he surprises few (Campbell and Jamieson 14).
Campbell and Jamieson call these addresses a subspecies of the discourse called by Aristotle epideictic, a form of rhetoric that praises or blames on ceremonial occasions, that invites the audience to evaluate the performance of the speaker, recalls the past and speculates about the future while focusing on the present, employes a noble and dignified literary style, and amplifies or rehearses admitted facts. The special character of the inaugural address is defined by these epideictic features and by the nature of the inauguration ceremony, which is a rite of passage, a ritual of transition from one president to another. Four interrelated elements are generated that define the essential presidential inaugural address and differentiate it from other types of epideictic rhetoric in that the presidential inaugural 1) unifies the audience by reconstituting its members as a people; 2) rehearses communal values drawn from the past; 3) sets forth the political principles that will govern the new administration; and 4) demonstrates through enactment that the president appreciates the requirements and limitations of executive functions. There is actually a fifth element requiring that each of the first four ends be achieved through means appropriate to the epideictic address,
that is, while urging contemplation not action, focusing on the present while incorporating past and future and praising the institution of the presidency and the values and form of government of which it is a part (Campbell and Jamieson 15).
In this way, the president and the people renew the covenant that binds them.
The desire for unity is apparent in the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, a spe
...