Thesis Proposal

Thesis Proposal

            The two speeches I have chosen to compare for my rhetorical analysis are Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” and John F. Kennedy’s (JFK’s) Address to Protestant Ministers. Both of these speakers were being criticized for their religion at the time of their speeches. As a result, they both argue that their religion should not matter when being considered for candidacy. Though both JFK and Mitt Romney spoke effectively to their audiences, I believe JFK did the better job of making his message convincing to a potentially hostile audience. I’ll be discussing both speeches and arguing that JFK’s had the better rhetoric in my essay.

            Mitt Romney’s speech was given at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas to a mostly religious audience. As such, Romney made sure to emphasize the importance of Religion in politics and in morals. He connected with them on a religious basis through religious diction. He also appeals to Ethos by connecting himself to presidents such as JFK, Lincoln and George W. Bush (who was from Texas himself). However, in the process of doing this, Romney also alienates certain groups such as Atheists and does not address them.

            What Romney does in his essay, JFK does better. Romney himself mentions the historic influence of the rhetoric in JFK’s speech. JFK addresses his protestant audience by appealing to their strong moral values. He uses imagery and vivid details to emphasize the fact that the issues at hand, not his religion, should be the focus of his campaign. In an even stronger form than Romney, JFK ties his argument back to the 1^st amendment and the constitution. The United States was based on the ideals of religious freedom and these judgements violate that. JFK makes it clear that these judgements against him are not unique. Other religious groups are under the same persecution that he is. This use of rhetoric appeals to all groups and all patriots at once.