John Kennedys Inaugural Speech - Research Paper Example

?John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: Inscription of a Presidency Every time an individual takes over the most powerful political and governmental position in the country, people become very excited about the style and substance of the inaugural address. The reason behind this is that such speech is expected to give the public a glimpse of the prospects that the country will encounter under the administration. It may not explicitly mention much about the man who will be occupying the Oval Office but it will certainly state the policies that would determine the fate of the nation for the next four years. However, it must also be pointed out that the inaugural speech, if thoroughly analyzed, would also provide an impression also of the president as an individual too. His personal and political convictions can be determined not just by reading the contents and evaluating the style but also be learning about the context. John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech has been considered as one of the best ever made not just by an American president but by a world leader. Apparently though, the speech became famous not just because of its inherent characteristics but because of the man who delivered it. President Kennedy is one of the most enigmatic leaders in the 20th century. He was at the help of the US government when the country faced serious challenges coming from USSR at the height of the Cold War. One of the most prominent incidents that highlighted his effective leadership and diplomacy was the successful initiative on the nuclear test ban treaty in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis which he also handled well. President Kennedy did not pursue the ban merely due to his geopolitical views. He personally saw it as necessary as he explicitly pointed out when he said that the US owes it “because we are the only country that engaged in atomic warfare in the last war” (Schlesinger 453). He might not have completed his term and had one of the shortest presidencies because he was felled by an assassin’s bullet but he was able to lead the country through very tumultuous times. However, if a study has to be made on his inaugural speech, it would be necessary to take a look also at President Kennedy’s life before he took his oath of office. An inaugural speech may give a glimpse of the future but it is essentially a product of the speaker’s past and present circumstances too. A brief glance of President Kennedy’s life several years before he ran and won the presidency does give the readers or audience of the context of what he wrote and then spoken during his inauguration. President Kennedy’s inaugural address is best remembered by the oft quoted line “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” (1961). The reason why this line has been recognized as the most compelling part of the speech is that it departed from the usual practice of previous presidents who took their oaths and rendered their own inaugural addresses. Prior to Kennedy, it was expected of newly elected presidents to state the domestic and international policies that their administration would pursue while in office. In this regard, the inaugural addresses served as the reiteration of the promises they might have made during the electoral campaigns, assuming that these are what the public wanted which is why they were voted into office. The most commonly used formula for the inaugural address was to state the problems confronting American society and then to provide the audience a briefing on the actual steps that the new president and his administration would initiate to develop and implement effective solutions. As a result, this leaves the audience with higher expectations but at the same time instilling in them a certain degree of passivity. President Kennedy’s inaugural address, however, took a radically different approach to the methods of how the problems of the country and of the world could be resolved. There is not a single portion in the speech that mentioned what concrete steps his administration would initiate. Instead, it keeps raising the call to unity with lines like “let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us” and “let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors” (Inaugural Address). However, this apparent characteristic of the President’s inaugural speech must also be analyzed in the proper historical context. At the time that President Kennedy took office, the country was not much burdened with economic problems. American society was confronted with the issue of racial discrimination, which was a problem that could not simply be resolved by government policies or laws that guarantee civil rights. The world, on the other hand, was experiencing the effects of the Cold War between the US and the USSR, both countries and their respective allies trying to avert full-blown violent conflicts and, worse, a nuclear war. All such problems could not be solved unilaterally or only by the US government. These, however, called for unity among the people based on justice and even between the Cold War protagonists in the interest of peace. On the international front, President Kennedy did not “want the United States to be perceived overseas as warlike” (Barnes 111). It is in this context that he skillfully applied rhetorical techniques as he delivered his inaugural speech. He made sure that while he would never be considered as being soft on the country’s perceived enemies, he would not also be construed as saber-rattling and provoking a costly war which could result in so much death and destruction, considering that each camp was already equipped with nuclear weapons. It is clear that the President Kennedy’s speech can be considered unique in two ways. First, unlike most other similar addresses, his was not a reaffirmation of what his administration would do for the citizens of the country. Instead, it was a call to action addressed to the citizens themselves. By such call, the image developed is that of an administration that leads the people toward a common goal and not one that works for it alone and then let the citizens enjoy the benefits. Secondly, the address is also a call to unity, one that is not just addressed to the people of the United States but of the world, including the adversaries. With these two intentions as the apparent context of the speech, President Kennedy effectively chose and applied the appropriate rhetorical techniques to best relay his message to the public. According to rhetoric expert, Max Atkinson, Kennedy applied six techniques; contrasts, three-part lists, contrasts combined with lists, alliteration, bold imagery, and analysis (JFK’s Inaugural Speech). The combination of the said techniques had made the inaugural speech not only pleasant to the ears but also stimulating for the mind. There were observations that led to the conclusions that the inaugural speech was created with the knowledge that that there would be TV cameras that could capture the delivery as it is. Indeed, the image of a young and modern president delivering the speech had positive effects on the rhetorical techniques and the content. Being the first president who had his inauguration televised definitely made the power of the speech even more resounding. However, a review on the text alone President Kennedy’s inaugural address would show that it was not just the visualization of the event that made the speech powerful. It was the speech’s style and content that found its mark, which is the intention to arouse the people into action against the real enemies that Kennedy had pointed out which are “tyranny, poverty, disease, and war” (Inaugural Address). Apparently, he could have delivered the message in a more direct way, minus the rhetorical devices. However, President Kennedy took a more difficult approach on the part of the speaker but a more appealing and effective one on the part of the listener. By doing so, he managed to inspire the people very well with his inaugural address. The famous line “ask not what your country can do for you – but what you can do for your country” is a classic example of contrast, a rhetorical technique. This is very effective if the intention of the speaker is to first debunk preconceptions or misconceptions and then to introduce what he believes is the right perspective. This technique would be ineffective or less powerful though if the speaker has an unfounded appreciation of the actual condition or viewpoint of the audience. It is clear the that President Kennedy knew that there is a common misconception that citizens should only wait for whatever government provides them with and that they should only remain passive and submissive to it. Apparently, he also knew that to appeal for unity when the mindset of the people is that of passivity would be futile. Therefore, he saw the necessity to first mention the wrong before he could introduce the correct. The result was the contrast in speech which popularity until today has not waned. Atkinson points out that for President Kennedy, “contrasts were the preferred weapon, coming as they did at a rate of about one every 39 seconds in this particular speech” (JFK’s Inaugural Address). In fact, at the beginning of the speech alone, there were already three contrasts mentioned, such as “we observe today not a victory or party but a celebration of freedom,” “symbolizing an end as well as a beginning,” and “signifying renewal as well as change.” For the ears, the delivery of such contrasts may indeed be pleasant and, during the actual inaugural address, this was proven by the applause that people respond with every time one is stated. However, contrasts are not only auditory delights but also intellectual stimulants. Each of these three initial contrasts has loftier meanings far beyond the aesthetic value of the delivery. President Kennedy knew that with election just concluded political rivals may still feeling the pain of electoral defeat because of this he had to assure them that the presidential inauguration is not his personal or his party’s victory celebration but of the country. The other two initial contrasts “symbolizing an end as well as a beginning,” and “signifying renewal as well as change” are clear examples of how skilfully he assures the people that his ascendancy should not be taken as an end of an era but a beginning of a new one. This is the complemented with a statement that assures the people that while there may be some institutions and traditions that may be maintained, there would also be necessary changes to be introduced. President Kennedy’s skill in diplomacy already became apparent in these two lines alone. Through the use of contrast as a rhetorical technique, he does not shun outright the opposing views but he does present his in an assuring and very positive manner. Another masterful application of rhetorical technique in President Kennedy’s inaugural address is the three-part list. In the speech, the most prominent three-part list is “where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the preserved.” This statement may be divided into phrases separated by commas. When delivered, the speaker would naturally pause after every comma. However, this only makes the listener ponder on the meaning of each phase. Once the list is complete, the listener would proceed to relate the meaning of each phrase with one another and, ultimately, to come up with an appreciation of the entire context of the statement. This technique though is particularly effective for the Western audiences which, of course, comprise the bulk of those who listened to President Kennedy’s inaugural address. In Western culture, the three-part list is appreciated because of the “sense of unity and completeness” while a two-part list tends “to appear inadequate or incomplete” (Keimling 31). There are lines also in the address where the President combined the contrast and the three-part list. Apparently, contrasts and three-part lists, even when simply read, can already elicit the responses from the readers as desired by the writer. When these are delivered with oratorical proficiency, the effect of such devices actually becomes even more powerful. There are some parts of the inaugural address also that relied more on the manner that these are delivered rather than on the choice of words or the sentence construction. Examples of these are “let us go forth to lead the land we love,” which is alliteration, and “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,” which is imagery. Atkinson explains that when these are used frequently, the speaker would have more applauses and that he will most likely be recognized as an excellent orator (JFK’s Inaugural Address). If the said two lines are scrutinized according to their sentence structure and wording, it can be said that these are very direct to the point that these do not have any mysterious appeal at all, which is necessary to inspire the reader to ponder more on the message. However, when verbally delivered with conviction, these can indeed be very powerful. In the actual address, both lines generated applauses because President Kennedy was effective in delivering these. His own inaugural address can be considered as a reflection of the convictions of John F. Kennedy as a man. It is only right that people also remember him most for the same speech because it is also the best written work that summarized his presidency. President Kennedy was not the leader who ran his country like it was a big corporate entity. He did not the promise the people of great economic strides that the country would make in the next for years with him at the helm. He did not even outline the concrete programs that the government would undertake in order to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people. As the substance of his inaugural address would show, he was more concerned about unity and peace both in the domestic and international fronts. However, it should be unity based on equality and peace based on justice. President Kennedy did not however pursue unity and peace just without any concrete bases. The national and world conditions had prompted him and his new administration to focus more on unity and peace. The world was on the brink of a nuclear war as the contradictions between the West and Communist bloc sharpened. At the home front, the struggle for civil rights was being met with violent opposition. It was indeed only right that the inaugural speech focus on calls for unity and peace. It is not just the substance of the inaugural address that articulates the essential messages that President Kennedy wishes to deliver though. The form or the method in which the speech was written and delivered also had a meaning of its own but one that is directly related to the substantial points. By using contrast, President Kennedy effectively made people understand of what should not be done in order to facilitate the acceptance of the idea of what should be done. He did not go to the extent of insisting on his concepts before seeing to it that misconceptions are dealt with first. By using three-part lists, he was able to explain the cause and effects of each positive and negative action, which was essential to his objective of gathering support from the people, including adversaries, to achieve what is beneficial for all mankind. The inaugural address has clearly summed up what man John F. Kennedy is; a world leader, a diplomat, and a peacemaker. Works Cited Atkinson, Max. “JFK’s Inaugural Speech: Six Secrets of His Success.” 19 January 2011. BBC News US & Canada. October 8, 2011 . Barnes, John. John F. Kennedy on Leadership: The Lessons and Legacy of a President. New York, NY: AMACOM, 2007. Keimling, Sabine. Presidential War Rhetoric. Munchen, Germany: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2007. Kennedy, John F. “Inaugural Address.” 1961. John F. Kenney Presidential Library and Museum. 8 October, 2011 . Schlesinger, Arthur. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Read More