A Rhetorical Analysis Of Margaret Chase Smith's Wheeling Speech

The third rhetorical device, Abigail Adams uses is logical repetition. Mrs. Adams was a logical woman and used this to drive the point that her son has great things that lie ahead of him. She mentions the word “great” a series of times to lift her son up. For example, she says that he has been endowed with “greater advantages” that he hasn't come to realize yet. Such as his parents, education, and that he has been taught that everything isn't about him becoming who he wants to be.

The Soviet Union was growing in power and the threat of a nuclear holocaust was on the forefront of American minds. Eastern Europe had become a conglomerate of Communist satellite nations. Threw in China and Americans began to feel they were surrounded by a Communist threat. Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator, made unsubstantiated claims that more than 200 "card carrying" members of the Communist party had infiltrated the United States government but held no proof to his accusation. McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims ruined lives and led to increased hostility.

In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

Sam Roberts in the article A Decade of Fear argues that Americans turned against each other because of McCarthyism. Roberts supports his argument by explaining and describing the many occurences of paranoia caused by McCarthyism. The author’s purpose is to persuade the reader that McCarthy’s gross grab at power caused tension between Americans. It is clear that the author is directing his claims to an older and more educated audience, due to his cynical tone. I strongly agree with Roberts’ claim.

At the start of her speech, Jill Bolte Taylor, critically displays pathos with the use of her brother's mental disorder. Standing in front of a crowd of fascinated people, she uses pathos to capture their compassion. At the start of her speech, she engages with the audience by saying, "I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder, schizophrenia." (Taylor). This use of pathos was highly effective because she captures their attention making them feel sincere and sympathetic towards her.

In 1949, the Democrats regained the majority in the Congress; however, it had not much influence on the implementation of Truman’s policy. Fellow party members agreed with the need to extend the existing programs of the New Deal, but they were strongly braking the establishing of government’s control in other spheres of the American life. Another sticking point in their relationships was the communist activity in the United States. In 1950, the Congress passed the Internal Security Act, known as McCarran-Wood Act, which was directed against the Communist Party. It warranted the establishment of special department for control over subversive activities, and for identifying persons who might be the members of communist or fascist organizations aiming to install total dictatorship in the US.

Woman Suffrage Women's right activist, Carrie Catt, in her speech, “Address to Congress on Women’s Suffrage”, explains how woman suffrage in inevitable. Catt’s purpose is to convince Congress that it is time for woman suffrage. She adopts a confident tone , uses direct quotations, and appeals to logos in order to convince Congress that it is time for woman suffrage. A confident tone is adopted by Catt throughout her entire speech to congress. Catt opens with “Woman suffrage is inevitable.”

Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the 1936 District of Columbia Library Association Dinner on April 1st, and she gave her speech, “What Libraries Mean to the Nation”. Roosevelt’s speech emphasized the need of public access to books and libraries across the nation. She used her position as the President’s wife, and her passion for education and books to appeal to the primary audience at the Library Association dinner. However, she addresses her secondary audience, rural and urban America, multiple times throughout the text. Roosevelt relied heavily on pathos, which was influenced by her use of syntax and diction, to persuade the audience that books and libraries are needed for the success of the nation.

He indirectly inserts an Abraham Lincoln quote in his speech and refers to him as “one of our outstanding historical figures.” McCarthy continues to mention Lincoln, stating that he would have been satisfied with the reaction by Americans to communist infiltration of the

Eleanor Roosevelt, with her informal speech, the Adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights (1948), explains her opinion on the importance of the declaration and how we need to treat freedom has a right not a privilege. Eleanor supports her speech by using euphemism, apostrophe, and anadiplosis. Eleanor's purpose for the speech is to address the United Nations about human rights and its importance in the world. She formally addresses this speech to the United Nations, World War II victims, and all victims in the world. Eleanor was born October 11, 1884 has Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in New York, New York.

Sam Roberts in the article “A Decade of Fear” argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his claim by illustrating fear, describing betrayal, and comparing it to other U.S. internal conflicts. The author’s purpose is to point out a vulnerable period in American history in order to demonstrate that Americans felt prey McCarthy’s negative propaganda. The author writes in a cynical tone for an educated audience. I strongly agree with Robert’s claim.

Often in Smith’s speech she manifests simple anaphoras on the sentence level to portray her personal opinion. The three different anaphoras Smith establishes to shed light on her dispositions, are “I think that it is high time,”, “I am not proud,” and “I condemn”. Each of these sets Smith up to display her discontent with the Senate and how she hopes for a more dignified regime in the future. Smith’s anaphora in the beginning of her speech, “I think that it is high time,” implements exaggeration of her vexation towards the issues within the Senate that have been present for far too long. When she places the “high” in front of “time” it forms a new meaning to her repetition.

Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister at the time, gave a eulogy to the grieving American people in honor of the late Ronald Reagan on June 11th, 2004. In her speech, Thatcher used rhetorical techniques to show the strength and principles of Reagan and project those values onto the American people. To project the ideas of strength and firm ideals, Thatcher used repetition, elevated syntax and the tone of optimism and sincerity to convey her message. In the beginning of the speech, Thatcher used repetition to show what Reagan had accomplished in his lifetime.

In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.

On December 8th, 1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a speech to the House of Representatives, Members of the Senate, the House Speaker, to the Vice President, and to the American people. Franklin spoke of the incident of the attack on Pearl Harbor the day after it occurred. Mr. Roosevelt was stern and concise. He spoke on the occasion of tragedy to inform the House and the American people what the Japanese have done.