The great silent majority

Richard Nixon in his address to the nation delivered on the 3 of November 1969 in order to defend its policy in Vietnam.

Lexical choice

The language used is concentrated in a few clear words, which recall the topic of the speech: the search for a solution to the Vietnam War.

Then we find: Vietnam, Peace, War, Withdrawal, Forces, People, …

Structure of Nixon’s Speech

Approximately the speech can be characterized by four part: in the first, Nixon tries to imagine the questions that the American people has in his mind; for example: “How and why did America get involved in Vietnam in the first place?”

In the second part he blames the failure of the Paris Conference to communist countries, and in particular the Ho Chi Minh’s refusal of any compromise.

Then he describes why precipitate withdrawal would be a disaster of immense magnitude.

Finally, he asks the support of the silent majority of Americans to achieve the objective “of a just and lasting peace”.

Characterizing words and phrases

-          precipitate withdrawal as disaster;

-          defeat in our nation’s history;

-          our proposals;

-          unprecedented step;

-          obstacle in negotiating;

Fabrizio Creston