Dr. Martin Luther King 's Speech

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, King asserts that the war in Vietnam is a “symptom” (7) of a much larger disease that affects the “American spirit” (7). The disease King mentions is causing destruction where ever it is found, and in the case of the Vietnam war, it has led to their oppression and the death of people. In the section, Strange Liberators, King states, “They move sadly and apathetically as we heard them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move or be destroyed by our bombs” (8). King believed that the disease was leading the United States to take drastic actions against the Vietnamese people. The U.S.

With the people of The United States of America categorized as the audience, King speaks to people of all races and ethnicity. This discriminated audience included the grasping appeals to the ethos, pathos, and logos. As each appeal is fully informed of the rhetorical purpose, King finds a way to encourage all three. Through several metaphors and types of imagery, he makes the decision to speak to all of the appeals in order to accomplish to need for change. Clearly aimed directly at the hearts of blacks and making the whites feel ashamed of their actions brought together a turn in society as they knew it. This specific structure geared towards the audience was the main reason why King impacted Americans across the country and not just at the march. These different appeals mixed within the audience to help King influence his purpose of racial equality as each type of person could relate to his moving words.

As his speech continues the speaker talks about specific dates that happened up until his speech. In the speech, Martin Luther King Jr. talks of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution and Declaration declared that “all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. (MLK speech pg1)” However, instead of letting blacks and whites live as equals blacks are treated as if they are inferior to whites. Dr. King says “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds. (MLK speech pg1)”

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” -MLK. He adverted to the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's declaration to liberate black slaves in America. He then quotes from the Declaration's claim of "the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." With several references to biblical passages, Christian verses, and God, King develops his credibility by including generally held religious beliefs into his speech.

He mentions “that all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” however, how come this declaration only applies to white men and not black men? He raises the issue of discrimination against African Americans in front of millions of people and he states that there is no equality between both groups. This declaration should be taken seriously and understood by everyone and should not leave African Americans out. King also alludes to Abraham Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg “5 score years ago,” which means that he is emphasizing that to this day one hundred years have passed and yet there is no change whatsoever. He also uses Lincoln’s words because he is literally standing at the Lincoln memorial.

He first uses this device when he alludes how, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (1). The great American he is mentioning is Abraham Lincoln, who is a president that is greatly known for his stand against segregation. By mentioning Lincoln in his speech, King would inspire his audience to fight for equal rights, just like Lincoln once did. King also refers to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence when he mentions that these documents guaranteed all men “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (1). By stating that all men, including black Americans, are guaranteed equal rights, King is encouraging his audience to fight against the inequality in the nation. King also makes more historical allusions when he refers to the popular patriotic hymn “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” He references this song to appeal to his audience and remind them of the rights that have been promised to every

Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C on August 28, 1963. The speech is one in which has gained much recognition over the years and virtually won Dr. King the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent approach towards racism. Mahatma Gandhi was one of King’s prominent inspirations for his nonviolent movement. Gandhi, decades before Dr. King, practiced non-violence acts and civil disobedience. The will and strength that Gandhi possessed while advocating for peace and non-violence during the terrible events that had taken place in India moved Dr. King to find the path he had to take during his own strides to create a better America, primarily for African Americans. Although

He questions the audience about society and what they have done for their community. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity,” (King). King knows how to bring the people into the speech to involve every single person standing before him and make them feel like they are apart of the speech. He mentions what has been taken away from them which creates anger within the crowd. King’s ability to appeal to the audience through emotion affected society for decades after and changed the sense of pride the African Americans had.

The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and

King uses different elements to show his audience that he was a credible source. He sounds fair and sets up his own credibility by tapping into the authority of Lincoln and his view of the civil rights when he said: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation.” and invoke authority in his cause when makes reference to the constitution where it says “black men as well as white man-would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He also uses the bible to provide confidence in what he is saying for example when he says “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it

On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the most inspiring, and influential speeches America has ever encountered titled “I Have a Dream”. The inspirational high point of a civil rights movement that asked for wrongs to be righted and for every American to get the same chance at success. He delivered his speech to blacks and whites to help advocate the idea of equality throughout all Americans. Martin Luther King first talks about America’s past, he then gradually moves on to the present and the current racial dilemmas African Americans are facing. Martin Luther then advocates Americans to take actions promptly to stop the racism that has been running through America’s veins for centuries. King relies heavily on pathos, ethos, and logos to convey his message of equality. As well as the use of several fallacies such as, the overly sentimental appeal, the bandwagon appeal, and circular reasoning to interact with his audience.

The appeal to pathos is a huge part of King’s overall speech and really motivated the crowd in Washington and other Americans listening or watching on TV and radio. King first appeals to pathos by bringing the audience back to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed most slaves. He points out that even though it has been one hundred years, African Americans still do not have the freedom that they are entitled to. This appeals to most of the audience and provokes feelings of still being oppressed. After this he brings up the Declaration of Independence to show that it states that “all men are created

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.

August 28th, 1963, 250,000 marchers stood in front of the Washington Monument to hear a message. A message from the leader of the civil rights leader whom many of the marchers have come to respect and follow. Marchers from all different backgrounds all supporting the civil rights and jobs for the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr. took the podium in front of these marchers and spoke a message that would inspire not just those present, but all of America to have a dream just like his. A dream in a country that has been stacking the cards against them for a couple hundred years. King took the podium and spoke of his dream, “… a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”” (King npg.). King’s speech resonated with thousands of African Americans and inspired them to dream his dream and start a movement that would lead them their civil rights.