Agenda for discussion

John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

The Speech
- Who did Kennedy define as the audience(s) for the speech?
- What role do the audiences play in organizing the speech?
- What rhetorical figures dominate the speech? What ideograph (a single word turned in many ways to play out the themes of the speech) dominates the speech?
- What topics or themes do you believe Kennedy believed were important to address in the speech?
Exigence of the World
- What was the Cold War?
- What were the major national anxieties relating to the Cold War in 1961?
- How does Kennedy seek to alter American's view the world and the American role in it?
- How does Kennedy shape his strategies for doing so?
- Did he address them well? Why or why not?
Exigencies of Domestic policy

What exigencies were created by the juxtaposition of Eisenhower and Kennedy as presidents in 1961?
How does Kennedy respond to the change of generations? What resources does he call upon in doing this?
Does he do it well? Why or why not?
Why did so many Americans find such inspiration in the speech?

Overall Evaluation
- Does this speech deserve its place as one of the greatest inaugurals of the 20th century? Why? Why not?
- What would be our overall thesis in a judgment of this speech?
The Obama Comparison
- In what ways is Obama's situation different from Kennedy's? In what way alike?
- What recommendations would you have to Obama on lessons from Kennedy's inaugural?