Rhetorical Devices In Obama's Inaugural Speech

44th president, Barack Obama, in his 2009 Inaugural Address, discusses the economic decline within America. Obama’s purpose is to be rid of the economic decline of America while remaining true to America’s roots. He adopts a determined tone in order to inspire the Nation by appealing to the Nation’s history, struggles, and duties as U.S. citizens.
Obama begins his address by paying oath to previous generations before him. He appeals to the audience by making references to the past narrating that “ men and women obscure in their labor” (9) have “carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom” (9). He describes their sacrifices claiming, they have “toiled in sweatshops” (10), “endured the lash of the whip” (10), and “ fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn” (10). His short anecdotes make the audience reflect on their appreciation for the Nation’s ancestors.
“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works” (15) is the statement that allows Obama to transition into the crisis topic. He appeals to the common man by declaring “The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous” (16). In order to support that statement, he states that “The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart” (16). His factual tone helps the audience to realize the serious situation at