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Inaugural Address John F Kennedy
Background • JFK was born on may 29, 1917, in Brookline Massachusetts, he served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate before becoming the 35th president in 1961. He in turn faced a number of foreign crises but managed to secure such achievements as the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the Alliance for Progress. • JFK’s inaugural address was given in Washington D.C. In which he was essentially speaking on urging American citizens to participate in public service and “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” • He was married to Jackie Onassis and had four children. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963 at the age of 46.
SOAPSTone • Subject: Essentially JFK is speaking on the growth of our country and what he intends to do to make this a better nation of togetherness. • Occasion: JFK’s inaugural address, in which he was speaking as the new president of the United States on January 20, 1961. • Audience: Specifically JFK addresses “Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, and fellow citizens.” • Purpose: This address explains why we are the country we are and also why we should unify and work together. • Speaker: JFK, president of the United States from 1961-1963 impacted the world and influenced the world greatly. • Tone: Eager, hopeful, prepared, and powerful.
Analysis • “Let the world 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, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.” • This extremely long sentence provides the readers with a sense of unity with the president. The sentence displays the “hardships” of war and “bitter peace”. There is a realization that Americans are essentially lucky to have the rights that we do and that unless we work together that freedom we have worked so hard for will cease to exist.
Analysis • “…We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Essentially JFK is speaking for a nation of equals. JFK would do anything for his country, just like every other American citizen; this being the underlying message of the sentence. • “But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of a tiger ended up inside.” Working together we can build a better state and even world, but working apart, we can accomplish close to nothing and we don’t stand a chance.
Major Premise • “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” Not only is there a high importance for America as a whole, but the working together of different countries and America to make the world a whole. • Essentially JFK stresses the importance of working together and becoming united.
Ethos • Ethos: “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.” • John F Kennedy was the newly elected president on November 8, 1960. His background in politics and international matters provided him the tools he needed to make this inaugural speech. • He states that he took an oath and that God and the audience had witnessed this.
Pathos • Pathos: “….let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.” • JFK makes it clear that there is a common belief in God and there is a definite sense of working together. • He says “us” and “we” to make it clear that though he is the president we are all people of the world. • There is a sense of equality under the Lord.
Logos • Logos: “United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.” • JFK is stating a fact that working together we can do more. • It is logical that the president would speak of unity and working together because that is what we are about, working together. • “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” • The phrase “problems which divide us” is eloquently worded and fits in that there are many factors that contribute to the division of the state, country, and the whole world. • There is logic behind division and it is clearly stated.
Repetition • “…Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’swork must truly be our own.” • “We dare not forget that we are the heirs of the revolution.” • “We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view.” • There is a constant use “God” and “we”. This is essentially JFK unifying the people with the use of words such as “we” and then using the common religion, in which he believes, where “God” is at the center and that is what their lives revolve around.
Phrasing/Meaning • “Divided, there is little we can do– for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split plunder.” - Essentially JFK is saying: “Working together we can build a better state and even world, but working apart, we can accomplish close to nothing and therefore not standing a chance.” • “I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.” -This implies:“America is a free country and in this generation we are all indefinitely lucky to have the things we do have. We should not take our lives and our freedoms for granted.”
Powerful Lines • “Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce.” • “In your hands my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” • “Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind ?” • “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Some Favorites • “Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command od Isaiah– to “undo the heavy burdens…(and) let the oppressed go free.” -This comment constitutes incredible profoundness in how JFK elaborates on the need for freedom and the unity of our nation. -JFK quotes Isaiah and it fits perfectly in context while bringing in connection to scripture and the Christian belief. • “The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.” -The use of light and how the people are the ones that are the light gives the people the power to be the ones to make a difference. -Essentially it is stated that if the people are to make a change in the US the rest of the world will catch fire and the change will spread.
Some Favorites • “All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” -JFK is insinuating that he knows that the unity of our world is going to take time and effort. He knows that it will be a long time but he is determined to try. -His use of short sentences and matter-of-fact statements give these few sentences extreme meaning and a stronger affect. • “Now the trumpet summons us again not as a call to bear arms but, though arms we need-- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”– a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” - This is an eloquent description with a great use of words to paint a picture. Saying that this is a call to arms not for a battle to kill but for a battle seeking change. JFK’s use of quotes makes the sentence even stronger.
To follow… • This speech was the beginning of JFK’s term as president. It essentially set the foundation as to what was to come during his term. What followed….. • Kennedy meets with world renowned poet Robert Frost. • The establishment of the three member Government Ethics Committee comes into affect by Kennedy. • JFK present plans for what will become the new Food for Peace program. • The invasion of Cuba is ordered to overthrow the communist regime. • Kennedy signs the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
