I Have A Dream Speech Analysis

King uses logos to explain to the Clergymen by comparing racial injustice to a boil: King state, “that Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured” (King 4).

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential figures of the American civil rights movement. Famous for his prowess with words, King was known for writing powerful texts throughout his life. Two of his most famous compositions were his “I Have A Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. Although King uses many styles of writing effectively, his writings with pathos are the most prominent. Since “I Have A Dream” uses more pathos than “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, “I Have A Dream” is more effective at inspiring change.

Early in our county’s history almost all black people came here as slaves. Because people in the South felt they needed cheap labor in building land and because black people in Africa knew how to farm land like the ones in the South, they were taken from their homes and forced to come to America. Arriving in this county, they were sold to whites as slaves without rights or freedom. IN 1776, the American Colonies declared their freedom from Great Britain. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson write that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He declared that all citizens have their rights and equal opportunities in pursuing their goals. Efforts to give black people their rights never stopped, but the changes were not enough. After War II, many people felt that new laws were needed. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that blacks and whites could go to the same schools. However,

During the eighteenth century, a young America was fighting for the liberty, freedom, and equal rights while the second largest economy in America was the practice of slavery. While many middle-class Americans appreciated the values which were being fought for, they began to realize the stark contrast between the values which America was fighting for and the values which slavery supported. Some of these Americans, who wanted a say in the foundation of America, reached out to the founding fathers calling for change. One such American calling for change was Benjamin Banneker, a freed African-American slave who taught himself calculus as well as published his own almanac. Banneker, upset with the inferior description which Jefferson associates with African Americans, wrote a letter which argued against Jefferson’s claims through the implementation of various rhetorical strategies. By varying tones throughout the letter, providing accounts of personal experience as evidence, as well as using Jefferson’s own arguments against him, Banneker’s letter persuades Jefferson that his ideas about black inferiority are false; thus, black people should gain all of the rights which are entitled to white men accordingly.

In the speech he compares white man to black man and he says that we can all be kind and all come together as one. Today in the future people will still remember this speech and remember how great it was and how it really changed the future kids and everyone else. He used logos by using logical ideas about MLK and his family. He used logos towards the end of the speech because he wants us to know that no matter what the skin color of the person they should all be treated equally. “Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.” “Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

"Throughout the years the constitution and the laws have made a tremendous impact in society. White men were privileged with all their rights since they were born. Women and men of color however were not, and they had to fight for their rights throughout the years. The Articles of confederation showed how the states had more power than the government did. In document two it states, “ urging to reject conservative attempts to repeal a law that set in motion an end to slavery.” (E,126) This shows how African American’s had to wait many years for laws to pass and give them freedom. They had the same rights as the White men after the 13th,14th, and 15th amendments were passed. Women had to wait longer and finally got their right to vote when

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was able to captivate many people during a time where African Americans were considered inferior. He stood up for himself and others and vowed to make a change in his community and around the country. The words he were extremely powerful and are still remembered today. Some of his words aroused people and caused them to want to make a change (pathos), and others appealed to reason and used evidence (logos). Dr. King used pathos more frequently in his I Have a Dream speech and used logos more prominently in the Letter from Birmingham Jail letter.

Easily one of the most potent lines in American history, Thomas Jefferson conceived, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Banneker 21). This quote originates from the Declaration of Independence, which was initially constructed to speak to foreign nations about the prevalent problem occurring in the colonies. At the time, the thirteen colonies were extremely afflicted being under the tyrannical reign of the British Crown. Consequently, major figure, Thomas Jefferson, listed all of the grievances in the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming it is vital for each and every person to receive freedom. Fifteen years later, Benjamin Banneker, son of former slaves, would compose a letter to Thomas Jefferson contradicting the declaration to negotiate if freedom is genuinely expressed among all. In Benjamin Banneker’s insightful letter, he applies asyndeton and formal diction to challenge the notion about slavery.

Logos means reason. Martin Luther King Jr. uses logos to show why he is delivering this speech and why he wants things to change. He is delivering this speech to show how many blacks and other races, that weren’t being treated equally, really didn’t have freedom like they should. “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 6) “Instead of honoring the sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 5) These quotes are just a couple of the logos quotes Martin Luther King said in his speech.

Martin Luther King’s use of Pathos and Logos in “I have a Dream” showcases how he uses the devices to inspire others, compared to how he uses these rhetorical devices in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to persuade the Clergymen. Martin Luther King, also referred to MLK, uses both Pathos and Logos to fit the audiences and occasions for each text. His uses of Pathos and Logos in these two texts are examples of how words can inspire change.

"In 1863 it did not mean your mother or your grandmother, and it did not mean you and me. As for now, it must be said that the elevation of the belief in being white was not achieved through wine tastings and ice-cream socials, but rather through the pillaging of life, liberty, labor, and land."

He alludes to the Emancipation Proclamation in which Lincoln decreed all slaves to be free men. He invokes the Declaration of Independence about “the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of

Martin Luther King stood on that stage with confidence and determination to make a change in the United States of America and it was shown through this rhetorical masterpiece titled “I Have a Dream”. The first line of the speech makes the audience aware of not only how serious he is, but also

America is a country built on slavery. From the beginning of its history American Indian slaves, indentured servants, and more prominently black slaves, have built the foundations of this country. When the Declaration of Independence was constructed by Thomas Jefferson, slavery was not one of key points of the document, and it did not pay much attention to the way the slaves were treated. Although the Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal,” this proved to be untrue as slavery stayed prominent in the US for a great period of time. Furthermore, slaves were kept from freedom and did not have the same freedom that white men had. While white men, such as Thomas Jefferson, became unshackled by the reins of the British after the American Revolution, the slaves continued to face situations similar to the tyranny the colonists faced. In response to this unfairness, Benjamin Banneker, a son of former slaves, argues against slavery in America through reminding Jefferson of the slaves’ sufferings, and reminding Jefferson that he, himself, was once void of freedom during Britain's tyranny, just as the slaves were under the oppression of their owners.

On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King conveyed his acclaimed I Have A Dream speech. Dr. King is known as an exceptional speaker, and the speech he vocalized to the general population that day will everlastingly be a piece of American history. King’s approach to his speech is like a minister conversing with his congregation, giving him a huge enthusiastic interest to the group. The flow-through King's speech is easy and effortless, the motivated sound of his voice keeps the group on their toes.