Pathos And Logos In Obama's Speech Essay

Eisenhower and Obama can both be considered great speakers in addressing the respective issues during their time of election in vastly different time periods. For Eisenhower, the current concern was WWII and the creation of the atomic bomb. For Obama, the concern was attracting white voters along with those of his own race to vote for him. Obama appeals more to the audience’s emotions in terms of ethos and pathos while Eisenhower uses more logos along with pathos to appeal to his listeners. Eisenhower use of facts (logos) is especially important in his speech since he is talking about nuclear war. He refers to the Hiroshima incident by saying “On July 16, 1945, the United States set off the world’s first atomic explosion” (Eisenhower, P11). Obama, however, uses little logos in his speech, though he uses some. He appeals to the public’s logic by comparing himself to other presidents and through Kerry states that the values of the country should be upheld. He states that Lincoln and Jefferson were not perfect, but still helped …show more content…
Eisenhower use logos by stating facts about surprise bombings in Hiroshima and other parts of the world. Further, he uses pathos by discussing the effects of the bombings using words of negative connotation such as devastating and damage. The fact that everyone he was speaking to knew he was a military general gave him credibility to speak about this topic without him saying anything. Obama appeals to the audience logically by comparing himself to past presidents with known historical facts and also comparing war and peace. Since he talks about a multicultural background, he gains the integrity to talk about a diverse and unified America to the audience. Lastly, he uses pathos by using a forgiving quality and constantly talking about hope and change. Both used the tools he had in the right way, knowing what the audience was expecting of