Governor George Wallace gave an inaugural address on January 14, 1963 when he was he was elected as the governor of Alabama. His inaugural speech addressed his “determination to defend Alabama’s sovereignty against the efforts of the national government to bring racial desegregation to the state.” Wallace’s speech was later published in Newsweek, New York Times and a variety of other news sources that were popular at this point in time. In 2005, Patricia Roberts-Miller wrote an article called “Democracy, Demagoguery, and Critical Rhetoric,” which was published in Rhetoric & Public Affairs. In her article she identifies the different aspects or characteristics that make up the rhetoric style of demagoguery, and gives examples of how and why
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Wallace can be considered a demagogue because of his extensive use of demagogic strategies in his inaugural speech.
In his speech, Wallace uses the demagogic strategy of polarization. Polarization is to divide a diverse range of things into two opposite groups; the in-group and the out-group. “If you are not on their side--with all your heart and soul, in all ways and without hesitation--then you are against them” (Miller, 2). An example of how Wallace used polarization in his speech is when he says “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever” (Wallace, 2). This shows his want to physically put lines …show more content…
Miller defines victimization as “The in-group is being victimized by the situation (often by being treated the same as the outgroup)” (Miller, 5) and “the claim is that the in-group has responded to this victimization with extraordinary patience and kindness” (Miller, 5). An example of victimization in Wallace’s speech, would be when he says “As the national racism of Hitler's Germany persecuted a national minority to the whim of a national majority . . . so the international racism of the liberals seeks to persecute the international white minority to the whim of the international colored majority . . . so that we are footballed about according to the favor of the Afro-Asian bloc” (Wallace, 4). In this quote he is comparing the persecution of the Jews by the German Nazis to the “persecution” of the white minority by the colored majority. Which immediately calls the audience to see the white race as the victims of a great injustice forced on them by the colored races. Another example of victimization, would be when Wallace states “We will not sacrifice our children to any such type school system--and you can write that down. The federal troops in Mississippi could be better used guarding the safety of the citizens of Washington, D.C., where it is even unsafe to walk or go to a ballgame--and that is the nation’s capital. I was safer in a B-29 bomber over Japan during the war in an air raid, than the people
Wallace can be considered a demagogue because of his extensive use of demagogic strategies in his inaugural speech.
In his speech, Wallace uses the demagogic strategy of polarization. Polarization is to divide a diverse range of things into two opposite groups; the in-group and the out-group. “If you are not on their side--with all your heart and soul, in all ways and without hesitation--then you are against them” (Miller, 2). An example of how Wallace used polarization in his speech is when he says “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever” (Wallace, 2). This shows his want to physically put lines …show more content…
Miller defines victimization as “The in-group is being victimized by the situation (often by being treated the same as the outgroup)” (Miller, 5) and “the claim is that the in-group has responded to this victimization with extraordinary patience and kindness” (Miller, 5). An example of victimization in Wallace’s speech, would be when he says “As the national racism of Hitler's Germany persecuted a national minority to the whim of a national majority . . . so the international racism of the liberals seeks to persecute the international white minority to the whim of the international colored majority . . . so that we are footballed about according to the favor of the Afro-Asian bloc” (Wallace, 4). In this quote he is comparing the persecution of the Jews by the German Nazis to the “persecution” of the white minority by the colored majority. Which immediately calls the audience to see the white race as the victims of a great injustice forced on them by the colored races. Another example of victimization, would be when Wallace states “We will not sacrifice our children to any such type school system--and you can write that down. The federal troops in Mississippi could be better used guarding the safety of the citizens of Washington, D.C., where it is even unsafe to walk or go to a ballgame--and that is the nation’s capital. I was safer in a B-29 bomber over Japan during the war in an air raid, than the people