English 1
Professor Dike
19 November 2017
I Have a Dream
During the mid-1990’s, racism was a huge issue in the United States. Prominently toward African-Americans. Blacks were free under a harsh and corrupt law system. They were victimized mercilessly with hundreds of heartless stories of hate and violence. As time went on civil rights leaders appeared. The most popular activist of them was Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout the 1960s, King was in various civil rights boycotts and protests, helping to give real rights and freedom to the blacks in the south. Out of all his civil rights related efforts, the “I Have a Dream” speech, given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. To this very day this speech continues …show more content…
King states “five score years ago, Lincoln signed the “Emancipation Proclamation that declared slaves free and blacks were no longer to be treated like property.” King uses evidence to show how Lincoln, supported the freeing of blacks. This creates an ethos appeal through the logos of the Emancipation Proclamation. King uses rhetorical modes to make people truly think about their hateful and flawed beliefs. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Shakespeare’s Richard III are tied into King’s ideas with what is considered true by many people. Kings words did not incite hatred or violence by his followers. But instead he used his words to make people think about how they acted. The beliefs and ideology of, King is what drove this movement. The speech truly was the emotional and ideological appeal that made people pause and think about the future and dreams of blacks in the …show more content…
It shinned a light during a time when America was deeply engulfed in racism and segregation. This time in the south made the lives of many blacks of thousands of blacks a hell. “I Have a Dream,” played a major role in shaping the American landscape. These words inspired generations of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans think of the words they said, and actions they took part in. Even now this speech continues to make generations of people give up their racist beliefs and educate people on equality and fairness. Without King, America would still probably still be segregated. Other than the speech using logical and moving appeal to the audience, King’s effective structure with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason. “I Have a Dream” is as a masterpiece of rhetoric and moves people in the way for social change and equality for all black men, women, and children in