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In the “Means of Persuasion”, the essay discussed the four different types of appeals, ethos, pathos, and logos. However, in “A More Perfect Union”, which was a speech given by Barack Obama during his campaign, he demonstrates all of these appeals. Although all three of these appeals were used, the ones that stood out most were pathos and ethos. Pathos is an ethical appeal, while ethos is an emotional appeal. This address was very heartfelt and sympathetic. His use of pathos throughout his speech painted the picture of a proud American, and the use of ethos allowed us to be able to look deeper into his life and story. It is important to understand why the speech was written. Due to some racial comments that his pastor made, this speech was given because of all the controversy surrounding it. Obama did not directly address his pastor comments and state whether they were right or wrong, but he did paint a picture of himself for the world to see, and let everyone know where he stood as an African American citizen in the U.S. His pathos and ethos played a role in describing his diversity and his background, and his pride in being American. This was a very relatable speech, he didn’t speak necessarily like a politician, but like a citizen.

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In both readings, the authors use the techniques ethos, pathos and logos in order to sway the readers in different ways. I found it more prominent particularly in Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" that the ethos, pathos, and logos are organized in a more fluent way. I find that in "Means of Persuasion", the way its written is more examples and how to incorporate the techniques. However, they both use the techniques and get the audience to listen how to use them to sway a group of people listening to the message. Barrack Obama's speech was very heartwarming, credible, and makes the audience understand how he personally feels. I think Obama's genuine feelings really reach me personally, and it's helpful that he knew how to use all his persuasive techniques in different ways, naturally.

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In both readings, “Means of Persuasion” and “A More Perfect Union” by former president Barack Obama, both contain strong examples of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech does well at using all three different appeals, but I feel that wat really drove it home was his many uses of pathos. In the speech two examples come to mind, that show strong uses of pathos and ethos. When he lets his audience know how lucky he feels to be in America, “I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” This also let’s Obama catch the attention of the other races, as he is not only running for the black community. When Obama explains that if we do not act now, there will always be a distraction that keeps us from talking about the problems that really matter, “That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, ‘Not this time.’” Similarly to Barack Obama’s speech, in “Means of Persuasion,” we are given good examples of ethos, pathos, and logos but they are a lot more focused on individual tactics to appeal and persuade your audience. 

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After reading "Means of Persuasion," it was very compelling to analyze the extensive use of emotional, ethical and logic appeals from former President "Barack Obama's Speech on Race." President Obama begins his speech with logical appeals, as he explains the the roots of slavery and its presence within the constitution. The president then smoothly shifts his speech into emotional territory, and his use of pathos almost seemed to be an ethical appeal as well, due to his sympathetic and passionate way of speaking. He then adds to his ethical appeal with background information of his family and life, and he explains his racial background and what effect is has had on his life. This speech is very interesting all around because of its use of these appeals. Present Obama smoothly used all three appeals in a cohesive manner to help persuade the audience in an effective way. His appeals seem to all be working together, as a group that is laying out the methods of persuasion, rather than as single independent units. I found that looking at the appeals in this way is eye-opening, and it helps me gain an understanding the influence and importance of appeals while trying to persuade a reader or audience.

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Throughout both readings, each author uses ethos, pathos, and logos in order to properly persuade readers into thinking a certain way. In Barack Obama's speech, "A More Perfect Union," he issues an amount of credibility, emotion and logic in order to persuade Americans into coming together and ending on going racial conflicts. He's credible when he brings up Jim Crow laws, Brown vs. Board of Education, and other examples of segregation that took place during the Civil Rights Era. He issues a great amount of emotion throughout every piece of this speech, as his whole self-image was involved. A brief example of his emotions was when he stated, "I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country." Lastly he offers a tremendous amount of logic as well when he analyzes and explains the controversy that occurred with Reverend Wright. President Obama has always delivered great speeches, and a key attribute to his abilities has to do with the use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

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Both readings used logos, pathos, and ethos in ways to persuade or just to simply grasp the reader's attention and communicate. Obama's "A more perfect Union" speech utilized all three appeals easily. He spoke at a great intellect from the jump but his communication skills are so well it seemed as if he was just having a normal conversation between two people; He appealed to our mind and intellect when he said "unless we perfect our union by understanding that we have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction -towards a better future for our children and grandchildren." He also uses pathos throughout his whole speech in which the passion and tone he speaks you can hear the anger that is sometimes displaced or the care for which he is saying. He also appeals to himself in which he explains his background and what's that meant throughout the election for him. Overall his entire speech appealed to the audience and himself.

A More Perfect Union

In his “A More Perfect Union” speech, Barrack Obama is very good at using emotional appeals to relate to his audience. One way in which he does this is by comparing and contrasting his life experiences. For example, he talks about how he has both African American and white ancestors, as well as how he has “gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations”. By doing this he is able to establish common ground with a wide variety of people. He also appeals to people’s morals by suggesting that we treat each other the way that we would like to be treated. He does a great job at attempting to get people to see things from a different perspective by explaining the viewpoints and anger that both African Americans and white people face. For example, after explaining the problems that face both African Americans and whites, he explains that “Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze.” He then goes on to advocate not exercising anger in the face of injustice, but instead emphasizes the importance of unity in dealing with these problems. Obama also uses logical appeals to establish his authority and relay his message to the American people. One way he does this is by speaking from personal experiences that he faced growing up. Obama defends Reverend Wrights aggressive remarks by appealing to his 20+ years of knowing him, and explains that although Wright may have slipped up and been perceived as racist, those words do not define who he is. Overall, Obama does a good job at using both logical and emotional appeals to engage with his audience, while also establishing his credibility and relating to people in a way that everyone can understand.