Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
By: Courtney Wilkerson and Bryce Shaver
The most effective strategy that Edward M. Kennedy uses is his appeal to logos throughout the entire speech. Although ethos and pathos also contribute to the persuasion of the piece, neither of them are used much.The continuous display of logistics that's embedded into the speech keeps the audience believing the entire time. Kennedy's credibility is only brought up once and his use of emotions is very little.
An example of logos in the speech is shown when Kennedy says, “Massachusetts exiled Roger Williams...for contending that civil government had no right to enforce the Ten Commandments.” This is logos because it appeals to logistics or statistics. Kennedy uses this throughout his speech to prove several points because the use of real examples and facts persuades the audience by reason.
An example of ethos in the speech is revealed when Kennedy says, “Dr. Falwell recently sent me a membership in the Moral Majority-- and I didn’t even apply for it. This fits the parameters of the ethos appeal because it creates credibility for Mr. Edward M. Kennedy. The Moral Majority is a political action group that was formed in the 1970s that advocated for the allowance of prayer in schools and strict laws against abortion. Because Dr. Farwell presented him with the membership without an application, this supports the idea that Kennedy was well suited for part in the group.
The speech, “Faith, Truth, and Tolerance in America” is about the importance of separation of church and state. Mr. Kennedy is telling the Liberty Baptist College and Americans of any religious affiliation that it is always important to not let one’s beliefs interfere with what the country as a whole has deemed as right and wrong. No matter if you are Catholic, Baptist, Christian, or any other religion, it is important to follow the laws of your peers. America is different from other countries in that we as a people are governed by rules that are set by the people as an entire unit, not by one specific group of religious people or idealists. The law was set like this to allow everyone to accept and follow them and not have different groups fighting about what laws they should follow or not follow.
This speech is effective because not only does Mr. Kennedy quote many presidents who were on the front lines of change in America, but also points out specific events in history to show that the separation of church and state is necessary for the prosperity and survival of the American way of life.
S: Faith, truth and tolerance in America and the separation of church and state.
O:October 3,1983. Kennedy had just received membership into Moral Majority.
A: The Liberty Baptist College and Americans of any religious affiliation.
P: To discuss his beliefs about faith in the country because he believes that the harmony of our diverse society is at risk. This is a non-political speech.
S:Edward M. Kennedy, was a member of the Moral Majority, an American and a Catholic. He was a United States Senator and a member of the Democratic party.
Tone: At first, it was brief and comedic but then then becomes serious and factual.
Mr. Kennedy’s speech was less inspiring than Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death” speech. Mr. Henry’s speech was able to draw support immediately after the conclusion to convince the United States ambassadors to go to war with the British for their freedoms in which they believed. Mr. Kennedy’s speech was less inspiring than Mr. Henry’s because it only drew a small awareness to the issues of which he was speaking of and did not cause any major events to alter history like Patrick Henry.
Mr. Kennedy uses pathos when he asks rhetorical questions about their own beliefs to the audience. He says, “Their words have blessed our world. And who now wishes they had been silent? Who would bid Pope John Paul [II] to quiet his voice against the oppression in Eastern Europe, the violence in Central America, or the crying needs of the landless, the hungry, and those who are tortured in so many of the dark political prisons of our time?” (Kennedy 37) This is an example of pathos because he is appealing to the audience's moral beliefs and what they feel is the right thing to do. These activists left a major impact on the audience's emotions by talking about subjects that people have strong feelings about. Topics such as oppression, hunger and torture make people emotional because they are events that happen globally every day but people never want to happen to them.