Nixon's Speech

Nixon gave this speech on November 3, 1969. It was given a year after he was elected, and gave it due to the situation in Vietnam. The war was unpopular and seemed pointless to many. Protests were rampant, so in this speech Nixon defended his decision to keep U.S. forces in Vietnam and explained why negotiations had failed so far.

Nixon got the attention of the audience by saying "Good evening, my fellow Americans". His introduction into the speech was "Tonight I want to talk to you on a subject of deep concern to all Americans and to many people in all parts of the world -- the war in Vietnam." In the text of his speech, he explained why he felt the war was important and made it clear that he was there to listen and to answer all questions. He begins the actual text of the speech with "Now, let me begin by describing the situation I found when I was inaugurated on January 20..." Nixon ends his speech asking for the support of the Nation. He vowed that he will end the war with peace. He also stated his plans on how to accomplish this.

The materials are organized by chronological order with events leading up to the war. His main issue of the speech was "The question at issue is not whether Johnson's war becomes Nixon's war. The great question is: How can we win America's peace?" After this he then points out fundamental issues, including why and how America got involved with Vietnam in the first place.

The appropriate information supports his ideas because he states the situation, he showed how we got in the situation, and then executes a plan to come to his main goal, "Peace". The audience for this speech is the entire nation of the United States. Nixon's speech was VERY appropriate for the audience. He showed great compassion for the state of anger and frustration that the nation was in at the time.

The kinds of visuals that might have enhanced Nixon's speech would be anything that has to do with the American flag, and symbols of freedom and peace. These visuals could be used at any points in the speech because it all ties together.

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