Argument schemes and the construction of social reality: John F. Kennedy's address to the Houston ministerial association

Abstract

In his 1960 speech to the Houston Ministerial Association, John F. Kennedy convinced many voters that, as a Catholic president, he would act independently of the Catholic Church in such matters as federal aid to schools, human reproduction, and religious tolerance. Through detailed analysis of the schemes used by Kennedy in this address, this essay explains how he used arguments from division to distance himself from the Vatican, inclusion to align himself with the liberal American Catholic view, the rule of justice to urge equal treatment, and reciprocity to argue for religious tolerance. Because of its capacity to reveal a text's hidden agenda, the nature of its response to other texts, and the mechanisms by which it shapes audience perceptions, analysis of schemes offers an invaluable resource for rhetorical criticism.