Essay Examples on American History

John F Kennedy Inaugural Speech Analysis

An Olive Branch in Troubled Times. In the midst of the Cold War newly elected president, John F Kennedy delivered his inaugural address on January 20, 1961. The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union had caused much division in the United States, election resulting in his narrow victory Kennedy at the time was the youngest president and the first Roman-Catholic ever elected to the office. These two factors caused even more speculation on whether Kennedy was a fit president, especially at such a conflicted time. With this tension in mind, Kennedy sought to unite the divided country and reinvigorate patriotism in the new generation of Americans. He accomplished this task by using diction rhetorical tropes and modes of persuasion in his inaugural address when he took the office. Despite his young age Kennedy confidently takes the presidential office by using archaic and abstract diction in his inaugural address. Wanting to assure his country that he is a leader who his country can trust Kennedy implements words such as asunder forebears and anew to set a formal and old fashioned tone to his speech. These words carry a heavy and powerful aura about them and thus make them effective in persuasion. By using these outdated words Kennedy effectively conveys that his age does not undermine his authoritative abilities nor define his skills as a politician.

2 pages | 450 words
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Reconstruction governments after the Civil War. African American rights

After the American Civil War, the South still needed to rebuild itself since it suffered much damage. The Reconstruction 1865 -1877 was the era after the Civil War that the Union tried to transform the South to their liking and bring the South back to the Union. Reconstruction brought many changes to the South. President Lincoln proposed that if 10 of voters in a Southern state took an oath to pledge allegiance to the Union then the pledgers would be pardoned and the Southern state could begin forming a new state government that outlawed slavery in 1865. Proclamation of Amnesty Congress proposed that Reconstruction should wait until half of the Southern state's voters pledged loyalty to the Union. The Wade Davis Bill was proposed to Congress by Senator Benjamin F Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis in February 1864 it stated that half the voters should take the oath and the state should give the state to vote before Reconstruction.

1 pages | 312 words
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Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthy Era.

Leah Zafir Mrs. Ephrati American History 12 December 2017, Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthy Era. The United States of America is filled with many historic events enriching its history. Many events that occur are compared to past events in our history. In particular, the McCarthy Era in the 1950s was compared to the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in 1692. This correlation was first made by Arthur Miller who wrote the play The Crucible. He connected the time period of McCarthy to where there was a hunt for communists to the Salem Witch Trials where there was a hunt for witches. Following that many comparisons and contrasts have been made between the two The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthy Era are both similar yet different.

 Miller The Salem Witch Trial was caused by a combination of numerous different factors and events. Firstly the people in Salem town were extremely religious devout puritans who believed in the powers of the devil. They believed that the devil would give supernatural powers to some people in response for their loyalty to harm others. This created fear amongst the colonist of witchcraft and the supernatural. Hence the scapegoating during the Salem Witch Trial was backed by the fear and anxiety that resonated amidst the colony. In addition, there was a lot of stress in the colony due to a recent smallpox epidemic and attacks from the neighboring Native Americans staff.


2 pages | 468 words
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