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.
Video of the Inaugural Speech
SOAPSTone
 Subject: Essentially JFK is speaking on the growth of our country
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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’s work 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
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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.
Questions?