Summary Of Lyndon B Johnson's Voting Rights Speech

“So in the next 40 years we must re-build the entire urban United States.” This shows that Johnson is using ethos to unite the citizens and have them realize the future of America. He wants them to know that the future of America is going to begin with a population growth and he has to unite the population to make them realize this. "Men come together in cities in order to live, but they remain together in order to live the good life." The future of America depends on people coming together and working together to build a good life which is what Johnson envisioned in his great society. He uses ethos to create unity between the citizens which is why his speech is

The happenings in Selma, Alabama during the year 1965, served as a catalyst to the Voting Rights Act, which eliminated any discrimination at the polls all over America, and the catalyst for these happenings in Selma was Jimmie Lee Jackson. The historical drama, Selma, tells the story of Selma, Alabama in 1965. It is not a documentary therefore, some details were changed, exaggerated or left out due to the fact that this is a historical drama. The movie, Selma, serves the purpose of showing the events in Selma and how they influenced the conclusion of the movie, the passing of the Voting Rights Act by Lyndon B. Johnson. This film is considered a drama therefore, some things are dramatized to compel the audience to feel a certain way, however,

Kennedy addresses that this is not a sectional issue. He uses logos to prove his purpose of addressing this speech of Civil Rights. President Kennedy explains that “The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the State in which he is born - one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much “(4). Kennedy uses evidence and logic that African Americans don’t nearly have the same rights and freedoms as whites. This proves that Americans should realize this inequality among them and put a stop to it. Kennedy also states that “segregation and discrimination occurs in every city of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics this is a problem which faces us all - in every city of the North as well as the South”(18). He uses evidence that explains that this not just a problem in the South but also in North and is a problem all over the nation. Kennedy addresses that “negroes unemployed, two or three times as many compared to whites” (18). He uses statistics to thoroughly state his argument that all Africans Americans are facing the obstacle of segregation and discrimination. With the use of logos Kennedy does a good job at proving to Americans that racial segregation needs to end.

The logos used in this speech are strategically placed to convince the audience with reason. “The Constitution says that no person shall be kept from voting because of his race or his color.” Hearing this information spoken out loud is more effective than reading it on one’s own. Lyndon Baines Johnson used these facts to

At the time of Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech in 1965, “The American Promise”, conflict over civil rights has been brewing for over a hundred years. A large group of people planned on marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, but fights broke out and it quickly escalated into violence. Given shortly after the happenings in Selma, President Johnson spoke before the Congress on the importance of passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a man in a position of power, the desperation of the situation is prominent to him, yet he calmly presses the manner in order to persuade them of his view. President Johnson uses rhetorical devices, such as allusion and connotative diction, to create an ethical and emotional appeal toward his audience during that time of civil unrest.

Most change can be caused by people or something with significant value. Occasionally people forget that change can also be caused by pieces of paper. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a law passed that primarily gave African Americans the right to vote without having to take any sort of literacy tests. African Americans were widely ignored in voting rights because they were forced to take literacy tests to be eligible to vote. Having this event in our nation’s civil rights movement was a landmark that allowed the other half of our nation’s voice to be heard. “The Voting Rights Act itself has been called the single most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever passed by Congress.”(Laney 65)

On August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a 17-minute public speech to over 200,000 supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a response to continued racial bias nearly 100 years after the end of slavery and a call to action, meant to unify the country in the fight to end segregation. King used his time at the historic event to urge Americans, of all races, to work together throughout the country to ensure equality for all citizens. Though King’s delivery of the speech is widely recognized as impactful because of his passionate sermon-like delivery, the context of the speech contains many rhetorical components. Those rhetorical efforts

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 what many might think, the voting rights act of 1965 is well known across hundreds of nations all over the world. The voting rights act of 1965 has been around for several centuries and has a very important meaning in the lives of many. This act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. He aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It is a landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibits this racial discrimination. This document is just as big and important as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It would be safe to assume that voting rights act of 1965 is going to be around for a long time and will have an enormous impact on the lives of many people in times to come. The voting acts of 1965 created positive and negative changes for America. But, why was this law created, when was it put into effect, and what effect did it have on the U.S.?

The right to vote for African American became difficult during the time because the northern didn’t want to consider the blacks as equal to the society. As Frederick Douglass, has once stated “Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot.” African American fought their way to gain their right to vote is by coming together, free blacks and emancipated slaves, to create parades, petition drives to demand, and to organize their own “freedom ballots.” As a free African American, they except the same respect as the whites and nothing

Malcom X delivered his speech on April 3, 1964. By it being the year of a presidential election, X anticipated his speech would encourage politicians to support black rights. In addition to wanting to build up the Black Nationalism by encouraging blacks to exercise their Fifteenth Amendment by voting, Malcom X argued that the African American community also needed to become more politically mature and understand what the ballot is for, and what is intended to do.

Dear friends, and to all that are gathered here today at the Pnyx, what I come to talk to you about today is voting rights. I have come to appeal to your logical sides, as opposed to your emotional ones. Any Athenian of sound mind cannot make an argument against voting rights for slaves and Metics. Metics, as we all know, are the foreign residents of Athens, however, many of our Metics are Athenian born. Our current definition of citizenship is outdated and should be adjusted. As it now stands, the only true Athenian citizens are those born in Athens to both Athenian-born parents. If you are born in Athens to parents who are not citizens, you are not a citizen. It is as simple as that, but should it be? Those metics who were born and raised in Athens, or whom helped us contribute to the war in some significant way, should be granted citizenship.

This short excerpt from the speech reveals the one of the main points that Jackson is trying to persuade his audience. Jackson claims that the civil rights movement is “an effort of American citizens to get full equality of opportunity.” It mentions the effort of non-discrimination and independence from the start of the United States. The purpose of his writing was to empower the black people to continue to fight for justice and freedom, and also to give advice for the future. The following paragraphs will be an evaluation of how logos, pathos, and ethos are used and applied in his writing, and how it affects the writing and effectiveness to the audience.

In the race of the presidency of 1964, Johnson was chosen in a victory and used this to push for legislation he believed would help the American way of life, to gain more voting-rights laws. After the Civil War, which happened between the years 1861 through 1865, the 15th amendment, was changed in the 1870, which prevented states from denying a man citizen the right to vote based on race, color or any conditional origin, if he wasn't white. But years passed on, some discriminatory reasons were used to prohibit African Americans, especially from the South, from their right to vote. During the Civil rights movement of the years 1950s and 1960s, the voting rights activists in the South were put through forms of poor treatment and violence. One very significant event that happened on March 7th, 1965 when participants very peaceful in a voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery were met up by Alabama troopers who attacked them with weapons. Some of the people were beaten up and some ran from their lives. In that tragedy incident, Johnson called for inclusive voting rights legislation. In a speech of session of Congress in

the speech “With Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer,” Malcolm affirms that because the black man is denied the right to vote in the south of the forty-six committees that had control the foreign and domestic direction of the country in 1964 twenty-three were in the hands of Southern racists. Another account concerning voting in the south, Malcolm