John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address uses many rhetorical techniques to persuade his audience that he is credible enough to fulfill the role of being the youngest president of the United States, and to prove to the world that his term would be of change and hope. The main arguments in this essay are a strong appeal to ethics not only his, but ours as a country bonded through common values, and emotional and logical arguments. Kennedy has a call to action that is shown throughout his address. This call to action has a plea to his ethics and morals and to the audiences as well. Furthermore, his use of a logical argument is used with powerful emotions throughout his address that allows this call to action to be effective in unifying the American people. Kennedy’s goal for his speech was to bring together all of the American people. There were many serious issues that needed to be addressed. For example, he states that his presidential ceremony should be the beginning of change. Kennedy said, “Proud of our heritage” Kennedy was able to unite the American people together by referencing the heritage of the American people by showing

He does this by referring to allies that happen to share common beliefs with the people of the United States. For example, “cultural and spiritual origins” accomplish these shared beliefs, and he offers a request not a pledge, but a request to the many different people around the world. He continues to develop his theme of unification by sharing with his audience the common cultures and goals that other countries around the world have. He called the different people around the world “citizens of the world”. This shows the world especially the Soviet Union that the United States does not exclude anyone. Kennedy then unites us all together using shared ethos to accomplish the same shared goals as a world and not as separate