A Rhetorical Analysis Of Richard Nixon's Speech In Vietnam

The Vietnam War, among the most controversial wars to occur in history, had used speeches to persuade the American population to believe it was right.
America had sent troops into Vietnam under President Johnson’s advisement. They are doing so in effort to combat Communism also known as the Red Scare. Americans feared that the war is a bad solution to stop the spread Communism and will cause many casualties. When President Nixon had taken office and televised a speech to explain the situation in Vietnam and to help persuade American viewers that the Government is trying their hardest to end the war quickly.
President Nixon uses rhetorical devices in his speech in order to help persuade American viewers to believe that war was the right decision and did so effectively.
Pathos is used to attack the reader’s emotions and allow them to relate to the author’s perspective. He used this device when he said, “My fellow Americans, I am sure you can recognize from what I have said that we only have two choices to open to us if we want to end the war.” He had said this so that the listener would look at the speaker’s perspective. He is using an emotional appeal as he is trying to show the amount of weight his decision holds in order to persuade the