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Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

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I Have a Dream On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. presented his speech “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC in front of 20,000 people. In his speech he talks about how African Americans survives all the injustice and discrimination in America. His speech inspired millions of people across the nation to stand against hate. In his speech he adroitly uses Ethos, Logos and Pathos to prove to America that our nation is not built on racism. Ethos In the “I Have a Dream” Dr. King used two authorities in his speech: Abraham Lincoln and Constitution and Declaration of Independence. In the beginning he used ethos, when he stated, “Five core years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (king). He was talking about one of most beloved president Abraham Lincoln of all time, who fought for Africa Americans rights. Abraham Lincoln is a role model for a lot people, so when he was referring Lincoln in his speech many people felt …show more content…

King used ethos in his speech was when he stated, “When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent word of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing· a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men- yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” (king). Talking about the Constitution and Declaration of Independence in his speech showed that the Founding Fathers wanted all men to be equal, because a lot people glorify the Constitution and Declaration of Independence they felt they were letting their Founding Fathers down. Starting the speech with ethos had great impact on the audiences. The audiences felt like they are fighting for the right reasons, because many famous Americans such as Abraham Lincoln and the Founding Fathers fought for the same

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