Sam Stegeman

10/25/2020

Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks

George W. Bush

On September 20, 2001 in Washington DC, everyone in America tuned in at the State of

the Union Chamber as President Bush addressed the country about the 9/11 attacks. He wanted

to give this speech to defend the freedom of every American and to bring justice to the enemies.

President Bush was not only speaking to congress, but to every American listening. Throughout

his speech, he used great ethos and pathos explanations in order to get his points across for better

protection for the American people.

Towards the middle of his speech, he demonstrates the use of ethos. He says that

“America have known wars, the causalities of war, and the surprises of war.” By saying this, he

is very liable to be speaking about this. After using ethos, the people feel safe and trust what he

has to say. President Bush is very smart to say this because it comforts everyone and gets his

points across with better clarification. President Bush never shows the signs of fear, but shows

the signs of confidence and dedication to solve whatever problem has to be done. In this case,

bring justice on the enemies.

Towards the end of his speech, he demonstrates the use of Pathos. He says that “Great

harm has been done to us. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our

moment.” This quote shows the emotion that was said. This is a very powerful statement which

means no matter what happened, we will come back and come back greater and more prepared.

He continues to use the word “normal”. Using reptation in this word shows the American people
that he will do whatever it takes to be back to normal and to defend the people and bring justice

to the enemies.

President Bush uses great points to describe logos. He constructs plans like better airport

security and FBI investigations to show that this country will be heard through the struggles. To

express his use of logos, he states, “We ask every nation to join us. We will ask, and we will

need, the help of police forces, intelligence services, and banking systems around the world.” By

saying this, he is motivated to do whatever it takes and to always be organized even though

everything right now at his time is complete chaos. This statement is also a sense of protection to

the freedom as a whole nation.

By using ethos, pathos, and logos, President Bush was able to bring awareness to a huge

scare for the American people. This speech helped to protect people's freedoms and security. To

this day, better airport protection and better 911 systems have been in place around the world

from this speech. Over time, this message is still in place. Although there have been some less

tragic scenes, the system could never be perfect. It is still very important that all American still

remember his message as we still grow stronger and stronger as one.

Work Cited

Eidenmuller, Michael E. The Rhetoric of 9/11: President George W. Bush -- Address to Joint
Session of Congress and the American People (9-20-01),
www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911jointsessionspeech.htm.