One of the most important speeches in the nation’s history was given on August 28th, 1963 by the most influential and iconic leader of the Civil Rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with more than 250,000 peaceful supporters marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The march was to rally the American public to celebrate 100 years of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and to support the changes necessary for racial equality and justice for colored people. Although there was great opposition and difficulty, King still took the stage and delivered some of his most powerful and influential words that are still remembered by millions of people around the world today. In fact, several important and historical events
…show more content…
King immediately uses rhetorical devises, such as allusion, in order to draw his audience in. As the nation was gathered at the steps of Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King opened up his speech by stating “Five score years ago, a great American … signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King). As he stated that, the march was not only celebratory event, but also a protest to express to the nation the problem of racism and segregation still existed. By including words from Lincoln’s speech and several other well-known documents and speeches in history, this allowed Dr. King’s speech to impact the audience in the same way that emotionally connected them to the original document (Literacy devices). In addition, he spoke directly to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which are documents that many colored people stood on the principals of equality and freedom for all. These “promissory note[s]” were to “promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men” that their “’unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness’” were no longer valid because the nation was enduring a growing problem of injustices that had segregated, discriminated, caused poverty, and exiled colored people (King). Therefore, by incorporation these pivotal parts of speeches and documents in his speech, this allowed him to deliver his vision and dream that change needed to occur immediately because “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check
King immediately uses rhetorical devises, such as allusion, in order to draw his audience in. As the nation was gathered at the steps of Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King opened up his speech by stating “Five score years ago, a great American … signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King). As he stated that, the march was not only celebratory event, but also a protest to express to the nation the problem of racism and segregation still existed. By including words from Lincoln’s speech and several other well-known documents and speeches in history, this allowed Dr. King’s speech to impact the audience in the same way that emotionally connected them to the original document (Literacy devices). In addition, he spoke directly to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which are documents that many colored people stood on the principals of equality and freedom for all. These “promissory note[s]” were to “promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men” that their “’unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness’” were no longer valid because the nation was enduring a growing problem of injustices that had segregated, discriminated, caused poverty, and exiled colored people (King). Therefore, by incorporation these pivotal parts of speeches and documents in his speech, this allowed him to deliver his vision and dream that change needed to occur immediately because “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check