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Madeleine Scully
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
23 February 2016
Kennedy and Civil Rights
On June 11, 1963, a time of racism and crisis, former President and civil rights activist
John F. Kennedy delivered his Civil Rights Address to many radio listeners and television
viewers across the country. In John F. Kennedys Civil Rights Address, he uses repetition, pathos,
and creates ethos to ask the United States citizens to support Kennedy in his efforts to create and
fight for equal rights.
Kennedy's use of repetition emphasizes his main points throughout his speech. He repeats
a few phrases as well as single words. Kennedy states that "every American ought to have the
right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated"
(par 4.) Then towards the end of his speech, Kennedy restates that the people should "move
ahead and to provide the kind of equality of treatment which we would want ourselves" (par 15).
The restatement of this phrase shows the people of America how important this is to him. The
emphasis illustrates the weight of the issue in his and the eyes of the country. The issue is being
constantly restated because it is the occasion of the speech, and validates the importance and
main focus of the problem at hand. The repetition also helps the President and the audience stay
on task and focused on the main issue. If any person were to get lost within the words or a back
story, the restatement of the issue would remind them of the purpose of the speech in the first
place. As hearing this main point repeatedly, the audience learns how much weight this holds in
the country at that time. The main point is repeated and stressed to show the country how

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Kennedy feels about the topic and sway the audience to feel the same. President Kennedy is able
to gain the support of the country in his efforts to gain equal rights for all United States citizens.
Kennedy used a great amount of pathos in his speech to create a deeper connection
between the audience and the speaker. Because he was speaking to such a large audience, the
emotions used were broad and relatable by many. Children can be a soft spot to many people, so
Kennedy uses this to relay the message at hand. In paragraph five, Kennedy tells America that
"the Negro baby born in America today...has about one-half as much chance of completing a high
school as a white baby" and later in paragraph seven states that "one hundred years of delay have
passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs...are not fully free." By telling the
people of the United States the statistics on the African American people, Kennedy is illustrating
a doleful picture for them to constantly have engraved into their memory. These facts about the
African American people will show citizens the difference between the two types of people at the
time and the clear disadvantages that that community had in their everyday life. The audience
felt sympathy and empathy after hearing the speech. The emotional appeal here in this speech
bridges the gap between the audience and the speaker. It ties everything together by connecting
with the audience on a deeper level and swaying them to support him in his efforts to gain rights
and equality for the African American community.
The third connection that makes a great impact is the ethical connection that Kennedy
establishes throughout the speech. By placing himself as lower than the president and equal to
the average citizen, he gains a trust that can only be received from a peer. The connection that
Kennedy is able to make is just that. Feeling important and not like a small part in the world is
huge to someone who is not concrete in their Americanism and faith in the higher power. This
connection made by Kennedy is one of the key parts to this speech. He puts himself on the same

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level as the rest of the country and discusses all actions by including himself and referring to
them as a whole. Kennedy addresses his country by saying "my fellow Americans, this is a
problem which faces us all -- in every city of the North as well as the South" (par. 19). By
putting himself on the same level as the citizens, saying this helps Kennedy gain the trust of his
audience. His passion and drive for the issue of Civil Rights is more important to him than his
title as the President of the United States. But by having the position of the President, he already
holds a large amount of credibility. Though young, Kennedy was well educated and able to
operate as the man running the country. This admirable feature that Kennedy expresses and
shows throughout his speech helps gain the support and trust of the country to keep moving
forward for Civil Rights and equality of all people.
President John F. Kennedy is able to gain the support and trust of the country by using
repetition, pathos, and creating ethos. The connections that he makes through these devices
shows his country that he cares and highlights the passion that he has for Civil rights. This
passion and drive creates a great impact on the audience, pulling them to trust and follow him.
Over all this speech is very effective and persuasive due to the rhetorical devices used.

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Works Cited
Kennedy, John F.. Civil Rights Address. American Rhetoric. AmericanRhetoric, N.D. Web. 9
Feb. 2016.