It's The Furthest Thing From Extreme

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.”

"I believe I even threatened formenting a Rebellion in case we were not considered and assured him we would not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we had neither a voice nor representation."

Lewis, however, highlights these people whose lives will be greatly affected by decisions about and fights for civil rights so that those who are marching remember that the fight continues and has real consequences. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph demonstrate that he identifies with the concerns of grassroots activists across the country who could not attend the march, and he explains that he has doubts about this march doing enough if the movement does not focus more on the grassroots efforts of its members. (Ms. Pruden)

John Lewis continues his speech through paragraph 5 by reminding his audience, the activists, that they are a part of a social revolution for equality and criticizes American politics through the effective use of rhetorical devices. For instance, Lewis condemns politicians who participate in unethical policies when he announced that “American politics is dominated by politicians who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic and

In this he reaches out to all backgrounds and religions to try and unite them in the common cause. Claiming that they have all suffered in this together. And that to be aware that it is election year and that the white man will smile at you most when he needs you and look down upon you when he doesn’t. This speech resonated because I could not help but think of this year. 2016 is an election year. Yes we have come a long way but not as far as we had hoped. We are still facing the race debate. And many of the battles and obstacles that Malcom X faced then, are still being faced

John Lewis, now a US representative for Georgia, was an activist in the civil rights movement at the time of this speech. Lewis has been involved in politics for quite some time. He was one of the leaders that organized the March on Washington in 1963. All of this lead to the speech he gave on August 28th, 1963. When giving this speech, it is clear that he has the confidence of a strong leader. The larger underlying occasion in this speech, in other words, what is going on in the world that caused Lewis to give this speech, was the civil rights movement. At this time, the African Americans in America were protesting against the government in order to gain the rights they deserved. The immediate occasion, in this case, would, in fact, be the speech that Lewis is giving. During the March On Washington, Lewis gave a speech in order to persuade the people to get more involved with the civil rights movement. There are two audiences that Lewis addresses. He is addressing those that are physically at the location of the speech. These people are there in support of the civil rights movement. Then there is the rest of the world, specifically those who are against the civil rights movement. There is a time in the speech where Lewis calls out those who oppose the movement and, in summary, says that we will not sit in silence. The purpose of this speech is to persuade those who are in favor of the civil rights movement and hope that they become even more actively involved. Lewis

So rally boys, rally, let us never mind the past; 
We had a hard road to travel, but our day is coming fast; 
For God is for the right, and we have no need to fear, 
The Union must be saved by the colored volunteer.

In light of the recent presidential election, many people fear for their freedom as restrictions on immigration, religion, and abortion rights have been proposed. As a result of this, on January 20th, countless citizens banded together across America in “Women’s Marches”, the largest of about 400,000 people at Washington, D.C. (10 Actions). At these protests, advocating for people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, zero arrests were made. These peaceful gatherings gained the attention and unification of many people across the country and motivated citizens to continue to organize events. At the Women’s March on San Francisco, it was said by a speaker that we are “on the right side of history”. As people continue to vocalize their disagreements with the government, change will always be made, though it may be

“This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”

“Tell me Jason what do you think will come out of the colonists rebelling against the crown,” William asked. “I am not really sure to think, but I am sure that if the rebellion ends with the colonists defeating the British then I am sure it will greatly affect the British empire,” I said. “It would also affect our society once the link between Britain and the colonies is broken I am sure that our kinds' link to the old world would also fade away.” “There are some vampires who believe that we should separate from the old world since they are so far away from us, and I would think that may be the true.” “Maybe you are right it takes weeks for a letter to reach the council, and I have been told that they have become very corrupt.” “I have heard

Prior to the progressive Movement there were many social and political conditions that existed in America. Without the progressive reform these problems would not have been solved - the most important progressive era reforms were: women’s suffrage, racism, and working conditions. While the Progressives differed in their assessment of the problems and how to resolve them, they generally shared in common the view that government at every level must be actively involved in these reforms. The existing constitutional system was outdated and must be made into a dynamic, evolving instrument of social change, aided by scientific knowledge and the development of administrative bureaucracy. The Progressives believed that these changes

John Lewis begins his remarks by revealing his attitude that civil rights leaders should not congratulate themselves yet and that there is still a long road before Africans Americans have true freedom. To immediately complicate the notion of being satisfied with the progress of the civil rights movement that other speakers proclaimed, he announces, “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of” (para 1). The essence of Lewis’ argument is that the leaders of the civil rights movement are marching for workplace fairness and equality for African Americans, but they should not stop and congratulate themselves. Significantly, this opening statement reveals the difference of beliefs that Lewis had compared to some of the older leaders in the movement who wanted to discuss how far civil rights have progressed. To further demonstrate this idea, Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in... Mississippi...working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day. While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges” (para 1). In this illustration, Lewis highlights the dissimilarities between those at home who are experiencing low wages and unfair hours or are imprisoned on false charges to those who are standing there in

Quotation 1: “In this sense the civil rights movement re-enacted the American Revolution, and its paramount leader, Martin Luther King, spoke as twentieth-century America’s greatest democratic voice.” (Steele 454)

She recalls, “Thousands of people just took off, leaving most of their leaders at the podium. It was kind of funny to watch the leaders run to overtake the march. The way some of them had been leading the people in the past, perhaps the people were better off leading themselves” (Moody, 334). Moody had begun to realize that passive strategies were not an effective and practical way to change laws. She had begun to realize that Negroes might have to meet violence with violence if they ever wanted their voices to be heard. During Martin Luther King’s speech, Moody thinks, “We had ‘dreamers’ instead of leaders leading us” (Moody, 335). Her uncertainty with the Movement had reached an all time high by this point. She believed that the leaders were out of touch with the black community, as seen by the emphasis on voter registration rather than the poverty in the rural south. On her way back to Mississippi, Moody wondered if she and the other 250,000 people at the march had made any impact on the government, a clear indication that her confidence was slowly decaying.

Two powerful figures who play a role in shaping America into the country it is today, made speeches that inspired the nation to focus on being united, not divided, so they can stand up for what they believe is right and the American promise. Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King made encouraging speeches about how their country should unite and protest for their rights. During the civil rights movement, African-Americans fought for equal rights and practiced civil disobedience. MLK encouraged America as a whole to fight for justice and to go against oppression. During his speech he mentions his hope that one day “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free together” (King). He’s portraying the future he wants for America and saying that he firmly believes that all of this can only be fulfilled if everyone works together as one. King has faith in the union and he knows that if all of its citizens persevered during that rough time together and fought against the injustices happening, one day they will be able to achieve the freedom of being united with all Americans and having equality in their country. He touches on the word ¨together¨ a number of times to really emphasize that all of the goals can only be achieved if they do it as one not as divided individuals. He also acknowledges that this can be accomplished if they have faith that they can do it and he