John F Kennedy Civil Rights Address Ethos Pathos Logos

In the midst of a segregated America, the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, delivered a Civil Rights Address on June 11th, 1963 via radio and television to all Americans. In his speech, President Kennedy asked the American people as well as Congress to accept all people, specifically African Americans, as equals socially and in the eyes of the law. There is no doubt that President Kennedy delivered a beautiful speech, but based on rhetorics, did he effectively convince his audience of his cause? The truth is, despite the many different people's, opinions, and viewpoints in America, President Kennedy excellently hooks his audience into his plan of desegregation by appealing to his audience’s emotions and logic, by displaying a
Kennedy uses specific language to pull emotion and logic into his address. Pathos, or an emotional appeal, is evident throughout his speech. For example, President Kennedy cries, “Today, there are Negroes...denied equal rights, denied the opportunity to eat at a restaurant or a lunch counter or go to a movie theater, denied the right to a decent education, denied almost today the right to attend a State university even though qualified” (paragraph 18). The repetition of “denied” an empathetic or saddened response from the audience. Additionally, President Kennedy adds facts and evidence into his address which emphasizes the logos, or logic, in the speech. Statistics such as, “The Negro baby born in America today….has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby…. one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed…” (paragraph 4). By adding these pieces of evidence, Kennedy is proving to America that the issue of segregation and color prejudice is not just a matter of opinion, it is backed by facts. In conclusion, the president's use of rhetoric, such as pathos and logos, effectively convinces his audience of his message through emotions backed by
Almost a “right place at the right time” effect. President Kennedy opens his speech by addressing an event that took place earlier that day. He solemnly says, “Following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order..that order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro” (Paragraph 1). To sum up, two African American students were admitted to a university, but were met with protests and threats and had to escorted by guardsmen. This positive step in the right direction was met with disapproval and hate. Since this incident was fresh in the minds of all Americans, President Kennedy’s speech became immensely more powerful and eye opening. He also explains that “One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice” (Paragraph 7). By using this date, Kennedy is showing America how little the country has come in a long period of time. Finally he reiterates that even in the late twentieth century African Americans are still, “denied equal rights, denied the opportunity to eat at a restaurant or lunch counter or go to a movie theater,