Question

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a graduation address at the University of Michigan. He discussed his hope for a "great society" without poverty or inequality. Read the excerpt from his speech and respond to the question that follows. I have come today from the turmoil of your capital to the tranquility of your campus to speak about the future of your country. The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation. For a century we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people. The challenge of the next half century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization. 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. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. Write a paragraph of 5-7 sentences that accomplishes the following: identify a rhetorical appeal used in the excerpt

Answer 1

President Johnson's address uses rhetorical appeals like pathos by inspiring patriotic pride and historical continuity, engaging the graduates' sense of responsibility to build a 'Great Society.'

Step-by-step explanation:

In President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 graduation address at the University of Michigan, he employed various rhetorical appeals such as pathos, to outline his vision for a 'Great Society.' By referencing the nation's past achievements and the opportunity to use wealth to improve American civilization, Johnson inspires a sense of patriotic pride and historical continuity. The appeal to the graduates’ imagination and initiative seeks to engage their sense of responsibility and agency in building this new society. He articulates the possibility of moving beyond just wealth and power to achieving a society of greater equality and justice. To convey his purpose, Johnson invokes the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and the pursuit of happiness—a reference to established American values that resonate with the ethos of his audience.