Analysis of Ronald Reagan's First Inaugural Speech
Kathryn Abraham
Mr. Schoch
English 11 Honors
9/26/2012
A New Day Dawns in this Great Nation
Kathryn Abraham
Ronald Reagan was an inspirational speaker who planted hope in the minds of Americans through his speeches. He echoed throughout the streets of this democracy what true revolutionary ideas were. His ideas and beliefs rang true within the hearts of our fellow country-men as proven by his landslide second term victory. One of his most famous speeches, his First Inaugural Address, was spoken when he won the race for Presidency in 1980. President Reagan wanted to inspire the American people and inform them of how he planned to run the United States of America. He was not only speaking to his fellow citizens, but also to Senator Hatfield, Vice President George H. W. Bush, Vice President Walter Mondale, Speaker O’Neill, and Reverend Moomaw. This was not only an inspirational speech but also a persuasive one. This address was spoken on the Terrace of the West Front of Capitol on a windy Tuesday in January. The Republican Party won the White House and the majority of Senate; a new day had dawned. Reagan, a former broadcaster, actor, and Governor of California, was now the leader of the world’s greatest nation. On Inauguration Day, hostages being held captive by the Iranian government were released, further marking this day in history. In this famous speech, Ronald Reagan used pathos to conjure emotion within his audience. He also used rhetorical questions and parallelism.
Generally speaking, the use of pathos is effective when persuading an audience and Reagan was well aware of that fact. When Reagan recites:
We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people. Idle industries have cast workers into
Mr. Schoch
English 11 Honors
9/26/2012
A New Day Dawns in this Great Nation
Kathryn Abraham
Ronald Reagan was an inspirational speaker who planted hope in the minds of Americans through his speeches. He echoed throughout the streets of this democracy what true revolutionary ideas were. His ideas and beliefs rang true within the hearts of our fellow country-men as proven by his landslide second term victory. One of his most famous speeches, his First Inaugural Address, was spoken when he won the race for Presidency in 1980. President Reagan wanted to inspire the American people and inform them of how he planned to run the United States of America. He was not only speaking to his fellow citizens, but also to Senator Hatfield, Vice President George H. W. Bush, Vice President Walter Mondale, Speaker O’Neill, and Reverend Moomaw. This was not only an inspirational speech but also a persuasive one. This address was spoken on the Terrace of the West Front of Capitol on a windy Tuesday in January. The Republican Party won the White House and the majority of Senate; a new day had dawned. Reagan, a former broadcaster, actor, and Governor of California, was now the leader of the world’s greatest nation. On Inauguration Day, hostages being held captive by the Iranian government were released, further marking this day in history. In this famous speech, Ronald Reagan used pathos to conjure emotion within his audience. He also used rhetorical questions and parallelism.
Generally speaking, the use of pathos is effective when persuading an audience and Reagan was well aware of that fact. When Reagan recites:
We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people. Idle industries have cast workers into