The inauguration of the President of the United States is a grand ceremony used to mark the commencement of the new presidential term. The main part of the presidential inauguration is an oath the president must make before they can legally execute the office of the president. In addition to this affirmation, the presidential inaugural address has become a tradition that all presidents have taken part in. President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address was full of rhetoric of a better United States and emoting ideas of equality for all Americans. President Obama made history by being sworn in as the United States’ first African-American President, and conveyed his address by offering ideas that would implement a period of acceptance and leadership. His articulate speech was exceptionally well-written and his use of gestures as well as varying tone provide depth and emotion throughout the length of the speech.
The inaugural address presented during the formal ceremony is used by the incoming president to outline their intentions as a leader for the nation in the upcoming years. A President’s inaugural address sets the theme for the upcoming years for that President’s rhetoric. This presidential expression has increasingly become a tool for governance and authority. President Obama’s diction in his first inaugural address was not of constitutional rhetoric like many previous presidents, he rather embraced an inspirational rhetoric in order to appeal to the common American people. Throughout his speech he made it clear that he wishes to mainly fulfill the needs and wished for the populous, likely planning to use this appeal to the public to be able to influence Congress through mass pressure. Therefore, throughout his speech, the main audience that President Obama was speaking to was the American people collectively. He addressed the majority of his speech to those who may or may not have voted him into the Presidency. He is not only attempting to convey a message of hope, but also outlining his plans for the next four years. The secondary audience is the rest of the world, whether allies, enemies, other world leaders, or citizens of foreign nations. President Obama uses the address to inform foreigners of his plans in relation to diplomacy, security, and allies.
The structure of President Obama’s first inaugural speech was clear and concise. He began the discourse by thanking those who voted for him, and mentions how honored he is to have been elected to become the President of the United States. Here, his tone is humble. He then makes sure to acknowledge the economic crisis the nation was facing directly and with sincerity. His tone, shifts from humbled to forceful when speaking of the crisis due to the wrong doings of previous leaders. However, he shifts again to a softer tone when speaking of the failures in our economic system, making his seem disappointed in the failures that had occurred. He follows this dismal but crucial part of his address by making sure to discuss how Americans have faced crises numerous times throughout our history, but have always been able to overcome them. The tone in this part of the speech is again more hopeful, speaking of how Americans must unite in order to meet these challenges. He emphasizes the same message of hope he used throughout his election, telling Americans that his Presidency is one who will improve the crippled economic state of the nation.
In the second half of his address, President Obama then his focus to cynics who oppose him, and were skeptical towards his plans for his term as the President. He uses terms like “their memories are short,” and “the ground has shifted beneath them,” implying that the United States will once again come out on top of the crisis. He then moves on to the strongest part of his speech. The President speaks about he plans to shift the priority of his office from military focused to a diplomatic focus, charting his new foreign policy anchored on human ideals and making allies. President Barack Obama then concludes his first inaugural address by transition back to talking about the populous, and how nothing can be improved or achieved without the collective work of the government and the governed. His tone here is extremely inclusive, and ends on a hopeful note that reminds the nation to look at how far the nation has come throughout the centuries since it was established, and how America would once again surpass the hardships it was facing.
President Barack Obama has been called a talented speaker for years, especially in his use of different strategies to connect and relate to the audience in order to meet their needs. A strategy used to meet audience needs that he used was the use of inclusive words. He used first person plural pronouns such as “we” and “our” in order to give his main audience, the populous, the thought that the improvement that the nation will go through will be a joint effort. This strategy also provides every individual listener, whether on Capitol Hill or at home, that they are partially responsible to help the United States improve in all the aspects it had been lacking. Here, Obama also credits those who build the nation and labored to make it great. When he says “for us they fought and died,” he is emphasizing the sacrifices previous generations endured to expand and unite the U.S., showing the gratitude he and all Americans should feel towards them.
Another strategy used in his address is parallel sentence structure. He uses this to often times build rhythm to make the speech sound nicer, or to build contrast within the length of his speech. His use of asyndeton, or the purposeful omission of conjunctions between phrases or words also plays into the parallel sentence structure. An example of this is portrayed when he states “homes have been lost; jobs shad; businesses shuttered.” Another way he uses parallel sentence structure is through anaphora, or the repetition of a word at the beginning of a phrase. He uses phrases like “on this day” and “for us” several times throughout the speech, emphasizing certain points. This also serves as another form for the President to not exclude himself or the governed from the responsibility they have to rebuild the nation’s economy.
A third strategy that President Obama has mastered is the use of varying tone and body language. His voice inflection significantly improves his speeches, and this one is no different. The volume and intensity of his voice are used to emphasize more serious concerns versus topics he is proud to touch base on. The pauses he takes, in addition to his tone changes make him sound more confident and relaxed on the stage. These pauses and his clear enunciation give people a couple of seconds to think about what he has said, making him sound more trustworthy. This strategy is highly affective, and the audience roars in applause after these moments. His body language also makes him seem relaxed and open, like all he wants to do is help his fellow Americans. Throughout the speech he combines both of these strategies, making his communication extremely effective as people can both see and hear the emphasis on crucial topics. He sometimes balls his hand into a fist to show power, extends his hand outward toward the crowd and moves them up and down to show how passionate and worried he is for the country.