JFK : Ask not what your country can do for you

Last lecture, we are asked to groups in 4 (Jeremy, Gerry , Estee and I) and prepare a 15 minutes of presentation on a speech given in the 20th Century. Our groups have chosen a speech by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the title is "Ask not what your country can do for you."

Here is the videos of JFK Inaugural Address:

Part 1


Part 2


A full speech can be view on : http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html

The speech delivered by JFK at his inauguration in Washington on the 20th January 1961.

Based on our research, who is John Fitzgerald Kennedy?

• He is the 35th United States President

• Elected as the youngest candidate, and became the second youngest president after Theodore roosevelt

• First Roman Catholic president 

• Peace Corps, helped underdeveloped countries in education, healthcare, and construction. 

• Proposed a program of Apollo Project, "Space Race" 

• Assassinated 22nd November 1963

Where are the speech given?

• The speech was given in U.S Capitol Building, Washington D.C.

What are they giving the speech on? 

• This is the one of the greatest speeches in 20th-century American public address.

• Aim to unify the nation and provide a vision for the future. As he said "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure survival and the success of liberty." 

• It emphasized differences between the United States and its enemies, and outlined the specific responsibilities and obligations of the United States and its citizens. As in the phrase, "To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run."

• Created a bolder vision for American foreign policy, a vision that raised the stakes of the cold war competition and foreshadowed decades of diplomatic, economic, and even military action to support and defend freedom and liberty around the world. He said "And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavour - not a new balance of power, but a new world of law - where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved."

Resources : http://archive.vod.umd.edu/internat/jfk1961int.htm

Why are they giving the speech?

• To comfort his audience by minimizing the danger when American people were growing increasingly fearful of a long, drawn-out cold war at that time 

• To communicate and to reach out to many different audiences .Examples: “To those old allies…To those new states…To those people in the huts and villages…To our sister republics south of the border…To that world assembly of sovereign states…to those nations who would make themselves our adversary.” 

• To shift the responsibility for the present and, ultimately, the future of the nation to the young generation. “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…”

• To convince and reassure the people that he knows what he is doing and what he is getting into.

• To bring unity to the nation and the world .Examples: "Let both side..." 

Resources : http://apes16.edublogs.org/2009/09/24/jfks-inaugural-address/

How was the speech delivered?

- Consistent

- Forceful, persuasive

- Inspiring

- Slowly & deliberately

- Boston Accent

Antithesis 

-Two opposite are used in the same sentence.
Short and precise
"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate"
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"

Anaphora 

- Repetition of words in the same sentence.
The use of anaphora is to emphasize multiple times the importance that Kennedy is putting on engaging with many audiences around the nation and the world (the former example), and to create unity within the nation and the world as a whole (the latter).

Parallelism

-Similarity of structure in pair of series of related words, phrases or clauses.
“All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this administration.”

Hortative sentence

-Encourage. Create a bond between him and the audience.
“let us" "let both side"

Imperative sentence 

-Commanding. Leave a lasting impact on the audience.
“ask" "ask not"

Why is it considered by many to be a great speech?

• Kennedy motivated Americans to defend freedom and democracy and introduced a new era of change with his tactics for presidency, while promoting patriotism and international support as well.

• The speech not only united Americans, but also non-Americans to fight against poverty, disease, and war around the world. 

• Fight for war. but not war of destruction but the war against poverty & freedom. Inspired americans to stick together to help the country. 

How did you feel about the speech?

• "I remember feeling very invigorated by it," Birch says. "Feeling at the end of the speech, man, this really makes me want to do something, to contribute."

• Feel very invigorated by the speech especially at the end of the speech, it really makes the audience want to do or to contribute something. 

• Giving motivation , we should look forward and do not give up although we facing the difficulties.

References:

Bartleby.com (1961) John F. Kennedy: Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989. [online] Available at: http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html [Accessed: 26 May 2013].

Mehltretter, S. (n.d.) JOHN F. KENNEDY, "INAUGURAL ADDRESS" (20 JANUARY 1961). [online] Available at: http://archive.vod.umd.edu/internat/jfk1961int.htm [Accessed: 26 May 2013].

Pearson, C. (2009) JFK’s Inaugural Address. [online] Available at: http://apes16.edublogs.org/2009/09/24/jfks-inaugural-address/ [Accessed: 26 May 2013].

Youtube.com. (2006) JFK Inaugural Address 1 of 2. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE0iPY7XGBo [Accessed: 26th May 2013].

Youtube.com. (2006) JFK Inaugural Address 2 of 2. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s6U8GActdQ [Accessed: 26th May 2013].