeals the country through antithesis in his Inaugural Address by engaging the U.S. citizens to think about branching out to help other countries as well as improving the United States. Kennedy has many valid points on branching out of the United States to help those in other countries. Although, Kennedy gets his audience, Americans, engaged through antithesis, “Support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Kennedy switched up the words in his speech to get the audience thinking positively about supporting those who want the help of the United States.
A More Perfect Union Critique “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” These are the same words that were presented in the Constitution as well as used in Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union” during his presidential primary campaign in 2008. His speech addresses the racism and inequality that still exist in America that is dividing American society instead of uniting it. Obama uses his own experiences to reach out to readers as well as using allusions from history and the patriotic meaning behind the history to incorporate pathos and ethos in his speech. Obama is successful in his writing because he is able to persuade the audience by appealing to their emotions, while using specific details to create more credibility
Presidents in Comparison: Barack Obama We are under the leadership of a wonderful President. President Barack H. Obama he is a man of great character and a want to help the American people in any way he can. To help his people he has strategically set up policies that are in there best interest. Being that he is not the first President I am certain that in his effort to give the American people the best that he could offer he look at policies and ideologies of previous presidents such as Presidents Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon, Johnson, and Ronald Regan. In this powerful essay you will see the comparison of President Obama to each of those men.
The loyalty, the belief, the strength that we each bring to this effort will guide America and to all those who serve it. The world will shine from the fire that we create. Kennedy encourages, if you are citizens of the world, or citizens of America, hold us to the same high standards as we hold for you. He then closes with “let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.” (107) The most memorable thing to come from this speech was Kennedy’s most famous quote, which has resonated throughout the history of America, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Rousseau 1 Rousseau 2 One powerful voice has the ability to transform the challenges in society. On 28 August 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech “I Have a Dream”. This speech is to be deemed the most powerful and influential speech in history. On this day Dr. King stood before thousands of American citizens at the Lincoln Memorial park and spoke about freedom for African Americans. During this era, the civil rights movement was occurring and activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. himself influenced Americans to change justice, equality, and freedom for all African Americans by empowering the people through his words.
Barack Obama portrays this by using various persuasive techniques to interest his audience and his famous quote, “Yes We Can.” He uses the unity words “We” and “You” repeatedly throughout the speech. The speech is intended to show that he is the leader of the team yet more importantly he is still a part of the team. The message of the speech is “Yes we can change, if you elect me.” Obama continually repeats this message as he wanted to drive it home to the audience. He includes the people and make them a sense of being participants. He shows authority and confidence in his speeches which in turn, makes the world more comfortable with him leading us.