Rhetorical Speech Strategies

TITLE: RHETORICAL SPEECH STRATEGIES
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Running Header: Rhetorical Speech Strategies
Abstract
Segregation and discrimination on the basis of color and race are human evils that should be discarded and condemned. All persons regardless of their backgrounds should live in harmony and respect. People should enjoy equal rights and privileges and equal manner of treatment. The oppressed should not result to demonstrations and marches. The paper tries to look at the condemnation of segregation and force by John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States of America during his public Civil Rights Address (Kennedy, 1963). The paper also examines the speech strategies he used in order to effectively appeal to all Americans.
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1. Slavery having been abolished in 1864 in America by President Lincoln, many Black-Americans continued to be denied most of their basic political and civil rights. This is a situation that the US president, John F. Kennedy was not happy about. The "Negros" or the Black Americans could result to street demonstrations to express their dissatisfaction and opposition to the discrimination. John F Kennedy in his address to the nation on June 11th, 1963 was trying to appeal to the whole nation to shun racism. The general purpose in the speech was to condemn and show the evils of racism. The main purpose was to appeal to the conscious of all Americans in order to reflect on the negative aspects of discrimination against race and color, the evils associated with this and the backwardness there in.
2. Kennedy seems to be using a persuasive strategy in meeting and touching his audience (West and Turner, 2004). He demonstrates high credibility and authority in his speech, for instance he starts his speech by giving an example of what was happening at the University of Alabama, with regard to the admission of two blacks into the university. Kennedy reminds his audience that America was founded by a variety of persons from different backgrounds and on the principal of equality for all through creation and that an individual`s rights are nation`s rights. He also pointed that when American soldiers are sent on a peace mission in warring nations, all are selected regardless of color or background. Kennedy further expressed that all Americans, regardless of color or race needs to enjoy all the privileges of being Americans and to be treated in a fair manner.
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Kennedy is simply putting across a message of mutual understanding, unity and respect of the human race. He is able to give some hard facts on the evils of segregation in public places and institutions of learning. Kennedy in his speech also tried to demonstrate using a statistical comparison on chances of completing school, chances of acquiring professionalism, unemployment, earnings rate and life expectancy between a Negro baby with those of a White baby born in the same state and period. He sounds very persuasive and accommodative in that he discourages violence and demonstrations and supports legislations that will see this kind of change and revolution as peaceful and constructive for all. He argues that it is not only a legal or legislative issue but also a moral is...