Rhetorical Analysis Of Remarks Upon Signing The Equal Pay Act

We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.” This statement not only embodied the message that JFK advocates for in his inaugural address but this statement is also an example of an aphorism. Throughout his address, JFK utilizes rhetorical devices for various micro-purposes but for the macro-purpose of strengthening his position and furthering the endless mission of mankind: global equality and prosperity.

Woman Suffrage Women's right activist, Carrie Catt, in her speech, “Address to Congress on Women’s Suffrage”, explains how woman suffrage in inevitable. Catt’s purpose is to convince Congress that it is time for woman suffrage. She adopts a confident tone , uses direct quotations, and appeals to logos in order to convince Congress that it is time for woman suffrage. A confident tone is adopted by Catt throughout her entire speech to congress. Catt opens with “Woman suffrage is inevitable.”

In America’s history, child labor was fiercely criticized. Many activists of child labor laws and women’s suffrage strived to introduce their own viewpoints to the country. Florence Kelley was a reformer who successfully changed the mindset of many Americans through her powerful and persuading arguments. Florence Kelley’s carefully crafted rhetoric strategies such as pathos, repetition, and sarcasm generates an effective and thought provoking tone that was in favor of women’s suffrage and child labor laws. Florence Kelley uses pathos continuously throughout her speech.

Presenting to the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, Booker T. Washington delivered his most famous speech, "The Atlanta Compromise Address". In this speech Washington shares his belief that his fellow African Americans and other former slaves should make the best of what they have and to strive to excel in the positions and jobs they already occupy rather than continually fighting for. He insists that the people of the white race also do not see what they have around them. He wants the whites and blacks in south to realize that they need each other and should act in ways to coexist. To convey his belief, Washington uses rhetorical strategies such as the following: the three rhetorical appeals, allegory, and repetition.

During the Progressive Era, women began reforms to address social, political, and economic issues within society. Some addressed the issues with education, healthcare, and political corruption. Others worked to raise wages and improve work conditions. Among these (women) is Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader of the women’s suffrage movement. Beginning her career as a national women’s rights activist in 1890, she was asked to address Congress about the proposed suffrage amendment shortly after two years.

In her speech, “For the Equal Rights Amendment” Shirley Chisholm addresses her views on securing women’s equality to ensure women have better opportunities. She is an American politician, educator and author that became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm supports her claims about equal rights for women by using examples of statistics to prove a point. Her purpose is to persuade her audience that women in America are neglected by equal rights and excluded from things that men are not. Throughout her deliverance she expressed an inspiring and informative tone to uplift her audience so that Congress can make a change for women.

Kennedy often sets himself equal to his audience, as if saying that he is no better than anybody else, gaining their respect and support. For example in Kennedy’s inaugural speech, he states, “ United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.” In this Kennedy is placing himself in the same category as his audience and saying that he needs them, just as much as they need him. Another example of Kennedy setting himself equal to his audience is, “ In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” In this statement, John F. Kennedy is saying that the people of America, united, have more power than him.

By using we, us and our he includes everyone and unifies the citizens of the United States and the world. Kennedy says “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed...” He is saying that the old generation had passed their ideas on to the new generation who are willing to sacrifice so that their rights are not taken from them. By saying “friend and foe alike” he is bringing everyone together and not letting them be different just because they are a friend or a foe. Additionally by describing traits of all the Americans, he unifies the citizens of America because all were tempered by war and proud of their heritage so it allows citizens to bond of common history.

Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered her speech “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” September 5, 1995 while speaking at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China with the intent to educate and spread awareness in regards to the rights and treatment of women around the world, while encouraging women to take initiative and highlight the potential women have if presented with the opportunity of equality. Early in Clinton’s speech, she uses the power of ethos to establish her credibility and continues to build upon it throughout, bringing attention to the fact she has had years of experience fighting for change among people of all kinds. Clinton convinces listeners that she has made women’s rights a priority in her life

His diction is very inclusive; he commences his speech with several uses of the words ‘we’ and ‘our’, which makes way for inclusivity. JFK is blurring the distinction between citizen and superior governor by including the people in his proclamation. While describing the hardships and challenges that the country is facing, Kennedy mentions how imperative the occasion is on a global level; in the midst of the Cold War, he reminds his audience of the importance of uniting. Through the use of the lexical field of danger — words such as: ‘defiance’, ‘serious’, ‘risk’, and ‘sacrifice’ — he creates a feeling of tension and urgency, and engages his audience to the concern. To conclude his speech, the President mentions self-guilt on the part of the country on how they had not displayed the “sense of business responsibility” that they should have, a rhetorical strategy that approximates the audience to the government.

President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all,” in his speech that changed American’s views on society and the outcomes that can occur (“Great Society”).With the death of President Kennedy in November of 1963, it was Johnson’s duty to follow the path of Kennedy’s vision of making America and its future great for everyone. President Johnson named his vision and passion for the future of America that he strived to lead the Great Society(“Great Society”). Johnson’s speech on May 22, 1964 was played out for America and its people to educate the importance to supply our society with wealth, wisdom, and experience to successfully build a country where the struggled labor becomes a value for the

“Integration and Desegregation”, written by Ralph Wiley addresses issues with integration and how helpful it could be to desegregate areas in the community to benefit all of the citizens and not just one group. ”Affirmative Action”, written by Shelby Steele addresses the issue of people using a tool that is meant to help as a reason to be lazy. Both of the authors in the passages use extreme negatives and positive examples to get their points across to their audience, resulting in the reader having to think about what the author is really saying. Ralph Wiley addresses the issue of integration first, immediately drawing the reader’s attention to the issue at hand. Wiley begins with a question and then proceeds to provide an answer which makes

The Civil Rights Movement was a mass popular movement to secure African Americans equal access to opportunities for basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship.1 In 1963, a crisis occurred at the University of Alabama as two African American students were turned down from admissions although they were formally certified. The Civil Rights Address,2 presented by former president John F. Kennedy, was given in the Oval Office on June 11, 1963, shortly after this crisis was dragged out. Kennedy delivered this speech on both radio and television, so his message would extend to not only the citizens of America, but also other nations around the world. Kennedy addresses the reoccurring issues regarding race equality in the United States, and hopes to change the mindset of the American community in respect to these issues. In his Civil Rights Address, John F. Kennedy uses rhetorical appeals to convey that there must be a change regarding equality in America.

The Inaugural speech by John F. Kennedy is a landmark type of speech that was given to the American populace in order to inspire confidence and to provoke them to take immediate action. His speech made extensive use of rhetorical devices in order to successfully express his goals. His stylistic devices include antithesis, parallelism, and varying structure flows in order to attract attention and to show what his service will accomplish. Kennedy details “a new generation of Americans” by contrasting old and new with his antithesis. He states, “Symbolizes an end as well as a beginning” and “signifies renewal as well as change” in order to do so.

In his “Civil Rights Address ” John F. Kennedy used diction make himself appear more intelligent and to illustrate his point. One