Rhetorical Analysis of Barbara Jordan's statement on the articles of impeachment

3 Context points

• Jackson mentions that the audience of Jordan's speech consists of 34 members of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
• Jackson says that the purpose of the statement is to convince the committee that what Nixon did was illegal and he needed to be impeached.
• Jackson also says that not only was Jordan trying to convince the committee members, but the entire american public who was watching on television.

3 Textual points

• Jackson shows how Jordan tried to appeal to the emotion of the audience by showing that the thing she loved, the constitution, was in jeopardy of being under attack.
• Jackson mentions how Jordan was showing that she is a trustworthy person by quoting founding fathers of the constitution such as James Madison.
• Jackson then tells how Jordan mentions words like "burglars", "arrested", "break-in" and "fabrication" to show that the logical choice is to impeach Nixon.

Original Observations

• Jordan quotes Woodrow Wilson saying that when the president breaks the law political parties need to be put aside and justice needs to be put into effect.
• Jordan appeals to the minorities and women in the audience by showing that they now have the power to be involved in the constitutional powers they are assigned and she does not want to see them not use their important power that they have received over the years.