The Civil Rights were a long and tumultuous time in our country, and was the cause of many great figures to rise up in our history and many great speeches to be written by those figures. The Civil Rights Movement had a great impact on our nation, and it is important today to understand and learn about that time through close reading projects like the speech given by a president during the Civil Rights Movement about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. One is able to discern who the speaker is, what the speaker’s style is, and whom the speaker is addressing by analyzing the words and phrases given in the speech.
One can tell that the speaker must have been a president, because he was "about to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964", and signing …show more content…
This means that the message would be received by many different audiences; different races, different religions, different standards of living, different states, different genders and different ages. The interpretation of the message would be different for each audience, depending on their viewpoint of the Civil Rights Movement. The people suffering from civil injustice would be encouraged by the message, while those levying out the injustices would be dismayed. I think that the speaker did this intentionally. It's sort of like saying "we win, you lose". He's getting the message out that those who wish to cling to the past need to give up and move on, while reassuring the Civil Rights activists and victims that the end is near. "The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand--without rancor or hatred--how this all happened. But it cannot continue." However, he was still kind to all of the audiences, wishing goodwill to even those who he is fighting with this law: "We must not approach the observance and enforcement of this law in a vengeful spirit. Its purpose is not to punish. Its purpose is not to divide, but to end divisions--divisions which have all lasted too long". Had this been read during America's beginnings, it would have been seen as reformative to some people, and absolute, unconstitutional sacrilege to others. At the time it would have been perceived as either a great step forward for America, or a great step back, depending on the individuals viewpoint. Today it would be seen as the obvious thing to do by most people. For the most part, Americans believe that Civil Rights for all is simply the right thing to do, though I'm sure that there are some who would still prefer racial
One can tell that the speaker must have been a president, because he was "about to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964", and signing …show more content…
This means that the message would be received by many different audiences; different races, different religions, different standards of living, different states, different genders and different ages. The interpretation of the message would be different for each audience, depending on their viewpoint of the Civil Rights Movement. The people suffering from civil injustice would be encouraged by the message, while those levying out the injustices would be dismayed. I think that the speaker did this intentionally. It's sort of like saying "we win, you lose". He's getting the message out that those who wish to cling to the past need to give up and move on, while reassuring the Civil Rights activists and victims that the end is near. "The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand--without rancor or hatred--how this all happened. But it cannot continue." However, he was still kind to all of the audiences, wishing goodwill to even those who he is fighting with this law: "We must not approach the observance and enforcement of this law in a vengeful spirit. Its purpose is not to punish. Its purpose is not to divide, but to end divisions--divisions which have all lasted too long". Had this been read during America's beginnings, it would have been seen as reformative to some people, and absolute, unconstitutional sacrilege to others. At the time it would have been perceived as either a great step forward for America, or a great step back, depending on the individuals viewpoint. Today it would be seen as the obvious thing to do by most people. For the most part, Americans believe that Civil Rights for all is simply the right thing to do, though I'm sure that there are some who would still prefer racial