Delgadillo 1

R.J. Delgadillo
Mrs. Tyree
English III, Per. 1
12 October 2014
A Better America
The piece of writing being analyzed here is a speech given by Lyndon B. Johnson at the
University of Michigan. Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States, and
became president right after the death of John F. Kennedy. While giving this speech, he is at the
graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan and is addressing the future of America as a
whole. The speech is directed to all of Michigan, the graduating class, and the rest of America.
Johnson uses several appeals, tone changes, and rhetorical strategies in order to get his point of
building a better America across.
Johnson starts his speech by addressing his audience, which in this case is America. He
starts off with a joking tone, talking about the University of Michigan itself. He speaks of how
one must decide whether to go to an educational school, or go to a coeducational school. In other
words, you either go to a mixed sex school and gain no education, or go to a single sex school
and actually learn. He states Well, we can find both here at Michigan, although perhaps at
different hours (1). However, he transitions to a more serious and urgent tone when he begins to
talk about his main point: the future of America. He speaks of how the graduating class is the
future of the country and how important they are. He states, Your imagination and your
initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the
servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled
growth (1). Johnson only uses one appeal here, pathos. He makes use of pathos by his tone

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transitions throughout the speech. He starts off with the joking tone, in order to come off as
friendly, putting the audience at ease with his speech. He then transitions to the more serious
tone, in which he is also using pathos, to make the people of America feel motivated to do
something about the future of America. As for rhetorical strategies, he makes use of anaphora
near the end of this portion of the speech, talking about the Great Society. He repeatedly states
It is a place in order to emphasize how important and exceptional the Great Society is.
Johnson then transitions into talking about the three places he wants to build the Great
Society: cities, countryside, and classrooms. He speaks of all the current problems with each of
them. As he does this, he begins using the appeal of ethos. He directly quotes Aristotle about
living together in cities. Johnson quotes, "Men come together in cities in order to live, but they
remain together in order to live the good life (2). By quoting this, he is showing that he has the
same ideals as Aristotle, who of course is one of the greatest minds in history. After this, he
transitions into a fearful and melancholy tone as he elaborates on the current state of the cities,
with statements such as decay of the centers and the despoiling of the suburbs (2).
Furthermore, he moves into a more hopeful tone as he talks about the future graduates of
Michigan, and his hope in them. He states how new experiments are already going on (2) and
how the graduates of Michigan are trying so hard to live at the level of the people (2). As he
begins to talk about the countryside, he goes back into the fearful tone, speaking of how America
is no longer beautiful and is being trashed and polluted. Today that beauty is in danger. The
water we drink, the food we eat, the very air we breathe, are threatened with pollution. (2).
Although when he talks about the classrooms, he has a very dedicated and assuring tone. Right
after this, he uses the appeal of logos, as he says the statistics about those who have went to
school and finished school. As for rhetorical strategies, he uses anaphora here as he repeats the

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word and before every sentence. He ends this portion of the speech using the two rhetorical
strategies of anastrophe and anaphora. He uses anastrophe by saying, Poverty must not be a bar
to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty (2). Lastly, he makes use of
anaphora again by repeating It means referring to having an educational system that grows
in excellence as the system also grows in size. Using rhetorical strategies, such as these, make
Johnson sound like an excellent speaker and motivator, assuring the audience he is professional
and capable of achieving his goals.
As Johnson finishes talking about all the problems with the Great Society, he realistically
states that the Government does not have all the answers to the problems. Although, he then
transitions into a very promising and confident tone, as he talks about how the government is
going to solve the problems. Not only does he talk about the government taking action, but also
about the importance of local communities helping to solve the problems alongside the
government, in which he is using a persuasive tone. Just after this, he uses the appeal of ethos, as
he directly quotes Woodrow Wilson, who says Every man sent out from his university should be
a man of his Nation as well as a man of his time (3). He continues with the persuasive and
confident tone, talking to the graduates and their generation, in general. He states, You can help
build a society where the demands of morality, and the needs of the spirit, can be realized in the
life of the nation (4). As he begins to wrap up his speech, he uses many rhetorical strategies.
The first being a series of four rhetorical questions. He repeats Will you in three of them, as
he is asking them if they are willing to put effort into building the Great Society and making
America a better place. This, of course, is also the strategy of anaphora, as he repeats Will
you over and over again. He also uses a metaphor in one of the questions, as he says the
crushing weight of poverty (4). Lastly, in the second to last paragraph, he uses personification,

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saying soulless wealth (4). By using these strategies, Johnson finishes off the speech strong.
The strategies once again show his persuasive attitude and professionalism towards the subject.
Overall, Johnson makes excellence use of tone changes, appeals, and rhetorical strategies
in order to captivate his audience. Whether the matter is his use of persuasive tone, or his use of
ethos quoting famous figures such as Aristotle, one cannot help but feel motivated to make
America better. Each rhetorical strategy he used helped emphasize the importance of the
situation, and persuaded the people to want to do something about the issues. His powerful
language, realism, and the entire speech in general should be enough to persuade anyone to make
a difference in their country.