The Rhetoric Structure Aspects In The Speeches Of Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States, he served two terms as a Republican president from 1952-1960. During his first term as president, he looked into fixing relations with the Korean peninsula and ending the Korean War. Also, during his first term, he worked hard to achieve peace with the soviet union and strengthening NATO. During his second term as president, he continued to work against communist aggression. Overall, as president, he was a very well received president. Dwight as a person was a hard worker, very religious and was the supreme commander of the Army during the second world war. The world at the time of his presidency was very tense and war-ridden. The speech was meant for the people of the United States and Dwight D. Eisenhower used ethos, pathos, logos, and other literary devices to convey his message of, strength, growth, and peace during his time of presidency.

Mr. Eisenhower used pathos to convey his message of strength, growth, and peace during his time of presidency. The first time he uses this is at the beginning of his speech when he addresses the new president and like many other presidents wish him good luck. Specifically, Mr. Eisenhower said, “Like every other -- Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all (AmericanRhetoric).” This appeals to the audience's sense of emotion because he is being fair and wish for a great presidency for John F. Kendey (met museum) which the audience interpreted as a feeling of higher emotions. Another time he uses pathos in his address is when he talks about the free government of the United States and the basic principles our country was founded on. While talking about this he said, “ To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension, or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt, both at home and abroad. (American Rhetoric).” He appeals to our emotions because he is talking about our beliefs which make people think about fairness and equality due to that being what this country was founded on. He also uses words like strive, unworthy and arrogance to convey logos because those words have connotations of feelings. One of the last times Mr. Eisenhower uses pathos in his address is when he is talking about war and the destruction it causes. He said, “As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war, as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years, I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight (American Rhetoric).” This ties to our emotions because he uses words like sadness, painfully and destroys which makes the audience think about quite negative things.

Mr.Eisenhower also uses logos to convey his message of strength, growth, and peace during his farewell address. While he is talking about global threats that the united states face and the peace the united states keeps he says, “ To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment. (American Rhetoric). This is logos because it lends itself to rational reasoning by him explaining not to use emotion to make crazy decisions and he is thinking in a bipartisan way to keep increasing the quality of life for Americans. Another time he uses logos in his address was when he was talking about keeping peace and our military. He said, “ A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction (American Rhetoric). His statement backs the ideals of logos because he is using an authoritative voice during the speech at this time and he is also using reasoning because if we have a large strong military we will likely to maintain peace. Finally, Mr.Eisenhower uses logos in his speech when talking about scientific advances. He said, “ Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite (American Rhetoric). This conveys logos because he is thinking that there are two sides to everything so you have to look at the positive and the negatives which are logical reasoning.

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Mr. Eisenhower also uses Ethos quite frequently to convey his message of strength and growth during his presidency. He uses this quite frequently because he was just president so he is very authoritative and competent. First, he uses ethos when talking about presidential relationships with Congress. He said, “ our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the nation. My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and finally to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years (American Rhetoric). This is a perfect example to ethos because he is showing trustworthiness, credibility, and reliability when he says that he is been a part of a highly accredited government agency for eight years. He also uses ethos during his speech when he introduces himself. He said, “ Three days from now, after a half-century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in a traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor ( American Rhetoric).” This is another clear example of ethos because he gives us his credibility which is serving our country for half a century. Next, he uses ethos when talking about merging new things that came about during his presidency with past things. He said, “ It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society (American rhetoric).” This is ethos because he is being competent and fair by saying it's everyone's responsibility to evolve with the everchanging times. Finally, he uses ethos when closing his speech. He said, “ You and I, my fellow citizens, need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nations' great goals (American Rhetoric).” This is ethos because he is talking as a credible person who really understands what the principles of the nation are.

Mr. Eisenhower also uses Anaphora in his address to convey his message of strength, growth, and peace during his presidency. “Anaphora in writing or speech is the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect (literarydevices.net).” He uses this throughout the whole address especially when he said, 'It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system--ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.' He also said, 'Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time.' He is using Anaphora because Eisenhower repeats the words 'balance' and 'peace' throughout the entirety of his speech to make his opinions and desires clear (Prezi).

Mr. Eisenhower used logos, Pathos, Ethos, and Anaphora during his address to convey his message of strength, power, and hope during his presidency. These devices help convey the message because they create just the right amount of emotional, logical and competent appeal. This is very important in speeches because it leaves no stones unturned meaning everything the audience looks for is answered. Mr. Eisenhower clearly has more ethos in his speech because it being his Farewell address means that he was just a present and usually a president is very competent. The speech was received very well and created a sense of peace during a very volatile time in American. Because of Mr. Eisenhower's use logos, pathos, ethos, and Anaphora his farewell address was very successful and has become one of the greatest speeches of all time.

Works cited

1. “Anaphora - Examples, and Definition of Anaphora.” Literary Devices, Literary Devices, 1 Nov. 2018, literarydevices.net/anaphora/.
2. 'Dwight D. Eisenhower.' Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Oct. 2018. academic-eb-xaaa.orc.scoolaid.net/levels/collegiate/article/Dwight-D-Eisenhower/32159. Accessed 20 Dec. 2018.
3. Eidenmuller, Michael E. Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century - American Rhetoric, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/dwightdeisenhowerfarewell.html.
4. Flood, Brittany. “Farewell Address by Dwight D. Eisenhower.” Prezi.com, 8 Jan. 2014, prezi.com/ow-7cexntjrl/farewell-address-by-dwight-d-eisenhower/.