Kennedy Vietnam War Speech Analysis

In 1962, the United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War and fresh out of a recession. Things were definitely not going very well when, all of a sudden, steel prices rose by almost 4 percent. Then President, John F. Kennedy, was very incensed by the sudden decision and wrote a very passionate speech about it. In his speech he talks about the irresponsibility of steel companies, using rhetorical devices to argue his points. He uses the points in his speech to convince his audience that rising steel prices are not in their best interest.
Kennedy begins his speech by detailing just how disrespectful to the American people the rise in steel prices is. He lists the war, the soldiers that risk their lives, the international crises, and yet steel companies are still selfish enough to disregard the American people. In paragraphs 2 and 3 he uses emotions, or pathos, to connect with his audience. He shows how the rise of steel prices would affect everyone, and he uses family to arouse feelings in his audience. He also mentions soldiers, saying “and four were killed in the last two days in Viet Nam.” By

When he addresses the steel companies he uses a tone of contempt, expressing his disdain for their decisions. Words with negative connotations like “unjustifiable,” “irresponsible,” “ruthless,” “handicap” describe the actions of the companies. All of those words create a certain atmosphere, especially “handicap” which back then, was a word that had a very unfavorable meaning, it was something no one wanted to affiliate themselves with. While words like “sacrifice,” “stability,” “recovery” and “freedom” are used in association with his audience, the American people. His tone with the people is kind and understanding and conspiratorial, reinforcing the fact that he is on their side. These small details are used all throughout to enrich the claims that Kennedy is