Public Address: A review of rhetoric from Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr.,

and John F. Kennedy.

By Mark Mullen

When I was a child, I was painfully shy. Extremely introverted, I would spend the large

part of most days inside the house reading or watching TV. I only spoke with the people I trusted

most and had very few friends. When I reached middle school, that all changed.

My history teacher announced that she would be directing a play, and we could get extra

credit for trying out. We didn’t necessarily have to take a part if we were offered one; she just

wanted us to try out. I was bookish, and would always try to get extra credit. I tried out, and

ended up getting a supporting role. I didn’t know the first thing about acting. I could barely talk

with people, so I began to wonder how I could possibly speak on stage in front of an audience.

My teacher, and director, would sit down with me after class before practice and would walk me

through my lines and she helped me overcome my anxiety of people. The performance came,

and I delivered my lines flawlessly. She picked out next year’s play, expecting me to try out for

the lead role. Since then I have been in many plays, sang in many choirs, and had several jobs

working with people.

I still feel introverted. I am more comfortable on my computer or reading a book than I

am around other people, but one would not realize that by talking to me. I work well with others,

and often find myself in leadership positions. So what changed?

Through giving prepared speeches and assigned roles, I was able to create a public

persona for myself. In public, I play a role. I recite the lines, perform the monologues, and act the

part. For that reason, I developed an interest in men like Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy,

and Martin Luther King Jr.

In their private lives, there was little stability and little peace. Each of them faced many

personal hardships. Winston Churchill, hailed for his ability to speak, stuttered as a child (The

Stuttering Foundation). Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., struggled with the truth of religion

(King). John F. Kennedy suffered from poor health constant pain from breaking his back while

serving in the navy (NHHC).

Yet in their public lives, it would have been thought that these men were unshakable.

Churchill would walk through the streets of London after bombings, cigar in his mouth, shouting

at the people who collected the bricks of their destroyed houses, “Are we downtrodden!” and he

would hear in return, “No!” (Burdick) Martin Luther King Jr. faced imprisonment, assault, and

multiple assassination attempts, but he never wavered from walking in civil rights marches and

he spoke publicly more than 2,000 times. (Nobelprize.org) John F. Kennedy fought back against

the assumption that he would let his religion control his public office and became the first

Catholic president.

All of these men faced difficult times and difficult decisions and each of them fought

through the hard times using their greatest gift: their voice. On stage and behind a microphone,

each of them knew what to say and how to say it to get the people ready for the tough times

ahead of them. With their past leadership experience and their use of rhetoric, each of them

established themselves the most capable leaders of their time.

I will be evaluating the leadership of Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, and Martin

Luther King Jr. by evaluating them through their personal histories and a critical analysis of one

speech they delivered. I will examine each man through their experiences that led them to be

such highly respected leaders through hardships, through battles for success, through the

challenges they faced, and how they overcame those challenges to establish themselves.

I will examine them by looking at one of their speeches and evaluating them through the

content of the speech. I will examine the context of the speech, the rhetorical devices used, and

the impact the speech had after it was delivered. I will study how they established themselves as

credible and trustworthy leaders through allusions to their past, how they provided evidence of

having the right expertise to lead their constituents, their acknowledgment of the struggles of

their constituents, and their plans to lead them through those struggles. Finally I will evaluate

them on their charisma and their use of body language to enhance their message.

I grew from a shy young boy to a man capable of connecting with other through listening

and reading many speeches delivered by these and many other very influential men. By

analyzing such rhetoric, I can continue to understand the steps I need to improve my speaking

abilities and interpersonal skills. I hope that my understanding these great speakers, I can become

a better speaker myself.

Winston Churchill

Growing up in an affluent family, having a military career, and political clout, Winston

Churchill developed a well-known reputation. He was known for being stubborn, some might

say trigger happy, others would say irrational. Yet 70 years later, he was voted as the most

influential Britton of all time. He went from being a young stutterer and failure to receiving a full

state funeral upon his death.

Churchill’s transformation from being a child that was barely expected to be adjusted to

normal life to being one of the greatest figures of all time was a difficult journey. He faced many

trials and tribulations, but because of his dedication to his county and his ability to express his

passion through speech made him a leader of a nation fighting for its freedom. (National

Churchill Museum)

Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born November 30, 1874, one month premature

after his mother fell during an outing on the family property and went into early labor. From

birth, his parents did not play an active role in his life. Raised by a nanny, Elizabeth Everest, he

could never overcome the thought that he was unwanted by his own parents. His father, Lord

Randolph Churchill, saw him as a failure and that he would never be as capable as his younger

brother. That was a point he never had the opportunity to prove otherwise. His father passed

away from syphilis when Winston was only 20.

He did not socialize well in school as a child and had few friends. It was common for him

to be bullied by the other students in his school. His grades were bad, as well as his behavior.

One report card noted: “Number in class, 30. Position in class, 30”. All of this today could be

noted as a cause for his development of a stutter, lisp, and his inability to play team games.

(Burdick)

After grade school his father, noting his failure in class, became convinced that the only

thing that would prevent Winston from being a total failure would be a military career. After

three attempts, he was accepted into the Sandhust Royal Military College.

He enlisted to be in the heart of the action in the only place where there was action in

1895: Cuba. He celebrated his 21st birthday while in the trenches, and found his love of Cuban

cigars, which became a part of his trademark look later in life. He went on to be a war

correspondent in India and Sudan, attempted to run for a seat in the House of Commons at 24,

lost, and went to South Africa to be a war correspondent covering the Boer war.

(Biography.com)

While on deployment in South Africa in 1899, a train he was on was derailed. Churchill

took charge of the situation, attempted to lead survivors to safety, but was captured and spent

time in a POW camp in Pretoria. Several days later he escaped. During his escape, he would

transmit messages and his location to the military headquarters in England while avoiding the

Boers who offered a 25 pound reward for bringing him in “dead or alive.” His messages home

made him an instant celebrity and helped him win his first election as a conservative Member of

Parliament.

From there he gained more influence as the First Lord of the Admiralty when he was 36

for his assertion that war was imminent. When World War I arrived, he made sure that his

country was prepared. Everything seemed promising until the British military lost a decisive

battle at Gallipoli, for which Churchill had been the most vocal supporter. After the loss he was

forced to resign. Churchill descended into a deep depression, thinking that he truly was the

failure his father had believed him to be. (The Churchill Center & Museum)

After spending several years away from public roles, he returned to take up several

different positions including War Secretary and Chancellor of the Treasury. He returned to

Parliament, and began to rebuild his reputation in inner circles shortly before the onset of World

War II.

With his prior experience, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave him back his old job

as Admiralty of the Navy as well as a seat in the War Cabinet. The message was sent to the fleet,

“Winston is back.” Shortly after, Chamberlain’s government lost the election and Churchill

became the new British Prime Minister.

War seemed to energize Churchill. It was a time for him to shine. A time for him to lead.

The people loved him. Even in the darkest hours of England, the Blitz, he enjoyed an 88%

approval rating. He appointed himself Minister of Defense, and made it known that he intended

to take control of the war. (Burdick)

Winston Churchill and his speech “Their Finest Hour”

If Churchill had not developed into the gifted speaker he became, the war surely would

have had a different outcome. One opposition MP stated that he was “a word-spinner, a second-

rate rhetorician,” (Bungay) yet one can listen to and of his speeches today, such as “Their Finest

Hour” and be moved by the messages of strength and resistance as well of the subtle warning to

Britain’s enemies.

His ability to orate was his primary skill in maintaining support in light of such terrible

events. Through a steady tone, easily understood themes, repetition and contrast, he could

capture the audience’s attention. It is amazing to think that the man who was coordinating the

largest war fought in human history was also writing, by himself, speeches that would later be

known as some of the greatest speeches given in human history.

On June 18, 1940, just over a month after becoming prime minister, Churchill delivered a

speech summarizing the loss of the Battle of France and spoke for the first time about the battle

for Britain. In the speech, he makes five points about the oncoming storm. He states that Britain

had become a battlefront against an evil that threatens the world, that the freedom of all of

mankind depends on resisting that evil with everything they have, the only victory is total

victory, that victory will not be soon and that struggle will be long and painful, and they can only

achieve victory by supporting each other. (Lyons)

One of Churchill’s greatest tools was his ability to use the technology of the time to

influence public opinion. By making regular speeches on the radio, he could go to the people in

their homes, and almost speak to them personally. He was able to create a message that would

resonate with every inhabitant in British.

That message was easily and emotionally understood: We are under attack and we aren’t

just fighting for ourselves, but for the future of freedom and democracy. He also suggests that

though the battle will not be easily won, it does not require every citizen to be a hero. Through

his address, he makes clear that the battle will be won by everyone working together and the

fastest path to victory is for the people to continue going about their daily lives.

Beyond just the meaning of the speech, what makes it impressive is the structure of the

speech. Throughout the speech, Churchill uses phrases that he groups into sets of three, as well

as contrasting statements to give his words impact. For example, Churchill begins the final

paragraph of the speech to parliament by saying “What General Weygand called the Battle of

France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the

survival of Christian civilization.” Each sentence is one part of a three part message that together

form the message of the importance of victory. It also alternates between knowledge of the past

and present and a vision of the future. (Mieder)

He speaks of the Battle of France which just ended, the battle of Britain that is just

beginning, and (metaphorically) the battle of “Christian civilization.” By grouping these three

“battles” together, he illustrates that their future is dependent upon them reflecting on their past

losses as well as preparing for their current struggle. Great speeches often include many

transitions such as the one used by Churchill by alternating between the speakers current

knowledge and their vision of the future. (Duarte)

“The Battle of France is over,” reminds the audience of the past threat. “I expect the

battle of Britain is about to begin.” Which takes the prior threat and reminds the audience that it

is a current and future threat. “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization,” is

a prophecy the forces the audience to imagine a battle of force and also of philosophy. By using

contrasting statements in a row Churchill has the audience recall past success and failures and

contrasts that with a hope of a better future.

Times of war can often turn public opinion against their leaders. At the beginning of his

presidency, George W. Bush had a 58% approval rating. After the 9-11 attacks, his approval

rating jumped to 90%. At the beginning of the Iraq war, 70% of American’s approved of his

presidency. In 2008, his approval rating fell to 25%. (Gallup) Although the two leaders did not

share the same type of conflict, Churchill was leading a country that was under constant

bombardment and he averaged an 80% approval rating through the war.

Churchill inspired confidence in the British through establishing himself as the most

trustworthy and most capable leader for the time. Because of his past experiences in the British

military, he was not a leader that let others command the armed forces. He was always made

aware of progress on the battle fronts and was heavily involved in military planning. He

emphasizes his experience and involvement in the war planning saying, “For the last thirty years

I have been concerned in discussions about the possibilities of overseas invasion, and I took the

responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty.” With 30 years of military experience, he was widely

respected by the leader of the navy. His military experience was invaluable in giving him

credible with other leaders, many who were also ex-military, and by giving the public a sense of

security. (Biography.com)

Churchill also gained the support of the public by assuring them that he would never give

in to the enemy. He insisted that the he would lead the war effort under any circumstance and

that, “whatever happened in France would make no difference to the resolve of Britain and the

British Empire to fight on, 'if necessary for years, if necessary alone.”

He assured them that Britain was prepared for the war, but cautioning them that they

must also be prepared for the worst. He urged the British citizens to be vigilant and prepared

because although there were minefields littering the British Channel and he was confident that

the navy and air force could stop a large-scale invasion, it was still a possibility that smaller

raiding forces could land on their shores. Despite that possibility, he reassured the audience that

the best thing they could do was to remain calm and continue to live their lives as normal as they

could by quoting an ode written about Oliver Cromwell’s return from Ireland when he said, “For

all of us, at this time, whatever our sphere, our station, our occupation or our duties, it will be a

help to remember the famous lines:

He nothing common did or mean,

Upon that memorable scene.” (The Churchill Center & Museum)

Winston Churchill rose from a soldier through the ranks to become the Prime Minister of

Britain. His voice and leadership lead the British people through constant bombings and the

threat of invasion. He did not waiver from his commitment to victory, and did not back down

from a fight. Through his voice and vision, the allies turned the tide of war and worked to bring

peace to Europe.

Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 15, 1929, Michael Luther King Jr., was born. The man later changed his

name (his father said that the name had been recorded wrongly) to the name we all know today:

Martin Luther King Jr. As a child, King struggled with many themes of Christianity such as the

resurrection of Jesus. (Scofield) Despite secretly denying parts of Christianity, King’s family had

a long tradition of attending seminary and assuming pastoral roles.

King was a gifted student. He attended Booker T. Washington High School, a segregated

school in Atlanta. After skipping two grades, he graduated at the age of 15. He went on to attend

Morehouse College, the alma mater of his father and grandfather, where he received his

Bachelors of Arts in Sociology, graduated in 1948, and went on to attend Crozer Theological

Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania where he earned his Bachelors of Divinity degree in 1951.

King accepted his first pastorship in 1954 to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in

Montgomery, Indiana. Previously a supporter of civil rights, King became involved in the

NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) where he would

eventually become an executive committee member. (Nobelprize.org)

While in that position, King became a part of a movement that would launch him to the

front of the civil rights movement: The Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Rosa

Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Following her arrest,

King and other members of the Montgomery NAACP launch a boycott of the bus company, to

protest segregation on public buses, lasted 385 days. After that movement, King’s life would

never be the same. From that day forward, he would come to experience death threats, assault

and, in the end, assassination. (Kinnon)

In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From

that position, King would go on to spread the teachings of Ghandi and promote non-violent

resistance. In 11 years, King would travel over six million miles speaking over 2,500 times. He

was arrested 25 times and assaulted on four occasions. He was named Time Magazine’s Man of

the Year and became the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. But before his death on

April 4, 1968, he would forever cement himself in our memories through his famous “I Have a

Dream” Speech in Washington D.C. (Nobelprize.org)

Martin Luther King Jr. and his “I Have a Dream” Speech

In the 17 minute speech, King stood before a gathering of nearly a quarter of a million

people who had gathered in protest of Jim Crow Laws in the South and call for an end to

segregation. The movement, called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a

pivotal time for the civil rights movement. The leaders originally had a goal of 100,000

attendees, but as the day of the rally drew closer, many feared that they would not even have

that. After communicating the situation to the administration, President Kennedy began enlisting

the help of pastors and community organizers. Within 24 hours, they were bussing people in

from as far as New York.

What made King’s speech so mesmerizing was his using of many different oral

techniques such as voice merging and prophetic voice as well as techniques such as repetition

and metaphors. By reciting famous phrases of past speakers, King recalled past struggles and

compares them to the struggle of the time. In his speech, King called upon his sermons and

recognizable sermons of other reverends, the bible, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and

Shakespeare’s Richard III. (Anson)

King used voice merging to help his own voice emerge as that of a “prophet.” By reciting

common phrases, he portrays himself as medium by pairing his ideas with the ideas of other

influential leaders. By illustrating that the current struggle was similar to prior struggles in our

nation’s history, he tries to elevate himself as a leader of which previous leaders would approve.

Examples of King’s use of voice merging begin in the first sentence of the second

paragraph of his speech. By starting his speech with “Five score years ago,” King makes a

connection with Abraham Lincoln. This was a very powerful use of voice merging to evoke the

memory of the president who proclaimed an end to slavery in America. It was especially

powerful because King was giving his speech standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

King also relied upon his life and education as a preacher to reach out the audience by

merging his message with the writing of biblical prophets Amos and Isaiah.

King’s speech follows a common African-American rhetorical delivery called a Jeremiad

which follows a common structure of recalling national past at the beginning of the speech, then

dwelling on the urgent challenge of the present. In the end, he uses the voice merging method to

portray himself as a modern day prophet, describing in unforgettable language and apocalyptic

imagery his dream of America's future. (Howard-Pitney)

King is able to utilize a prophetic voice so well because it is a voice that people want to

hear in times of crisis. When times are darkest, people want someone who can lead them through

the darkness when it is clear that illumination is distant. He illustrates that he only accepts the

“prophet” position reluctantly and that its responsibility weighs heavily on him. Because he is so

burdened by the responsibility of it, he portrays a sense of urgency as well as refusing any less

than the total abolishment of racism. (Vail)

He uses his past experience as a preacher to illustrate his charisma in his speech by

weaving in easily repeated themes and metaphors. By picking out key phrases, King creates

impact in his speech by invoking the same messages repeatedly through the speech. Each time he

brings up a phrase he said previously, he coats it with more passion and energy. In his speech he

references “freedom” 20 times, “justice” 8 times, and the key phrase “dream” 11 times. Each

time he repeats the phrase, he whips the crowd into more and more excitement.

He uses the same technique to highlight opposing themes. He mentions “justice” eight

times while mentioning “injustice” three times. (Dlugan) By weighing his speech with more

themes with positive connotations, he creates a message that highlights his believes in change

through nonviolent resistance rather than violent revolution.

Using various techniques and symbolism, Dr. King transformed a short speech into the

rally cry of the civil rights movement. His passions and charisma spearheaded a campaign that

would change the history of America, and inspired many people to dream their own dreams of

equality.

John F. Kennedy

John “Jack” Fitzgerald Kennedy, or JFK as he is also know, was born in Brookline,

Massachusetts on May 29, 1917 to Joseph Kennedy, Sr., a banker and socialite, and Rose

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, a social debutant. Both of Jacks parents came from prominent Irish

Catholic families from Boston. Jack was the second oldest of nine siblings, two years younger

than Joe Jr. who was being groomed for political greatness by their father. (Biography.com)

Jack and his siblings were raised to know that although they should actively compete

against one another, their family ties were the top priority. Joe Sr. was actively involved in his

children’s lives. This was at a time where most fathers did not take an active role with their kids,

but Joe always knew where his children were and what they were doing.

Kennedy spent his early childhood in Brookline, a predominantly white protestant

neighborhood, where he and his brother Joe Jr. attended the prestigious Noble and Greenough

Lower School. Being catholic, Kennedy and his family were barred from many of the social

activities in the area.

In 1927 the family moved to a Riverdale, a suburb of New York City. Shortly thereafter,

they moved again, to a nearby Bronxville. For the next three years, Kennedy attended the

Riverdale School, before spending a year at the Catholic Canterbury School, in New Milford,

Connecticut. In the fall of 1931, he enrolled in Choate, a Connecticut boarding school. Jack had a

hard time in his Joe’s shadow, and he spent more time socializing than he did doing school work.

He was often causing trouble with friends. While he ignored school work, he could make friends

easily. After graduating from Choate Jack decided to go to Princeton, but his first year was cut

short after getting sick with jaundice. Once he recovered, he decided to apply to Harvard and

follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother. (Sparknotes.com)

As an underclassman, Jack’s habit didn’t change much from grade school. He preferred

friends, sports, and women to class work. As an upperclassman, he began to improve his work

habits and began to apply himself in classes. After his father was appointed to an ambassador

position to Great Britain, Jack spent time touring Europe as wrote his senior thesis on the

appeasement of Germany. He graduated sume cum laude in 1940 and spent the next year on a

trip to South America.

In September 1941, Jack enlisted in the navy and was commission as a naval ensign. Jack

went to work for the Naval Intelligence in Washington, but was reassigned after it was found that

a woman he was dating had ties to Communist leaders. In 1942 he was given an assignment on a

Motor Torpedo Boat, or "PT boat. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1943 and was given

command of PT boat 109. Jack was the skipper of PT 109 on the night of August 2, 1943, when

it was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amigari. Two of his crew members were killed

immediately and the boat was split in two. The surviving members clung to the floating portion

of the boat while they waited for help. When none came, Jack led the men as they swam towards

local islands. On August 7 Jack and the other survivors were rescued by a party of British scouts.

For his actions, he received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart. (Donavan)

During the same time period, Joe was flying missions in Europe. On August 12, 1944,

Joe was flying a particularly dangerous mission that involved dropping high powered TNT on

high priority German targets in France. His blame exploded in the air over southern England.

Joe Sr., having lost his oldest son, turned to Jack to pick up his mantle. Using his political

clout, Joe Sr. helped Jack campaign for congress in 1946 in Massachusetts’ Eleventh District.

Using his family's past charity, their Catholic background, and Jacks status as a war hero, he

swept past the republican candidate. He would go on to serve three terms (1946 to 1952) in the

house of representatives, and in 1952 Kennedy campaigned against Republican incumbent Henry

Cabot Lodge for his seat in the senate where he would serve until 1960. (Biography.com)

After winning the senate race, Kennedy met a young woman named Jacqueline Bouvier,

a writer with the Washington Times-Herald, at a dinner party. They married September 12, 1953

and had had three children: Caroline, John F. Jr. and Patrick Kennedy.

Kennedy went on to run for president in 1960 after beating his opponent in the

Democratic primaries. He chose Lyndon B. Johnson, Texas senator and senate major leader, as

his vice presidential candidate. On November 8, 1960, Kennedy defeated Republican Richard M.

Nixon in a close race. (JFKlibrary.org)

In his two and half years as president, Kennedy and his administration would play a part

in some of the most pressing issues of the time including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of

Pigs, the establishment of the Peace Corp, the civil right movement, and the expansion of the

space program. (Sparknotes)

On November 22 1963, while riding with his wife and Texas governor John Connally

through downtown Dallas, the president was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy was

shot twice and died at Parkland Memorial Hospital shortly thereafter. He was 46.

John F. Kennedy had his life tragically cut short. He is remembered fondly for the actions

he took in his short time in office. He came from a prominent family, and died a hero to the

American people.

John F. Kennedy and his speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association

Although the 1st amendment of the Bill of Rights starts with, “Congress shall make no

law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” many

have continued to question and challenge the limits of the separation and state. It is an argument

that has continued unabated since the ratification of the Constitution, and played a pivotal part of

the 1960 election where 0ne of the biggest hurtles Kennedy faced was the anti-Catholic

sentiment of the time. (Mohler, Albert)

A Catholic had never been elected President before, and many people were worried about

the control church leaders, such as the Pope, would have a great degree of control over a

Catholic president. Campaigns were being run with messages stating that a Catholic president

would allow the US to be controlled by Rome.

In his speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Associated, Kennedy starts out by saying

that the real issues of the election have been obscured by his religious beliefs. While his

opponents are fighting him about his dogmatic views, there are greater threats to the nation like,

Kennedy says,

“The spread of Communist influence, until it now festers only 90 miles from the

coast of Florida -- the humiliating treatment of our President and Vice President

by those who no longer respect our power -- the hungry children I saw in West

Virginia, the old people who cannot pay their doctors bills, the families forced to

give up their farms -- an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and

too late to the moon and outer space.

While his opponents were trying to defeat him with a smear campaign about his religion,

Kennedy fought back with his own thoughts. He lays out his vision of America. In his vision of

America he says, “no Catholic prelate would tell the President -- should he be Catholic -- how to

act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote… and no man is

denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint

him, or the people who might elect him.”

Kennedy stood in front of a room several hundred clergy of the Greater Houston

Ministerial Association, and knew he had to convince them that his decisions as president would

be based on the public good, not sectarian doctrine. This was not small feat considering that in

1959 a Gallup poll showed that, 25 percent of Americans said they would not vote for a Catholic

because they feared he would let his religious leaders control him and the office of the president.

(Haynes, Charles)

He went on to say,

“This year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is

pointed, in other years it has been -- and may someday be again -- a Jew, or a

Quaker, or a Unitarian, or a Baptist… Today, I may be the victim, but tomorrow it

may be you.”

We may look at that statement and think about how it reflects the statements of Pastor

Martin Niemöller about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power

who said something similar about communist, socialists, and others when he stated, “Then they

came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they

came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” (Marcuse, Harold)

From this, Kennedy goes on to point out that many Americans had died fighting so that

no man would worry about a religious test that would exclude him from a job or an elected

office. He spoke about a famous Texas landmark, The Alamo, when he said “side by side with

Bowie and Crockett died Fuentes, and McCafferty, and Bailey, and Badillo, and Carey -- but no

one knows whether they were Catholics or not. For there was no religious test there.”

Towards the end of his speech, Kennedy asserts that he believes that he should be judged

on his political views, not his religious views when he said “I am not the Catholic candidate for

President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President who happens also to be Catholic.

I do not speak for my church on public matters – and the church does not speak for me.” By

stating this, he asserts that his religious beliefs should be important only to him. People will also

disagree about their religious beliefs, but that is what this country was built upon. We are

allowed to have our own religious beliefs. While there are numerous religions practiced in

America, there are only two major parties.

Kennedy believed that his political actions and beliefs were what he was focused on, and

that the opinions of Cardinals or Popes were not his concern. His concern was for the safety and

growth of the nation. If they judged him on his political beliefs and found him not worthy to

lead, he would have returned to the senate. But if they judged him on his political beliefs and

found him not worthy to lead then it was not him who lost, but the 40 million Americans who

would be refused a chance to be president the moment they were baptized.

(AmericanRhetoric.com)

Kennedy encountered an issue that should not have been an issue, and turned in his favor.

By August, 1961, that number of voters that would not vote for a catholic had fallen to 13

percent. In the end, Kennedy beat Nixon and became the 35th

president of the United States, the

youngest man to be elected president, and the first Catholic president.

Rhetoric and Public Relations

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as “a strategic

communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and

their publics.” (PRSA.org) Although Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F.

Kennedy may not be seen as tradition PR practitioners, they relied upon many of the lessons that

PR practitioners learn today.

One tenant of PR today is that public relations is viewed as a communication function to

create mutually beneficial relationships. Each of the three leaders faced many challenges and

obstacles in their time. To overcome the obstacles, they had to do more than just manage their

followers. To achieve their goals, they had to inspire their publics. They had to build relationship

with the people that listened to and believed in them.

They would only be given the influence to lead by showing their publics that they were

worthy and capable of leading. To demonstrate that they were fit to lead they formed

relationships with their publics, which was not always an easy task. For Dr. King, he inspired his

constituents to believe in him only by showing that he was not above any task he would ask them

to do. He did not tell people to put themselves in situations that would get them arrested or

attacked, he would lead them himself.

Because he was in the front lines of the struggle for civil rights, Dr. King was often in the

line of danger and was arrested many times. His willingness to struggle and suffer with his

constituents led them to believe in him. Some of his greatest works, such as his “Letters from

Birmingham Jail”, were written as he endured alongside the people he led and were the prologue

to his well-known “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. (Hanson, Ralph)

PRSA indicates that PR is a process rather than a management function because PR today

is not a one-sided conversation. For PR to be successful, leaders much listen to their publics and

respond to their concerns and needs.

After becoming Prime Minster, Winston Churchill radically reorganized the process for

communication between himself and his ministers. The reorganization took months and

involved frequent meetings with his chiefs of staff. In his reorganization, Churchill created the

Ministry of Defense and placed himself at the top. This reorganization avoided many of the

communication errors that had plagued the British government and military during the First

World War. Nearly every other ministry presented reports to the Ministry of Defense, and many

other councils were created to report to Churchill and the Ministry of Defense including the

Production Council and the Battle of the Atlantic Committee. (winston-churchill-leadership.com)

This reorganization gave Churchill a greater deal of control over both governmental and

military actions. As well as giving instructions, Churchill used the reports from his ministers to

listen to the needs of both the citizens and the soldiers.

An important part of the PR is the building of “mutually beneficial relationships.”

President Kennedy set a course for many successful ventures in his time in office, but one that is

most often remembered today is his insistence of creating a success space program. To Kennedy,

he saw a successful space program as one of the most important goals to the nation, second to

only nation defense which a space program would help bolster. (Whitehousetapes.net)

Kennedy saw this as an opportunity to build many mutually beneficial relationships. A

space program would not only aid in national defense, but also international diplomacy. Such a

project would come at great expense. The cost of the program was expected to reach $40 billion.

Kennedy first announced his goal of landing a man on the Moon in a speech to Congress

on May 25, 1961, and at a speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962, he spoke of the

desire to use the space program to reach out to other nations by saying, "No nation which expects

to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” Kennedy even

went as far as offering the Soviet Union the chance to join with the US for a joint mission to the

moon. (Dallek, Robert)

Although at the time his invitation was turned down, today 61 foreign astronauts from 14

other countries have joined with NASA in space exploration and have helped in the

establishment of the International Space Station. (NASA.gov) Because of the groundwork laid

by Kennedy, the US has become a leader in space exploration and its inclusion of other countries

has allowed for the exchange of intelligence and diplomacy on the ground.

According to PRSA, one of the management functions of PR is to anticipate, analyze and

interpret public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact the operations and plans of the

organization. For each of the three speakers I analyzed, each of them established or joined

organization that aided them in understanding the needs of their publics.

Once Martin Luther King Jr. joined the fight for civil rights, he worked with several other

prominent church and community members to support the cause. It was this small group of

leaders that made the decision to support Rosa Parks in her act of defiance on a bus in

Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was not he first black woman who had been arrested for

such civil disobedience, but the NAACP (which King was a part of) did not find those women to

be suitable candidates to be at the center of their campaign. Instead they chose Rosa Parks, 42-

year-old seamstress with a good community reputation, as their best candidate to oppose the

segregation laws in Montgomery. (Shipp, E. R.)

After leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King established the Southern

Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and served as its first president. The SCLC had a large

part of the civil right movement and conducted many successful protests. Without the SCLC the

Famous March on Washington, where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, would

not have been organized.

While King worked to establish the SCLC, Churchill had his established interior minister

positions (though he did make changes to their organization as stated before), and Kennedy had

his Cabinet. Each of these leaders gathered people they trusted and knew would put forth the best

efforts to help them understand the needs of their publics as well as assisting in the operations

and planning of their organizations.

While each of these leaders had other to help them, they were still responsible for the

protection or their publics and the change of the time. PRSA also states that,

“In helping to define and implement policy, the public relations practitioner uses a

variety of professional communication skills and plays an integrative role both

within the organization and between the organization and the external

environment.”

A PR practitioner must have keen interpersonal and communication skills, and those skills were

what set these Churchill, King, and Kennedy apart from others of the time.

Churchill gained a variety of skill over his lifetime through a variety of professions from

solider, to journalist, historian, and minister. He was an excellent communicator. When he spoke

he used his words to paint a picture and to tell a story. When he spoke, he put the audience at the

center of the action and made them feel like the difference between victory and defeat rested in

the hand of each British citizen, from the street cleaners that picked up the bricks of bombed

houses to the ministers of government and everyone in between. (Best, Geoffrey)

These leaders understood the importance their ability to communicate played in the

success of their causes. The time of World War II, by Kennedy’s time they were well tested and

he understood their importance. In his essay “A Force That Has Changed The Political Scene”

Kennedy says,

While radio and TV were a relatively new invention around, but nothing

compares with the revolutionary impact of television. TV has altered drastically

the nature of our political campaigns, conventions, constituents, candidates and

costs. Some politicians regard it with suspicion, others with pleasure. Some

candidates have benefited by using it-others have been advised to avoid it. To the

voter and vote-getter alike, TV offers new opportunities, new challenges and new

problems.

It became clear in the 1960 president debates, just how much the TV was going to

change the future of politics. Radio listeners felt the debate was about even or giving

Nixon a slight lead. TV viewers gave a victory to Kennedy who looked young and

composed compared to Nixon who had refused makeup and appeared uncomfortable on

camera. (CNN)

In their time, each of these three leaders used skills that we recognize as todays

public relations skills. They thought progressively, strove to engage with their publics,

and understood the importance of their communication skills. Modern leaders would be

wise to consider the actions of these men when engage with their own publics.

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