Lyndon Baines Overcome Rhetorical Analysis

In the essay “Let Justice Roll down”, Martin Luther King Jr wrote about the difficulties and social injustices faced by the negro population in America during the 1960’s. The main theme Dr. King was writing about in his yearly essay was the fight for civil justice and equality for all men and women. The essay chosen was written in 1965 and made very good points to the argument for equality made by Martin Luther King Jr. Three of these points included in the following paragraphs are the importance of Selma, AL to the rights movement, the importance of demonstrations, and a stronger focus on the Civil Rights Act.

Lyndon B. Johnson makes use of enthralling anaphora in order to emphasize the gratuitous nature of discrimination and to call on all Americans to acknowledge and accept racial diversity. In the third paragraph of his speech, Johnson states that “there is no cause for pride in what has happened in Selma. There is no cause for self satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of millions of Americans.” This emphasizes to Americans that there truly is no need for racial prejudice of any kind within in the nation. It implies that the nation truly has “no cause” for discrimination and inequalities, which accentuates Johnson’s point that everyone should be open minded and accepting of ALL people. Johnson later uses the same rhetorical technique when discussing how, “there is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” The anaphora in this situation serves to address the fact that blame cannot be placed solely upon one group of people, but all

It was the was the beginning of a new decade, Americans believed the 1960’s were going to be the dawn of the golden age. Many historical feats are occurring, John Steinbeck wins a noble peace prize, Nixon and Kennedy have the first televised debate, Mohamed Ali wins a gold medal and the Civil Rights Movement is at the precipice in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Governor George C. Wallace are two prominent figures throughout the Civil Rights Movement. Individually, they deliver historical speeches concerning civil rights, however the dialogue encompasses completely different messages. Comparatively, the two speeches will be presented side by side using Aristotle’s, Kairos, Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.

Johnson seems to understand the importance of establishing trustworthiness and credibility among his listeners, knowing that in order to be heard, he must prove that he is a reliable character. His allusions are both biblical and historical, to assure his audience that he does not stand alone in his cause—that many people, in his time or a century ago, also share this view. He does this biblically, when asking “what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Paragraph10), and also historically when he states that “all men are created equal” (Paragraph 12). He does this to create ethos, or an ethical appeal. When his audience, the Congress, is considered, these allusions become even more important to earning their

The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

In this book, King is clearly speaking to a contemporary and mostly white audience. And the bulk of the book is devoted to answering the titular question. Time and again he steps out of the narrative to rebut various criticisms from contemporaries who said that his movement was too militant, too extreme, too impractical, too disorganized, too out-of-touch with ordinary people, too disengaged from the political process. The year 1963 marked the 100-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King asks two questions: why should we wait for emancipation? And aware of what White Americans were doing to Black Americans, "What is the Negro doing for himself?  (King p. 8) Martin Luther King concludes by pointing out the importance of expanding on the current campaign, what his hopes are for the future, why he wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, why the campaign was the right thing to do, why America was a better place in January of 1964 than it was in January of 1963, and why America can't wait any longer to be wholly free. King examines the history of the civil rights struggle, noting tasks

In fear of having many claim equal rights were already in effect, he proceeded to acknowledge “the harsh fact … men and women are kept from voting simply because they are Negroes” (Johnson 2), showing how equal rights were not distributed to all men. Continuing to utilize emotional examples, Johnson addressed the chilling truth about African Americans struggling with “actions and protests, his courage to risk safety, and even to risk his life” to liberate themselves (3). Another key point is how the actions of African Americans are being rejected to vote simply because “the only way to pass these barriers is to show a white skin” (2) , discovering the ugly truth of the discrimination towards colored people. His ambition for the near future is to make America’s heart yearn for the passing of the bill and change the lives of those who will benefit from it. Johnson has such a strong belief towards the positive changes in which the bill will have because he knows “there is only the struggle for human rights” being seen right under the nose of every American

Despite nearly one hundred years passing since the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern States were still faced with the most distinct forms of racism. The so-called “Jim Crow” laws that were present in United States at the time, served to segregate blacks and whites from all aspects of public life, including schools, public transport and juries. Often faced with extreme right-wing terrorist groups such as the white supremacist Klu Klux Klan, many among the African American community chose to live in a society of oppression that to actively campaign for equal rights for all humans regardless of the colour of their skin. It wasn’t until the 1950’s and 60’s that the people attempted to challenge the established order by engaging in influential protest movements with the help of key activist groups and their leaders. In particular, one key example of a powerful protest campaign was that which occurred in 1965 in Selma, a small town in Alabama. Here, the African American community united in an effort to ensure that all citizens were equal before the law in regards to their ability to register to vote. Their work in banding together and marching from Selma to the state capital Montgomery, was vastly important to both the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, as well as the assurance of the Black vote within the United States. Consequently, this essay seeks to emphasize just how influential this act of protest was to the movement as a whole, whilst analysing the

The Civil Rights Movement is understood as the collected efforts of many different groups and individuals struggling to achieve justice and equal treatment for all Americans. Several events shaped the time period, particularly those that either showed the extent of injustice and unfair or violent treatment, as well as took direct action against injustice. Additionally, significant events were those where Civil Rights leaders could celebrate a concrete victory, such as a court decision or a change in law. Moreover, the organizing principles and philosophies of the movement changed as different leaders and

The civil rights movement was time when racial equality was prominent in America. In this essay it will address the ways in which people challenged the ways of life to one day achieve racial equality. Jim crows laws and segregation was a dominant factor in the way that the courts ruled in favour of racial inequality.

By the 1950’s and 1960’s, a breaking point was reached and blacks were tired of being mistreated. Many Civil Rights groups began to form, like the SNCC, and leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., began to rise. As document 5 shows, these groups goals were to use peaceful protest and civil disobedience to demonstrate the societal unrest that is occurring and the need for political action. Upset at the racial injustice instigated by “Jim Crow Laws” and racism, these groups, through demonstrations such as the Greensboro Sit-ins, the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the March on Washington, brought to public attention to the African Americans’ dreams of to finally getting the rights they were promised with emancipation. This could be further demonstrated by the “I Have a Dream” Speech. In this speech, given in March of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses a future for America that lives by the standard that all men are created equal. This outside resource, along with various other movements, lead to further public outcry. As document 6 shows this grew to a point to where political action needed to be done. To Kennedy and his successor (Lyndon B. Johnson), this was a huge moral issue that couldn’t be ignored or else the nation would tear itself apart. This ultimately lead to the passing of the acts like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. These acts were a major victory and largely paved the way to future equality for African

Johnson also displays logos throughout his speech. This technique is very good for persuading an audience by reason. The first example of logos is when Johnson says, “No words are strong enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of America that he began” (1). Johnson is trying to encourage the country to move forward, since it is the only sensible action to do after an assassination of a president. Throughout the speech, Johnson also tries to explain that the Americans should work together as united people for a united purpose.

In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked “Bloody Sunday” and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). However, the nation’s mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The ratification of these laws may have made the “separate but equal” rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their

In this paper I will demonstrate the purpose of Franklin & Higginbotham, from Slavery to Freedom describing “a movement of movements.” Meaning some movements may have been considered little but they were the cause of something much bigger. Martin Luther King Jr. had a major impact in the 1960s promoting “nonviolent direct action to attain racial equality.” It then states “in the 1940s, they engaged in strikes, sit-ins, boycotts and freedom rides, and they planned a mass march on Washington.” African American realized that violence was not going to help them with their issues with the Caucasian class of America. The civil rights movement was a great ordeal in United States history and America would not be what it is today without it.

America in the 1960s was not the finest time for African Americans, especially in the South. There was racism, injustice and inequality. However, the ‘devotees’ of the civil rights movement were dedicated and passionate about making a difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those pioneers that remained true in what he believed in no matter what the circumstance.