Address to the Nation 9/11/2001 The address to the nation was given to the American people following the events of September 11th 2001. It is credited for inspiring the American people to pull together and rise up to the challenge of moving forward after such a tragedy. At the beginning of the speech the camera starts off a little left of center with President George W. Bush sitting at the Presidential desk with his hands calmly folded. He simply says “Good evening.” “Today our fellow citizens, our way of life our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks.” This speech is a great example of how a single person can bring a nation together using emotion (pathos) and authority (ethos). This speech appeal to the emotions of the Americans at the time is one of its strongest attributes. President Bush personalizes all of the victims with Americans by listing their jobs and referring to them as our children, our fathers, our mothers and friends. He also recalled very horrifying events in vivid detail which helped the listener relive those events over in their mind. He also reassured the public he would find and punish those responsible for the events of that day. He then quoted Psalms and closed with “good night and God bless America.” Sitting at the executive desk of the President in the oval office is the very symbol of ethos in America. This tells us that he is the leader of the free world and that there is no one more powerful than him on the entire planet. His authority ensured Americans that he was going to be able to find and punish the men responsible for the terrible events of that day. Everything about the President that night commanded respect and projected confident authority. He ensured us that he cared but he could accomplish the monumental task at hand which was dust of America’s knees and get back in the