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Rhetorical Analysis Of Lyndon B Johnson's Inaugural Address

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Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidential Inaugural Address given on January 20, 1965, encourages the United States of America to look to the future with the idea of ‘change’ in mind and to leave behind old fruitless habits. Johnson supports this claim with logical reasoning of scientific advances, justification using religion, and personal experience and beliefs. His purpose is to reassure the nation that change is beneficial and will only be successful if the country works together to create a nation built on faith, transformation, and evolution. Johnson writes to the U.S. because it is his obligation as president to bring forth unity, providing the opportunity for growth. He creates a stable and reliable tone to connect to the audience to reach …show more content…

He “inceptions” the idea into their head. As a male with one of the most powerful and influential jobs in America, it is his prime responsibility to solidify and represent what it means to be a citizen of the U.S. The entirety of his speech uplifts Americans into creating a brighter future by letting go of the past and finding justice through change. Johnson immediately starts off with an optimistic tone acknowledging that destiny can be rewritten and encourages citizens to make their own decisions. He builds on beliefs and rebuts his claim of technological advancement, clarifying that even with all the technology in the world, it will get you nowhere without faith. He switches from pessimistic to optimistic and speaks about a covenant, a well-known religious idea called a promise. Johnson comments on the values of each covenant: justice, liberty, change, and union, asserting that it is the foundation of America, without it there is no future. To build on this idea, he compares our values to the enemy, Vietnam. They may seem powerful because of their technology and weapons, when in reality they are a fragile country, barely holding on because there is nothing gluing them together, they have no

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