In The Writings of Abraham Lincoln (1905), there is a version/reconstruction of a speech made to the first Republican state convention of Illinois, Bloomington, Illinois, May 29, 1856. In this speech, the statement "do not mistake that the ballot is stronger than the bullet" is made. Numerous years later, Malcolm X restates a phrase similar in wording to this. However in his statement. He neglected to deem the ballot stronger than the bullet, instead he said that it is one or the other, the bullet or the ballot, insinuating they are equally as strong as on another. Malcolm X’s speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” was about the current election year and black nationalism during that election year. X expresses the urgency for people to put religion
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Malcolm X efficiently persuades his audience to sensibly exercise their right to vote as well as convincing them that if the government continued the prevention of full equality for African Americans taking up arms may be necessary through his use of personal information, facts, statements, and anecdotes that all invoke emotion. Malcolm X uses his own personal information about who he is both religiously as well as politically, in order to demonstrate his credibility and relate to his audience. X expresses to his audience, “Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim or a Nationalist, we all have the same problem. They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist, they hang you ‘cause you’re black. They don’t attack me because I’m a Muslim, they attack me ‘cause I’m black. They attack all of us for the same reason.” Through this statement, he reveals to his audience some personal details of his own religion and race, an African American Muslim. This gives the audience insight into who he is and what …show more content…
The choices he gave to his audience certainly could lead to more than the two answers he gave, there was without a doubt some “grey area” in those choices. Arguably one of the most famous and significant lines of his speech, X firmly stated, “It’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death.” For the purpose of convincing and holding the attention of his audience, this statement was both efficient and beautifully spoken. However, that said, they are a prime example of false dilemma. He puts these two choices/statements into very definite terms. He gives his audience two choices. Freedom, the ballot, or death, the bullet. In this statement there are no exceptions, no room for choice. It largely intensifies an issue that is already so significant. Though this is a fallacy, it is nevertheless efficient in X’s deliverance of a convincing argument. The obvious choice of the ones they were given is freedom, liberty, the ballot. People don’t want to choose death, so they start to believe the fighting for their liberty and freedom is the only choice. This then leads them to agree with X, therefore taking his claim into account and pushing them closer to siding with him and using their vote as well as being open to the idea of taking up arms if the inequality
Malcolm X efficiently persuades his audience to sensibly exercise their right to vote as well as convincing them that if the government continued the prevention of full equality for African Americans taking up arms may be necessary through his use of personal information, facts, statements, and anecdotes that all invoke emotion. Malcolm X uses his own personal information about who he is both religiously as well as politically, in order to demonstrate his credibility and relate to his audience. X expresses to his audience, “Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim or a Nationalist, we all have the same problem. They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist, they hang you ‘cause you’re black. They don’t attack me because I’m a Muslim, they attack me ‘cause I’m black. They attack all of us for the same reason.” Through this statement, he reveals to his audience some personal details of his own religion and race, an African American Muslim. This gives the audience insight into who he is and what …show more content…
The choices he gave to his audience certainly could lead to more than the two answers he gave, there was without a doubt some “grey area” in those choices. Arguably one of the most famous and significant lines of his speech, X firmly stated, “It’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death.” For the purpose of convincing and holding the attention of his audience, this statement was both efficient and beautifully spoken. However, that said, they are a prime example of false dilemma. He puts these two choices/statements into very definite terms. He gives his audience two choices. Freedom, the ballot, or death, the bullet. In this statement there are no exceptions, no room for choice. It largely intensifies an issue that is already so significant. Though this is a fallacy, it is nevertheless efficient in X’s deliverance of a convincing argument. The obvious choice of the ones they were given is freedom, liberty, the ballot. People don’t want to choose death, so they start to believe the fighting for their liberty and freedom is the only choice. This then leads them to agree with X, therefore taking his claim into account and pushing them closer to siding with him and using their vote as well as being open to the idea of taking up arms if the inequality