Obama’s Inaugural Addresses: the Use of Rhetoric

Rhetorical devices are fascinating the phrasing of a message can give it clarity and power.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided

our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…”

In a single clause Obama (or his speechwriters) used six rhetorical devices.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through

Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…”

The entire first half of the clause is an extended allusion (a reference to a person, place, or thing in history, literature, or folklore that summarizes or evokes broad, complex ideas or emotions). In this case Obama is alluding to the country’s two founding documents. The first words of the Constitution are “We, the people…” And the Declaration of Independence begins with the need to “declare the causes” for independence, a statement that introduces the document’s most quoted line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and

Selma, and Stonewall…”

“The star that guides us still” is a second allusion (to the star that guided the wise men to the manager where Jesus lay).

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and

Selma, and Stonewall…”

The same phrase is also, with its four s sounds, an example of consonance (the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in quick succession).

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls,

and Selma, and Stonewall…”

“Through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall” is, likewise, a use of consonance.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls,

and Selma, and Stonewall…”

The same phrase is an example of polysyndeton (the use of a conjunction [“and”] between each word in a phrase to give a sense of piling on or building up power)

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls,

and Selma, and Stonewall…”

And each of the three locations is a metonymy (a type of metaphor, in which a particular thing represents a larger concept). Seneca Falls stands for the struggle for women’s equality. (One of the earliest conventions in United States concerned with women’s rights was held in Seneca Falls, New York.) Selma represents the struggle for racial equality. (There were three marches in 1965 from Selma, Alabama to the state capital to secure voting rights for African-Americans.) And Stonewall represents the struggle for gay and lesbian equality. (When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, in 1969, demonstrations broke out in response.)

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us

still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…”

The point of using rhetorical devices isn’t to call attention to the devices or to show how clever you are for using them. The point is to make your message powerful, compelling, and memorable. Kudos to Obama for using them.

Most frequently used words in first

inaugural address. The largest words

were used the most often.

Allusions in Obama’s Inaugural Addresses

Allusion: a short reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event. The allusion explains, or enhances the subject under discussion without sidetracking the listener.

The speeches heavily referenced the inaugural addresses of former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, and also referred to speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Exhibit A Lincoln, second Inaugural Address, 1865:

Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.”

“House Divided” speech, 1858: I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave

and half-free.

Obama: Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we

learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.

Exhibit BKennedy, Inaugural Address, 1961:

With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.

Obama: For history tells us that while these truths may be

self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.

Exhibit CLincoln, annual message, 1862

As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Obama: [W]e have always understood that when times

change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.

Exhibit D King, “I Have a Dream” speech, 1963:

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

Obama: We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—

that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall, just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone, to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

Exhibit E King's, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address:

Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Obama: "But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this

defining moment, change has come to America" and "The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even in one term — but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”

King ( used regularly, most notably after the Selma to Montgomery marches): The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Obama: ..we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history.

Exhibit FAbraham Lincoln's first inaugural address:

We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

Obama: As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than

ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

Exhibit GLincoln:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Obama: ...that more than two centuries later a government of

the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

Exhibit HSam Cooke:

It’s been too hard living but I'm afraid to die'Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the skyIt's been a long, a long time comingBut I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Obama: It's been a long time coming, but...change has

come to America.

Writing PromptReview the speech for uses of allusion.

Discuss with your face partner how each one emphasizes the point and adds to the kairos of the situation.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts…” Using the above sentence-starter argue on a

topic that resonates in you. Turn the skeptics into believers about something you know. Use 2-3examples of allusion within your writing.