Week 6 Writing Assignment: Analytical Paper Rough Draft This week, you will submit a rough draft of your analytical paper. Now that you have written a thesis statement and created an outline for your...

The American Promise
America has long been known as the land of the Great American Promise or the Great American Dream. Even today, people from all over the world hope to pursue and live that dream. However, this dream or promise has faced dangers at many points in history. The 2008 election was one such time. The American economy was failing- there was recession, unemployment and destitution (Rose & Spiegel, 2010). At this critical time, President Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado on the 28th of August 2008. The speech focused on the American promise of happy and healthy living for its citizens and how the promise was in crisis at that point of time. Highlighting the problems that the nation was facing, Obama declared the need for change in the American politics and government if Americans wished to relive the American promise. According to him, this change could only be created if Americans were willing to make the right choices and choose the right government.
The speech addressed all Americans without exception. The opening linked America to its past. Obama emphasized that the American promise was not a dream; it was a reality that was lived by their forefathers (Kamp, 2009). He highlighted this fact by stating how America was unique. He informed the people that “through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family” (Obama, 2008). This is what the American promise was. This sets the mood for rhetoric throughout the speech. Americans start linking whatever is told in the speech hereafter, to their history and roots.
Once the audience has started to value the American promise, Obama introduces the problem. He declares that, recently, Americans had started to lose sight of it. Wherever the Americans looked, all they could see was problems in the form of unemployment, financial crisis, housing crisis and so on. This instills a feeling of loss within the audience who start wishing to end the problems. This is when Obama provides them with a possible solution. The only hope to keep the American promise alive, were the common Americans. Obama reminds the nation that at every time the American promise was in crisis, the common American stood up and revived it together. This election was another such chance, but Americans had to take the lead and make the right choices. By putting the power back in the hands of the audience after making them feel the loss, helps persuade their minds...