America has always been infamous for its capitalistic society.

Capitalism governs

America; it is the basis of the country and it will likely never go away. However, in times of

recession and economic distress, this system tends to falter, especially if large companies are not

responsible with their prices and wages. President Kennedy wanted to avoid an even bigger

disaster and, reasonably, asked for stable prices, to which the steel companies replied negatively.

In his speech, Kennedy utilizes syntax and ethos in order to further the idea that large

corporations are irresponsible for taking advantage of the American people during economic

turmoil.

In his remarks, Kennedy utilizes syntax to prove his point. Namely, he uses anaphora in

multiple places. First, it is used in the second paragraph, starting with “when we are confronted

with grave crises...” and ending with “when we are asking Reservists to leave their homes and

families…” (lines 6-10). The second instance of this syntax is in the third paragraph, where it

states that if the cost of steel is increased “it would increase the cost of homes… It would

increase the cost of machinery… It would seriously handicap our efforts to prevent an

inflationary spiral…” (lines 23-29). This heavy use of anaphora, listing the consequences of the

big corporations’ actions, is an ideal tactic to make them feel guilty. It emphasizes the impact

that the rise in prices would have on every single individual in America, and even the country

itself.

Kennedy puts it very bluntly that “there is no justification for an increase in the steel

prices” (lines 46-47). In fact, it would hinder America’s efforts to stop communism at the time.

To back up his claim, he refers to multiple reputable sources of information. Firstly, he states

that “It would add, Secretary McNamara informed me this morning, an estimated one billion

dollars to the cost of our defenses” (lines 32-34). At the time, McNamara, being a Secretary,
would and could not lie about this. The use of ethos helps the insane statistics seriously sink in.

President Kennedy also adds that “the Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

informed me... , and I quote: ‘Employment costs per unit of steel output in 1961 were essentially

the same as they were in 1958’” (lines 57-61). A long, complicated title is sure to get anyone’s

attention. Not to mention, the employment costs have not changed, but the companies have still

raised prices. It does not line up, and, as Kennedy put it, there is just no justification for it.

Through the use of ethos and syntax, President Kennedy conveys his idea that large

companies do not have the right to take advantage of the American people during a time of crisis

just because they want more money. One small raise of steel prices affected the entire country

and its economy. Large companies will never be perfect as capitalism cannot exist without

corruption. But, as long as we can catch those mistakes before they can cause a disaster, America

will, at the least, survive.