Compare And Contrast Wallace And Martin Luther King

Compare and Contrast essay When you think about the Civil Rights Movement two people that might pop into mind could be Martin Luther King Jr. and Governor George Wallace. These two men wrote speeches about where they stood at a time when our nation was split in two. Governor Wallace, didn't think living in a segregated world was a bad thing, after all that was the way he was brought up that was all he knew. Six months later Dr. King who did not agree with Wallace and his views wrote a speech responding back to the Governor. Both of these men argue great points and to get a better understanding about each man and his message I will compare and contrast the two speeches braking each down using Kairos, Ethos, Logos and Pathos. In this first

King background to see what credibility each man had. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th, 1929 into a financially secure middle class family. In those days it was very rare for an African American family to be financially stable. King was also lucky enough to receive a better education than most average kids being admitted into college at the age of fifteen he went on to receive many degrees.(8). King, other then being a Baptist Minister was also the leader of the March on Washington for jobs and freedom, involved in the Montgomery bus boycott and was president of the SCLC. Governor George Wallace was born in Clio, Alabama on August 25th, 1919 (9). His family owned a farm and made a living off of it, but after his father died, his family’s finances were very limited so Wallace had to start working. He did many like waiting on tables, working in the soup kitchen, driving a taxi he even fought as a professional boxer (10). That not only helped out his family, but helped finish paying his way through law school. He attended the university of Alabama law school receiving his degree in 1942 (11). He served in air force during the Second World War. When he got back home, he worked as a judge and a police officer. In 1958 Wallace ran for govern of Alabama and lost when he ran again in 1962 he went on and changed his message to a more racial one. (12). He was later asked why he had started using racist messages,

King and Wallace had a very large support group behind them perhaps do to all the Logos in the speeches, also know as logic. Wallace brought up his faith and the founding fathers a lot in his speech. Wallace himself writes, “We must re-define our heritage, re-school our thoughts in the lessons our forefathers knew so well, first hand, in order to function and to grow and to prosper. We can no longer hide our head in the sand and tell ourselves that the ideology of our free being is threatened by another idea…for it is” (14). In making this comment, Wallace urges us to reconsider and really think about the changes the government is trying to make because it is going against everything the founding fathers build America on even though it wasn't being seen that way their idea was being attached and if the change was made they were taking a big step back. That clam to a lot made a lot of sense why would having segregation be wrong now if it had been this way for hundreds of years. But Dr. King’s view on the matter is even more powerful. Kind disagrees when he writes, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promos that all men, yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (15). Kings point is