English 1613.010
March 25, 2011 Nixon’s Silent Voice In a nation divided by war in 1969, Richard Nixon delivered a speech with the hope that it would bring Americans together. At this time the American people stood divided on their views on the war. Many people wanted to withdraw from the war and many people supported the war in the quest for peace. The Vietnam War had already been going on for quite some time when Nixon came into office. Nixon was the second youngest president; he came to office in 1969 as the 37th president of the United States. (Sheppard) The goal of his speech was to unite the nation as he pursued the war and to try to win peace. Americans were divided among going to war and ending the war for peace. The tone
Richard Nixon’s uses of anecdotes in his speech are effective in the way that he lets Americans know exactly what is and what has been going on with the Vietnam War. He uses these anecdotes to help inform the people about what is happening. This in turn will help Americans understand his point of view and his thinking on what should be done next to help end the war and restore peace. He does not leave anyone in the dark about the war. By this method Nixon can still be a truthful peace-maker and also carry out America’s so called necessity for the Vietnam War. His anecdotes are some of the most evident uses of pathos. He tells of the horror stories about the massacres and torture that occurred in Vietnam when the communists took over in the North. This use of anecdotes make the listeners feel sympathetic towards the people in Vietnam. Being the President of the United States and having to speak to the whole world Nixon uses the appeals of logos and ethos to try to get the nation on his side. Throughout his speech Nixon states the facts, and gives many statistics. For instance, By Jan. 1969 there were 430,000 combat forces stationed in Vietnam, Thirty-one thousand Americans were killed in action, Fifty Thousand people were murdered when Communist Vietnam took over. He also told the people about the hundreds of thousands of people who died in slave labor camps. These are all