A More Perfect Union (April 26)

The “Means of Persuasion” article teaches the reader to appeal to its audience by utilizing pathos, logos and ethos in order to get a message across and hopefully persuade the reader to agree with the idea. In former President Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech, Obama does an excellent job of using these appeals, specifically pathos, which is when the writer is appealing to the audience’s emotions. The speech that was recited in 2008 while he was running for the Democratic Party presidential nomination focused greatly on the issues of race in the United States and the obstacles African Americans face. Obama starts by referring to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and its major flaw; slavery. President Obama uses logos to appeal to his audience’s reasoning by talking about a time when slavery was seen as justifiable, when it was clearly never acceptable. He then refers to his race, his background as the son of a white woman and Kenyan man, and the fact that he is married to an African American woman. These references to his ethnicity and the fact that he has experienced life as an African American gives him credibility on the subject which is an example of ethos. He moves further into his speech by discussing the controversy his race has caused for his campaign. “It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of it's parts - that out of many, we are truly one." Obama uses pathos by painting a heart-warming picture of a united nation. “This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together and bleed together under the same proud flag.” What President Obama was trying to get across is that it is our job as a nation to focus on seeing one another without color so that we may be a bettered society. His message would not have been possible if it hadn’t been for his use of pathos, ethos and logos.