The Ballot Or The Bullet Speech

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. During his campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this election was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy’s side, he had his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn’t happening at the speed Kennedy had pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to a fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.

In 1964, Malcolm X gave a speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet” which described how African Americans should fight for civil-rights in America. Malcolm X emphasizes the importance of voting as a solution to ending discrimination against African Americans. He addresses both the poor voting decisions and also the denial of legitimate voting rights to African Americans. Because elections had been so narrowly decided in recent elections, the Black vote is the deciding factor in elections. Whites also have prevented African Americans in the electoral process. Malcolm X says that either "the ballot or the bullet" will come next in the civil rights struggle. This meant that government must allow African Americans to legitimately vote or

The audience does not have to answer these questions and neither does Malcolm X because they all know that they have nothing to be thankful for (Malcolm X). After, Malcolm X continues to repeat, “It’ll be ballots or it’ll be bullets. It’ll be liberty or it will be death.” He uses the either or fallacy again because he wants to make the audience believe that they truly only have 2 choices, voting for the right politicians or resorting to violence to get what they want (Malcolm X). Malcolm X then tells the audience, “Our mothers and fathers invested sweat and blood. Three hundred and ten years we worked in this country without a dime in return. You let the white man walk around here talking about how rich the country is, but you never stop to think how it got rich so quick. It got rich because you made it rich.” In these lines, he uses pathos and logos. He appeals to logic by bringing up facts about slavery in America, like how it lasted for three hundred and ten years. He appeals to emotion by reminding the audience how much Africans have suffered because of the white man (Malcolm X). Towards the end of his speech, Malcolm X says, “And this time they’re not going like they went last year. They’re not going singing “we shall overcome.” They’re not going with white friends. They’re not going with placards already painted for them. They’re not going with round-trip

The two most influential civil rights activists in American history were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They supported equal rights for every race, but when comparing MLK’s “I Have a Dream’ and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” one sees the similarities in their rhetorical styles and differences in their tone and message. As seen in “I Have a Dream,” MLK has a more civilized and peaceful solution to the nation’s problems; whereas in X’s he has a will to do whatever it may take to solve the problems.

Powerful movements require powerful leadership. During the 1960s a push for civil rights developed, and African Americans took various positions. Two strong leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X approached the Civil Rights Movement using different methods. Their speeches reflect the disposition of their tactics. In his speech, “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on applying his non-violent philosophy. On the contrary, Malcolm X projects himself in an aggressive tone reflecting the attitudes of Black Nationalists in “Ballot or the Bullet.” These speakers demonstrate their objectives and tone through their use of diction and syntax.

In the speech, ‘The ballot or the bullet’, by Malcolm x, he claims that blacks need to exercise their rights, especially to vote, but if the government tries to prevent them from voting: violence might be necessary. Malcolm x uses emotional appeals, logical appeals, and ethical appeals to make his claim.

April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gives his well renowned speech; The Ballot or the Bullet in Cleveland Ohio. His purpose behind the speech is to encourage African-Americans of the United States to stand up to the unfair treatment that he believes they receive. Throughout the speech, Malcolm X creates an ambition in the audience, encouraging change through the numerous uses of ethos, logos, and pathos. Malcolm X uses his personal experiences to show the audience that he has experienced the same negativity that they do everyday. X suggests everyone should be treated equally; religion, gender and race aside. His audience was made up of a majority of African-Americans, he uses the common ground of wanting to achieve equal treatment to show his audience he is on the same side as them. Through the organization of the speech, it is rhetorically effective. He practices the phrase “The Ballot or the Bullet” which uses repetition, forcing listeners to remember the phrase which later becomes more effective. X begins using ethos by introducing himself, immediately gaining the attention of the audience as well as respect of the audience. X then makes the current problem in the African-American community extremely clear to the audience, this is his use of pathos, where he engages them in his thought process and bringing them in using emotion. The speech uses rhetoric to emotionally and logically

- [ ] The focus of this speech will be to look in to the pros and cons of X and as well to have a better overview of his thought process. We will examine some of the many doctrines of Malcolm X- which where his “common enemy” theory, idea of can one go against their own race for the greater good of another race. We will as look in to the party that he played in the Black Panther Party .In the end we look at both sides of his argument in the best way possible.

Since the creation of the United States of America there has constantly been a problem with civil rights. Even though African Americans fought for their freedom and rights, they are still facing similar obstacles that they were in the past. There are no real great leaders of the civil rights movement today but in the peak of the civil rights era there were two frontman that advocated for African American rights. One was Martin Luther King Jr., and the other was Malcolm. Martin Luther King Jr’s approach was very different from Malcolm X’s because he used peaceful uprising, while Malcolm X was examined as more assertive. In response to Martin Luther King Jr’s “ I Have A Dream” speech, Malcolm X delivered a speech called “ The Ballot or the Bullet”. In this speech Malcolm is trying to explain the reasons black people needed to stand against the American government. In “ The Ballot or the Bullet” Malcolm X uses the rhetorical terms of ethos, logos and pathos to persuade his listeners and readers.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little, who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.

Persuasive writing is most effective when all three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, come together to form an indisputable argument. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are two of the most influential figures of the past few decades; similarly, their work is summarized as some of the most persuasive and controversial of all time. The audience of both of their pieces, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” include oppressed African Americans and the white oppressors themselves. Each man takes full advantage of the three rhetorical appeals to influence their audiences to support their radical theories about racial inequality in the 1960’s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the most effective because of its hopeful emotions, irrefutable facts and, of course, the respected author.

“The Ballot or The Bullet” and “Letters from Birmingham Jail” are both refutes of social, economic, and civil injustice in America. The two letters are written by revolutionary activists of civil rights, Martin Luther King, and Malcom X, both written with in a year of one another. Malcom X, author of “The Ballot or The Bullet’ is known for being a support of the black nationalist, and dances on the line of encouraging violence in search for equality. Whereas, Martin Luther, author of Letters from Birmingham Jail” seeks justice through non-violent direct action. Although the tone and style of both letters are contrary to one another, the message is non-the less the same, a pathway to equality through social motivation sparked by a leader.

The context in which a statement is made can change the entire meaning of what was said.  This is why many times people will use context as a defense for statements they make that offend or cause some sort of public backlash.   The manner in which a person delivers a message and what messages the rhetor chooses to deliver can be a great indication of foundation of that persons value and belief system. There are a number of value systems present in Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech that he delivered in the storied election year of 1964. There are many statements made in the ballot or the bullet

To begin, Malcolm X’s speech detailing his his political views on black nationalism, the hypocrisy of the United States, as well as the radical steps needed to be taken by the black community to achieve equal rights, is laden with elevated language in order to create an ethical appeal to the audience. For example, Malcolm X states that “The political philosophy of black nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community” (par 2). The use of the elevated language, such as “philosophy” and “nationalism”, sophisticates the speech altogether, which successfully reflects the professional tone used by Malcolm X, as well as the seriousness of the matter; which, in turn, strengthens the overall argument being made. Moreover, through Malcolm X’s sophistication of language, and thus the speech, it