President Theodore Roosevelt Proclamation and First Inaugural Address: the Use of Ethos and Pathos
President Theodore Roosevelt
Proclamation and First Inaugural Address: The Use of Ethos and Pathos
Lisa Weber
ENG 530.020
Dr.Mollick
December 5, 2012
Inaugural addresses usually follow a farewell address given by the outgoing President. In the book Presidents Creating Presidency: Deeds Done in Words, Campbell and Jamieson’s chapter on “Farewell Addresses” explain that “[a] farewell address is an anticipatory ritual; the address is delivered days, sometimes weeks, before an outgoing president “lays down” the office, an event that does not occur until a successor is sworn in” (308). This was not the case for Theodore Roosevelt for there was no pending farewell speeches planned. Vice-President Roosevelt became president after the unexpected assassination of President William McKinley on September 14, 1901. In Campbell and Jamieson’s chapter on “Special Addresses: The Speeches of Ascendant Vice Presidents,” they state that in history there have been only nine times where a vice president moved up to president (57). Eight of these incidents involved a president being assassinated and one involved impeachment. Campbell and Jamieson also acknowledge that “[t]he death of any person creates the need for a unique form of symbolic response: the eulogy” and that “need for a eulogy even more urgent” (57). They affirm that “[t]he community is threatened because it has lost its leader; the citizenry needs reassurance that communal institutions will survive” (57). The unexpected death of McKinley left Roosevelt with the responsibility of comforting the nation. Roosevelt was able to reassure the citizens through the process of his First Proclamation. This proclamation could be seen as his first inaugural address to the nation, with the second official inaugural address coming on March 4, 1905. In this paper we will be looking at two different appeals, pathos and ethos, being used in two totally different addresses. In order to comprehend the use of these rhetorical
Proclamation and First Inaugural Address: The Use of Ethos and Pathos
Lisa Weber
ENG 530.020
Dr.Mollick
December 5, 2012
Inaugural addresses usually follow a farewell address given by the outgoing President. In the book Presidents Creating Presidency: Deeds Done in Words, Campbell and Jamieson’s chapter on “Farewell Addresses” explain that “[a] farewell address is an anticipatory ritual; the address is delivered days, sometimes weeks, before an outgoing president “lays down” the office, an event that does not occur until a successor is sworn in” (308). This was not the case for Theodore Roosevelt for there was no pending farewell speeches planned. Vice-President Roosevelt became president after the unexpected assassination of President William McKinley on September 14, 1901. In Campbell and Jamieson’s chapter on “Special Addresses: The Speeches of Ascendant Vice Presidents,” they state that in history there have been only nine times where a vice president moved up to president (57). Eight of these incidents involved a president being assassinated and one involved impeachment. Campbell and Jamieson also acknowledge that “[t]he death of any person creates the need for a unique form of symbolic response: the eulogy” and that “need for a eulogy even more urgent” (57). They affirm that “[t]he community is threatened because it has lost its leader; the citizenry needs reassurance that communal institutions will survive” (57). The unexpected death of McKinley left Roosevelt with the responsibility of comforting the nation. Roosevelt was able to reassure the citizens through the process of his First Proclamation. This proclamation could be seen as his first inaugural address to the nation, with the second official inaugural address coming on March 4, 1905. In this paper we will be looking at two different appeals, pathos and ethos, being used in two totally different addresses. In order to comprehend the use of these rhetorical
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