A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Poem And Peroration In Selected Addresses Of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1957-1963

Abstract

In 1910 a colorful Irishman ran for the mayor of Boston with the slogan, "The people, not the bosses, must rule. Bigger, Better, Busier Boston!" Fifty years later that man's grandson would be elected the first Catholic President of the United States. Although he had fought to discard some of his grandfather's more questionable campaign tactics, this candidate too spoke of a better world for all of the people. This man called the people to their responsibility to serve their country. This man reminded the world that it was time to take action to insure world peace. The man was John F. Kennedy. Kennedy lived in a time of great political change as his nation moved from isolationism to New Dealism and through the Second World War. Shortly after that war Kennedy was first elected to Congress from Boston's I Eleventh District. His first term and each subsequent one was marked by Kennedy's eagerness to speak for the common people of Boston. During his first term as a Senator, Kennedy organized a coalition of northeastern states that would pass legislation for the benefit of all 2 the people of New England. As a junior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kennedy turned some of his interest toward international problems. The Senator toured Europe, Africa, Asia and the Orient in order to gain a first hand evaluation of American foreign policy. If Kennedy disagreed with the policy he was never afraid to speak out. Once during his years in the Senate he even made a speech aimed at re-directing France's foreign policy.