The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy - Essay Example

The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy Introduction President John F. Kennedy delivered only one inaugural address on the Friday, 20th of January 1961, immediately after taking the oath of office at 12:51 (ET). The address was made, immediately after taking the oath of office, which was administered by Chief Justice Warren. The address depicted Kennedy’s energy, and the vigor that had made him win the long campaign struggle. His exceptional presentation of speech was evidenced through his ability to communicate his goals by appealing to the emotions and the interests of the ordinary American citizen (Sorensen 37). His focused nature is evident from his emphasis on using the future as the target of policies and politics, while at the same time using the past as the example, in making the required changes. This paper will explore the speech, its strong points and the speech skills of President Kennedy. The effectiveness of the speech The speech demonstrated President Kennedy’s activity using words, which exemplified his main goals of uniting the two opposite forces. Through the speech, he communicated his determination and his preparedness in striving for peace, and more importantly, includes everyone in the role of pursuing the goal. His metaphorical diction demonstrated the appealing nature of his leadership among the audience, where he encapsulates poverty and the liberation of Americans in well thought-out metaphors (Sorensen 37). Through his diction, he evokes a sense of justice, emphasizes the importance of national pride and demonstrated the respect deserved by Americans, by stating that they were forebears. In appealing to the masses, he mentions the general Americans along with the icons of American presidency mentioned, among them the outgoing president. President Kennedy’s speech incorporated declarative sentences that showed his strength, for example, by making the declaration of welcoming new states to freedom and all other people of the world. Through the repetition of the declarative phrases, he demonstrates his energy and the zeal to push forward with the plan. A considerable portion of the speech was focused around calling American’s into action, using statements like “let both sides”, to show that the huge task was not for him or his office alone, but also for all Americans. He presented a careful mix of the things to be done and those not to be done; he started by stating the ones not to be done and then those to be done, which exemplified his use of antithesis (Sorensen 37). In stating strong areas like the struggle against poverty and tyranny, he uses strong diction, and in some cases, backward syntax to clarify his plans for America and the world as a whole. The Excellent Characteristics of the Speech The first characteristic that made the speech a success until the present time include the use of contrasts, including “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” (Atkinson 1). The use of contrast is a sharp skill used by President Kennedy when communicating what the Americans were expected to and what they were supposed to do, all within the same context. Through the skilled communication of President Kennedy, he combined the areas that he wished to see coming to an end in American politics, including that he was in support of fighting for freedom and liberation. The second characteristic that made President Kennedy stand out through the speech included that he incorporated the three-part lists, which he used to demonstrate the outlook of the American community, particularly the areas that needed to be addressed. For example, he used the statement, “where the strong are just, and the weak secure and the peace preserved” (Atkinson 1). He incorporated the speech model and the system to tell the audience, the things that they needed to work on eliminating from the American society, and at the same he painted the picture of the ideal society to them. For instance, by mentioning societies where the strong were just and the weak enjoyed security, he demonstrated the necessary changes that were warranted in America as well as throughout America; the use of the speech model made him get credit as a top-notch speaker. President Kennedy demonstrated the importance of different phenomena, and the priorities that were to come first in the agenda for the future of the American people. For example, he used the statement, “not because the communists are doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right”. Through the statement, he clearly communicated to the American citizens of the time, that politics was not the main agenda of his leadership or his party, and that it was not supposed to be the driving force among the American people (Jasinski 93). The exceptional communication system evidenced his leadership outlook as well as the message that the Americans were supposed to hear, which allowed him credit as an exceptional speaker. Other speech tools that he used, which made his speech exceptionally memorable included alliterations, including his declaration: “let us go forth to lead the land we love” (Atkinson 1). He used imagery at different points to clarify his message, including at the point where he stated that ‘the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” (Atkinson 1). The different tools of effective speech demonstrated the extensive preparation of the speech, as well as the well-developed speech skills of the speaker (Jasinski 93). The speech skills of President Kennedy, which were demonstrated through the inaugural speech include the demonstration of body language power as a support for the speech itself, capitalizing on areas of speech strengths, and the importance of extensive cultivation of speech skills. Conclusion The inaugural speech of John Kennedy remains one of the memorable speeches made by the leaders of America. The speech was made after taking the oath of office, on the 20th of January 1961. The speech demonstrated the excellent speech skills and the communication outlook of President Kennedy, including that he capitalized on appealing to the emotions and the interests of the American people, in cultivating the grounds for their support. The qualities of the speech that made it a memorable one in the history of America included that it demonstrated his use of words to communicate his goals, Showing his energy and preparing the audience for action. There was also the use of declarative statements, which he used to demonstrate commitment and the importance of cooperation in pursuing the goals of the nation. The characteristics of the speech, which made it a memorable one, include the use of contrast to show the important and what is to be abandoned, three-part lists to emphasize points, as well as , the use imagery and audience analysis for success. Works Cited Atkinson, Max. JFK's inaugural speech: Six secrets of his success. BBC News, 19 Jan 2011. Web. 12 Dec 2013. Sorensen, Ted. “John F. Kennedy: Inaugural Address.” Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. 2010. Bartleby Bookstore, Web. 7 Mar 2010. Jasinski, James. Source Book on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc., 2001. Print. Read More