Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama's Acceptance Speech

To Follow in the Footsteps of History: A Rhetorical Analysis of President Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s Selected Speeches History has made another round in the United States of America for the past eight years in the White House; can there be affirmation of the next president to fulfill the high expectations? Observing President Barack Obama’s “Acceptance Speech” made in Chicago, IL in comparison to Donald Trump’s “NYC Speech on the Stakes of the Election”, critics have viewed how both candidates struggled in a similar way of gaining the trust of the American people, but with different tactics. Obama fought his way into America’s hearts pass the bearer of him being African American decent. Likewise, Trump attempts to push pass his lack
In Obama’s “Acceptance Speech” he uses both experience and quotes to adhere to his listeners. In his speech he says, “We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston” (Obama). Through this insightful quote Obama is expressing to his audience that he and his campaign team worked hard for the victory that was well deserved. The experience he had throughout his campaign proves his to be credible for the job that he will endure in the month that followed surely after. He also ensures his audience that this campaign was not handed to him, but he had to work extra hard to get the success that he received. Another example of Obama’s use of ethos was a reference he made when stating, “As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection” (Obama). Lincoln was one of the Founding Fathers that was known for a great presidency. In most peoples’ eyes he was the greatest. The quote mentioned by Obama was one that proved that even though there may be differences throughout the nation between Democrats and Republicans, but it is important to stay together. Yet another quote was made from Abraham Lincoln,
Obama’s use of pathos in his Acceptance speech includes an exert of him saying, “But above all I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you” (Obama). When he says this, Obama is assuring that his audience know that his winning of the election is not just a small celebration for him. He explained that it was a change that all of America had to undergo therefore his gain is also the American peoples’ gain as well. In addition to his appeal, he says, “There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education” (Obama). It is clear in this quote that Obama is speaking to the people in his audience that have children of their own. He uses a situation that almost every parent is a victim of and thus gains their sympathy in his acknowledgment of their struggle. Towards the end of his speech, Obama shares with the crowd the Ann Nixon Cooper Story. It is comprised of a woman who was an African American citizen that voted at the age 106. He shared that she was a witness to the many changes made to America, from the strenuous wars to the oppression of segregation, through the great depression era, along with the new laws