President Nixon is one of the most famous Presidents in American history for being the first one to resign from office. While Nixon is famous for doing such an unthinkable act, he is also the one that gave one of the best and most well known speeches in political history, The Checkers Speech. The speech was given by (Senator at the time) President Nixon when he was running for Vice President on General Eisenhower’s Presidential ticket. A newspaper, the New York Post, had a front page with the headline "Secret Rich Men's Trust Fund Keeps Nixon in Style Far Beyond His Salary"; the article alleged that people were donating to a secret fund that Nixon had for his personal benefit in trade for political favors. This scandal caused many Americans and Republican politicians to push Eisenhower to remove Nixon as his running mate and to question Nixon’s integrity. In rebuttal to the scandal, Nixon took the bull by the horns and defended himself by going on live national television and addressed the nation by giving the famous Checkers speech. The soon to be Vice-President articulated his speech with a perfect combination of Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to turn the tables from making everyone hate him to making the American People and Republican Politicians love him. Nixon’s integrity was …show more content…
His use of ethos helped to reconstruct his lost creditability; By giving the people straight facts to marinate and chew on, Nixon let the people come to their own conclusion as to the type of person that he was; his appealing to the emotional side of people let them know that he too is a just an average person. In the end, the use of his techniques in harmony allowed him to win the hearts of the American people, which allowed them to see that he was an honest, hardworking, average Joe American with nothing to hide, just like the
This was the end for President Nixon as he was accused of being involved in the apparent theft of secret documents and having wiretapped phones. They were also linked to having involvement in Nixon’s re-election campaign. The thieves were arrested in the DNC. This meant the resignation of President Nixon and put Gerald Ford in
Richard M. Nixon was the intended Vice President running mate on the Dwight Eisenhower Republican ticket in the 1952 election. A couple of months before the November general election an article in the New York Post alleged that Nixon was using privately donated campaign money for his own personal luxury. The scandal almost cost him his place on the ticket, but Nixon in response delivered the speech now referred to as the ‘Checkers Speech’, that saved his reputation and his place on the ticket. Speeches invoked as a response to accusations or attacks of character are classified in the rhetorical genre apologia or otherwise known as an apology speech.
Nixon’s use of rhetoric devices underscore that he is relatable and trusting. He announces that he has not taken anything anyone has given him for his personal use except a dog from a man in Texas for his family. “It was a little cocker spaniel dog... black and white, spotted, and our little girl Tricia, the six year old, named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, loved the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we are going to keep it”(Nixon para.
How far do you agree that the key factor influencing Richard Nixon’s election as President in 1968 and 1972 was the popularity of his policies on the Vietnam War? 30 marks Richard Nixon ’s election as President in 1968 and 1972 was influenced by many factors, all of which had an influence on who voted for Nixon and why. There were many people in America at the time who were sick and tired of both the civil rights campaign and the ongoing counter culture movement, along with numerous protests and riots that were sweeping the nation. Nixon appealed to these people, whom he deemed ‘Middle America’ or, ‘the silent majority’. Most of the factors that influenced Nixon’s election appealed to this section of society, while in contrast, alienating other groups, such as Afro-Americans and those involved with counter culture.
Foreign policy wise, Nixon, while still in office, began to follow Realpolitik, a policy that allowed him to create relationships with both the Soviet Union and China because it no longer required morality to be a considering factor. This change in foreign policy caused concern for Americans because of the fear of communism.
Although it is debateable whether or not Nixon knew of the break-ins, he did behave very suspiciously. He became very secretive, resentful, and defensive towards his critics, even going so far as to make
In the first speech conducted by Nixon he says, “... I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress… I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office
Both had to have speeches to explain their decisions. The speeches both had a purpose, the purpose of making people feel bad for Richard Nixon, also they had the purpose to get people on Nixon’s side, and they develop this in many more ways than one. As it was their purpose to make people feel bad for President Nixon, both of these men make it seem like
The thirty seventh president’s tone throughout the speech was genuine and anguished. He stated frequently his regret towards his resignation; when this passage is read aloud, it is stressed heavily on pathos and that Nixon defended his decision with the selflessness of his own emotions and did what is better for the country (“American”). In his speech, Richard Nixon establishes his credibility and then goes on to show the logic of why he is resigning along with sparking the reader’s emotions in defense of him through the use of frequent fallacies and rhetorical devices. Nixon goes on to speak of his accomplishments and the tasks he hopes the American people will achieve with a new president, but those ideas are shadowed by the steady reminders by Nixon himself of the circumstances that are causing him to resign the Presidency that overall make Nixon’s arguments to logic and his credibility seem
The live streaming video of Mr. Ronald Reagan delivering his message to his audience is educating and persuading his audience into making a decision during choosing time due to the fact that Mr.Reagan knew that the government couldn’t control the economy without first taking control of the people. So in regards to Mr. Reagan's tone of voice he first and foremost notifies his audience that he was not provided a script,and that he was just speaking on behalf of his very own choice of words in regards to the choice that they will soon have to face that lie ahead of them, and that’s in choosing the best candidate. I feel like Mr. Reagan immediately exposed his biggest strength in identifying himself and his position. Due to Mr.Reagan already having
The misunderstanding, the necessity for a man to come here and bare his soul?” With this statement, Nixon is trying to show Americans that he truly cares about what has been said about him by the people. Nixon is proud of this country and believes that strong leadership is the way to restore its
He also used different forms of rhetoric to appeal to the audience and make the speech more understandable. Richard Nixon was clearly good at delivering speeches of this nature because not everyone was mad at him
1. What problems did the United States face in the Vietnam War? As the United States struggled against communism in Vietnam, it would face many problems. In the late 1950’s President Eisenhower and later President Kennedy sent military supplies and advisers to South Vietnam. Despite the American aid the Vietcong grew stronger with support from North Vietnam.
He had amassed a collection of government fills, tape records, and intelligence on the common people in the Watergate building. After it was broken into, files were stolen and released to the public. It was the first real time that the general public learned just how paranoid Nixon was, but also how much he wanted to keep the power he already had. As these precious documents surfaced, one could see in full light that Nixon exhibited all the symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder. He was always distrustful of people, he recorded every encounter he had, so that one could twist his words against him.
In his essay, Hills explains how Nixon evokes the intended response from the immediate audience by gaining support for the war. Nixon states in his speech, “tonight-to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans-I ask for your support.” Here, Nixon uses resentment in sacrifice in lives and finance, longing for some action in a marked direction were strategies used to gain support instead of “teaching.” This in turn allowed America to continue in the war which proves that he agrees with Foss for Nixon’s primary role was not that of a teacher or