Question

Read the following excerpt from lyndon b. johnson's "let us continue" speech. answer the question that follows. the time has come for americans of all races and creeds and political beliefs to understand and to respect one another. so let us put an end to the teaching and the preaching of hate and evil and violence. let us turn away from the fanatics of the far left and the far right, from the apostles of bitterness and bigotry, from those defiant of law, and those who pour venom into our nation's bloodstream. i profoundly hope that the tragedy and the torment of these terrible days will bind us together in new fellowship, making us one people in our hour of sorrow. so let us here highly resolve that john fitzgerald kennedy did not live or die in vain. how does johnson's use of rhetorical appeals help him achieve his purpose?

a) Johnson uses the emotion around Kennedy's death to persuade his audience to unify.
b) Johnson uses logic about the issues of violence to persuade his audience to stand up to hate.
c) Johnson uses a sense of urgency to persuade his audience to mourn.

Answer 1

Johnson used pathos by leveraging emotions following Kennedy's death to persuade the audience to unify and continue Kennedy’s vision.

Step-by-step explanation:

Lyndon B. Johnson's use of rhetorical appeals in his "Let Us Continue" speech after the assassination of President Kennedy aimed to encourage unity and action among Americans, bridging divides and continuing Kennedy’s policies. Johnson's ethos appealed to national unity and Kennedy's vision, while his use of pathos leveraged the collective emotion around Kennedy's death to persuade his public to unify against hate and violence. Thus, the correct answer to the provided question is that Johnson uses the emotion around Kennedy's death to persuade his audience to unify (Option A). While he employed logical arguments, the core of his speech is built around emotional appeal, and there is no explicit sense of urging the audience to mourn as the primary directive, making the other options less accurate.