Rhetorical Analysis Of Lyndon Baines Johnson's We Shall Overcome

Lyndon Baines Johnson’s speech “We Shall Overcome” is full of rhetorical devices. In the speech, Johnson advocates against Negroes not having equal rights, especially voting rights. He wants everyone to see the severity of the problem and join in to solve it. To achieve his purpose, Johnson uses rhetorical devices like allusion, repetition and great diction. During various parts of this speech, Johnson uses allusions to unite Americans in the fight against inequality. His first allusions are used to show how Americans had united at different points in history in order to “shape a turning point in the man’s unending search for freedom.” During this paragraph, Johnson alludes to the Revolutionary War, “So it was at Lexington and Concord.”, referring to the first times Americans united as a people to fight inequality. After a few historic allusions, Johnson proceeded to allude to a current event at the time, “So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.” That week …show more content…
Throughout the whole speech he repeats some important words which are part of this goal. The five most important words are American, Negroes, freedom, equal and rights. Johnson wants to make people understand American Negroes are the same as any Americans. And, as many Americans before, they are fighting for equal rights and freedom. By repeating these words, this ideals Johnson opens his audience’s eyes to the injustices the Negroes suffered. Just like all of his audience, the Negroes are Americans, and Johnson wants everyone to acknowledge this fact. If they do, they could be inspired to join the fight to solve this big problem. A great statement he makes concerning this is, “There is No Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem. And we are met here tonight as Americans-not as Democrats or Republicans. We are met here as Americans to solve that