_ Who is speaking?
Adlai Stevenson
_ Why was/is the speech important to society?
Early in 1952, while Stevenson was still governor of Illinois, President Harry S. Truman decided that he would not seek another term as president. Instead, Truman met with Stevenson in Washington and proposed that Stevenson seek the Democratic nomination for president; Truman promised him his support if he did so. Stevenson at first hesitated, arguing that he was committed to running for a second gubernatorial term in Illinois. However, a number of his friends and associates (such as George Wildman Ball) quietly began organizing a "draft Stevenson" movement for President; they persisted in their activity even when Stevenson (both publicly and privately) told them to stop. When Stevenson continued to state that he was not a candidate, President Truman and the "bosses" of the Democratic Party looked for other prospective candidates. However, each of the other main contenders had a major weakness. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee won most of the primaries, but he was unpopular with President Truman and other prominent Democrats, who saw him as a party maverick who could not be trusted. Senator Richard Russell, Jr. of Georgia was popular in the South, but his support of segregation and opposition to civil rights for blacks made him unacceptable to Northern and Western Democrats. Truman favored U.S. diplomat W. Averell Harriman, but he had never held elective office and was inexperienced in national politics. Truman next turned to his Vice-President, Alben Barkley, but at 74 years of age he was dismissed as being too old by labor union leaders. In the end Stevenson, despite his reluctance to run, remained the most attractive candidate heading into the Democratic Convention. At the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Stevenson, as the governor of the host state, was assigned to give the welcoming address to the delegates. His speech was so stirring and witty that it helped stampede his nomination. Despite his protestations, the delegates drafted him, and he accepted the Democratic nomination with a speech that according to contemporaries, "electrified the nation:"
_ Why do you feel in is important or interesting?
I feel this speech is a very moving speech, and I believe, like our president today, we need someone that can inspire us to move forward and, people like Adlai could have moved us forward in an inspired direction. I believe you can feel his heart and mind in this speech and that needs to be expressed.
_ What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?
The emotion that I feel is excitement, motivation, determination, boldness, loyalty, pride. Very American patriotic feeling but still sophisticated through how he says it and what he says.
_ What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...
He pauses a lot, he speaks slowly but in some parts he goes quicker in what he says.
_ What do you FEEL should be loud or soft, long pause or rushed?
He has great word choice, so I believe the phrases that call out on that specific word choice (alliteration for example) could be called out. Or phrases that call out his words on the American people.
_ Is there a call to action? When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?
This is the time when we had the Red Scare with communist Russia and he does call to us to stay strong and keep being Americans who strive for a better land and make it safer.
_ How does it make you feel?
It makes me feel patriotic. It makes me want to get out of bed and listen to him speak more.
_ How do imagine that the audience felt?
I imagine that the audience, liked the audiences of today, wanted to be inspired and to have hope in this time of terror and I feel he gave comfort to them. I bet they loved him, they were captivated by him.
_ Could there be another interpretation of the speech?
I think he gets his point across pretty clearl.
_ Write/find a short bio, of the person giving the speech.
Adlai Stevenson was an American politician, noted for his intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory, and promotion of liberal causes in the Democratic Party. He served as the 31st Governor of Illinois, and received the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 1952 and 1956; both times he was defeated by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time in the election of 1960, but was defeated by Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. After his election, President Kennedy appointed Stevenson as the Ambassador to the United Nations; he served from 1961 to 1965. He died on 14 July 1965 in London, England after suffering a fatal heart attack at age 65.
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