On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy had planned to fight a war on poverty. The Vice-president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the role as president and carried on with Kennedy’s figurative war, addressing the nation in his speech Let us Continue. Within this speech, Johnson addresses Congress and the American people. On November 27, five days after the assassination, Johnson read Let Us Continue. He used rhetorical devices to uplift the audience. Johnson effectively leads the audience to have hope for the future by using pathos, strong diction, varying sentence structure, and rhetorical devices.
Johnson begins his speech by allowing the audience to see a more personal side of himself, making it clear that he …show more content…
Within the speech he suggested to the American people to “let us begin.” By alluding to Kennedy’s speech he is able to shift into his own political agenda by stating “let us continue.” Now using the appeal of ethos, he once again uses the technique of anaphora to tell the American people “not to hesitate, not to pause.” Using the credibility of a once loved President, allows for Kennedy’s supporters to also support Johnson. This contrasts to the end of the section where he tells the American people “to act wisely, to act vigorously, to act speedily. . .” In between these phrases, he mentions political issues that need to be passed through congress quickly. Johnson uses the past president's death as a way to make the American people believe that they need to pass these laws. By using this contrast at the end, Johnson truly uplifts and motivates the audience. He also alludes to the previous work he had done with the civil rights movement. Once again using credibility, instead of emotion, to persuade his audience. Before he was even vice-president, the African-American community had reached out to him for help. By alluding to his previous work, he is showing himself to be a credible political …show more content…
This specific sentence structure also allows for the average citizen to understand completely. Towards the end, he uses three short sentences: “The need is here. The need is now. I ask your help.” Between each sentence, he allows for a pause.not only is he putting emphasis on the section, but he is allowing the listeners to fully digest his requests. Also, it allows the audience to feel the desperation of Johnson. At this point, he transitions back to the appeal of pathos. He once again uses polysyndeton to put emphasis on the horrendous aspects of the worlds, such as “hate and evil and violence.” Throughout the speech there is a common pattern of using polysyndeton to highlight the bad in the world. By doing this he is forcing listeners to slow down and think. This time when using polysyndeton, he is also mentioned uniting the country, again forcing listeners to slow down and think. This evokes an emotional response from many Americans. He finishes the speech by alluding to America the Beautiful. This leaves the audience with a sense of strong devotion and vigorous support to the country. It also leaves the idea that there can be beauty in the wake of disaster. Ending the speech with a patriotic song allows for listeners to forget about the heavy-hearted topics within the speech and instead feel a sense of
Johnson begins his speech by allowing the audience to see a more personal side of himself, making it clear that he …show more content…
Within the speech he suggested to the American people to “let us begin.” By alluding to Kennedy’s speech he is able to shift into his own political agenda by stating “let us continue.” Now using the appeal of ethos, he once again uses the technique of anaphora to tell the American people “not to hesitate, not to pause.” Using the credibility of a once loved President, allows for Kennedy’s supporters to also support Johnson. This contrasts to the end of the section where he tells the American people “to act wisely, to act vigorously, to act speedily. . .” In between these phrases, he mentions political issues that need to be passed through congress quickly. Johnson uses the past president's death as a way to make the American people believe that they need to pass these laws. By using this contrast at the end, Johnson truly uplifts and motivates the audience. He also alludes to the previous work he had done with the civil rights movement. Once again using credibility, instead of emotion, to persuade his audience. Before he was even vice-president, the African-American community had reached out to him for help. By alluding to his previous work, he is showing himself to be a credible political …show more content…
This specific sentence structure also allows for the average citizen to understand completely. Towards the end, he uses three short sentences: “The need is here. The need is now. I ask your help.” Between each sentence, he allows for a pause.not only is he putting emphasis on the section, but he is allowing the listeners to fully digest his requests. Also, it allows the audience to feel the desperation of Johnson. At this point, he transitions back to the appeal of pathos. He once again uses polysyndeton to put emphasis on the horrendous aspects of the worlds, such as “hate and evil and violence.” Throughout the speech there is a common pattern of using polysyndeton to highlight the bad in the world. By doing this he is forcing listeners to slow down and think. This time when using polysyndeton, he is also mentioned uniting the country, again forcing listeners to slow down and think. This evokes an emotional response from many Americans. He finishes the speech by alluding to America the Beautiful. This leaves the audience with a sense of strong devotion and vigorous support to the country. It also leaves the idea that there can be beauty in the wake of disaster. Ending the speech with a patriotic song allows for listeners to forget about the heavy-hearted topics within the speech and instead feel a sense of