Topic > George W. Bush's 9/11 Speech to the Nation: Rhetorical Analysis

On September 11, 2001, our nation was attacked by a terrorist group, marking the first attack on our home soil since Pearl Harbor in 1941. Both of these tragedies became very important historical events in the life of America and played an important role in the formation of Americans as a single cohesive nation. The then President, George W. Bush, gave a speech to the nation regarding the attack, this is the speech on which I will do a rhetorical analysis. President Bush was successful in all his appeals in the speech, while everyone tends to think of President Bush as a Texan who has trouble with words, this speech is one of the most effective in reaching as many Americans and people of other nations as many levels as possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayDid President Bush succeed in using his appeals in his September 11 address to the nation? Rhetorical analysis answers this question. The context of this speech was the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the attempted attack on Washington DC on September 11, 2001. There was a lot of bias in the speech, as it came from the leader of the nation that was attacked. The speech was aimed primarily at Americans but also at other countries that were America's allies and in solidarity with the cause addressed by President Bush. President Bush was still new to the presidency when the September 11 attacks occurred. In this speech he presented himself as a strong, but at the same time humble and aggressive leader, ready to defend the nation he headed. As an American, I believe that in his address to the nation President Bush was very likable to the Americans, however the subtle aggressiveness would not have pleased some of the nation's allies, and would certainly have made him very disliked by the enemies of the United States. . “I greatly appreciate the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks” (Bush 2). The above statement made President Bush appear to the American people that Congress supported him from the moment the attacks occurred. However, President Bush had no respect for the opposing views in his speech. Stating, “America has defeated its enemies before, and we will do so again this time. None of us will ever forget this day, and yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and right in our world” (Bush 2). By using the statement it is inferred that President Bush left no room for his claims that those who did this were evil in the world, they had no good in their hearts to do such a thing. President Bush had the attitude that what he was doing was right, there was no doubt in him that America was the one that was being attacked by evil. His tone here was one of passive anger that someone would do such a thing, it was also full of grief at the loss of the people who had died in the terrorist attacks. The emotional appeal of President Bush's speech is very good, as I feel all the emotions he wanted to communicate, with a professional appearance, were well received and the wording was well placed to invoke the emotional response he was looking for. The different emotions he sought to arouse in the people of the United States were anger, grief, and the need to protect the country. On the other side of the coin, he was also trying to instill in the terrorists a fear of America and an apparent disappointment in the terrorists who attacked. President Bush invoked the anger of the.