Jfk Civil Rights Speech Analysis

Civil Rights is defined as “the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.” America was near the height of the civil rights movement when President John F. Kennedy gave the “Civil Rights Address” on June 11, 1963. The whole country was at a standoff with one side pushing back at the other for wanting their rights, like a race war. This was demonstrated with the first nonviolent protest sit in that took place in Greensboro, North Carolina 1960. Although it was and still is an uphill battle, Kennedy fought for equal rights among every American with rhetoric/ literary devices such as; allusion,logos, parallelism and powerful diction.

Civil rights was the most pressing domestic issue by far for the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in 1961-65, although initially John F. Kennedy was extremely slow and reluctant to intervene in the South for fear of alienating white voters in that region from the Democratic Party. Even so, when forced to take sides during the Freedom Rides of 1961, the integration fights at the University of Mississippi in 1962 and the University of Alabama the next year, Kennedy chose to support the side of integration and equal citizenship, and this did indeed cost him popular support among Southern whites. After the marches to desegregate Birmingham in 1963, he publicly endorsed the Civil Rights Act, although this did not become law until after his death. A century after the abolition of slavery, as Martin Luther King noted in "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, blacks still faced segregation, discrimination and lack of voting right in many parts of the United States, not only the South.

In 1965, the issue of civil rights was just beginning. Following the brutal attacks on the civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama, President Lyndon Johnson addressed Congress on equal voting legislation. Johnson intended to unify the people in hopes that Americans could overcome a time where tension was rising between blacks and whites. Johnson spoke to the nation using a variety of rhetorical appeals and devices in order to express the importance of equal rights, to unify the country, and provide hope for the future of American equality.

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 leads 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

Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” dialogue was about racial equality for blacks and whites, as well as equity in general. He needed racial equity for everybody, regardless of their skin color. He was fighting for the black people to be accepted and gain their full civil rights. Likewise, in President John Kennedy’s speech, he stated that he will try to achieve freedom and equality to everyone by canceling poverty, imperialism and abuse all through

It was on the day of August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial where about 200,000 people or even more, gathered after the March on Washington. Dr. Martin Luther King administered his famous speech: I have a Dream to America. This is where he spoke about the inequity and segregation of African Americans. King incorporates the following rhetorical strategies: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos into his speech by showing the rest of America what was going on.

After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.

John Caldwell Calhoun was born on March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850. He was an American statesman from South Carolina, and the seventh Vice President of the United States. He is best known for being a defender of slavery, and why it was a “positive good”. John C. Calhoun gave a speech to the US Senate arguing his claim of slavery being an intelligent choice. He argues that African Americans are better living in the United States, that the abolitionist movement would have no effect, and that being slaves was better than being a free worker.

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

Kennedy went on, however, to risk his political career for these same rights. In response to an outburst at the University of Mississippi after the admittance of a black student, the president said from the oval office on June 11, 1963, “It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.” Despite Kennedy’s assassination shortly after this proclamation, the Civil Rights Act passed through Congress just weeks later under President Johnson. As JFK intended, the Civil Rights Act afforded equal rights to whites and blacks alike (Kozak).

The Civil Rights Address was one of the most influential speeches President John F. Kennedy has ever presented to the American people, and was one of many of his many accomplishments during his presidency. America was experiencing racial discrimination and racial inequality, and Americans needed a leader who would unite them. John F. Kennedy was a sincere, honest, inspirational individual whose duty was to influence equality to Americans. President John F. Kennedy’s address inspires and pulls on the passion of Americans; he wants all Americans to promote and protect and protect the rights that all men are free, he addresses this a sectional issue and that and our task; our obligation, is to make that revolution, and that everyone in

Kennedy advocates greater civil rights for African Americans. Because of increasing violence and chaos between whites and blacks, Kennedy felt the need to address the nation concerning racism. In John F. Kennedy's speech, The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis in Regard to Race, Kennedy hoped his audience would consider and support equal rights for all men “I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents […] This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds […] It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights

He was able to find a proper and fitting response to the injustices of African-Americans. He spoke on a subject many didn't care to hear about, the deep injustice of segregation. The Kennedy administration had stalled on the issue and even avoided supporting the civil rights demonstration which King spoke of ( 2000). To King, this offered an opportunity to end the delay that the Civil War's promises had made. He knew he wasn't just talking to protestors, but also the Kennedy administration, to white Americans apathetic and unaware of the injustice, and also to segregationists and racists (Rappaport, 2002). In this speech, King planted his place as first among equals in civil rights leadership. "From this first televised mass meeting, an American audience saw and heard the unedited oratory of America's finest preacher, and for the first time, a mass white audience heard the undeniable justice for black demands" (Seattle Times, 4 April 1993). King said "There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship."

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his

This speech took place on August 28, 1963 millions of citizens, children, law and policy makers attended while 250,000 watched on TV as a Baptist Preacher ,a Boston University Graduate Dr, Martin Luther King stood behind a podium. He established an immediate rapport with an ever changing audience and communicated on a meaningful level, by appealing to moral conscience of Americans standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He gave the rhetorical demands that racial justice no longer shall people be divided by race or religion. Although at the time it wasn't the case, it was a future vision that " all people are created equal" ( M.L.K.)