Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have A Dream” speech were both speeches that convey the message of freedom. The purpose of Lincoln's speech was to get the North to continue fighting. The purpose of Dr. King's speech was to create a sense of urgency in the demand to Civil Rights. This paper will analyze the fight for freedom and the urgent demands as different purposes that approaches the audience in the same way. The purpose of Lincoln writing his speech was for the concerns of the U.S Civil War. Lincoln establishes his concerns by listing many reasons for the North to continue fighting. He also wants the North to honor those who already fought and gave their lives for freedom. Dr. King's purpose was to use his speech as hope that the American Government would “Let freedom ring” for the blacks; and with that the Negroes could be “Free at last”. America’s equality started with Lincoln …show more content…
King used many rhetorical devices. Some rhetorical devices Lincoln used included repetition, parallelism, and contrast. Lincoln used parallelism to create a rhythm; “of the people, by the people, for the people…”. Lincoln uses this line to convey the image that the U.S. is a democracy. In a democracy all people have rights that they are born with. Lincoln is encouraging the North to keep fighting for their rights, and remember of the people who died; they were driven by the people of the South; for the people who deserve their rights. Dr. King used repetition, alliteration, parallelism, and irony. With parallelism he created what he wanted to happen “...every valley shall be exalted, every hill shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight..”. Dr. King uses his lines as an analogy. He compares natural landscapes and how they can be made perfect to people who saw the glory of God and will also be made perfect. Dr. King's dream was for people to be together as
In this social movement it talks about people are not treated equally. This speech talks about how African Americans should not be slaves anymore. This speech talks about how he grew up in life listening to the president speak and how he gave all his speeches to the people of the United States. The theme of this speech is help others realize that we should help each other out. To protect, defend, and perpetuate slavery in the states where it existed Abraham Lincoln was not less ready than any other president to draw the sword of the nation.” (Frederick Douglass). (Frederick Douglass Cuts Through The Lincoln Myth To Consider The Man). This quote talks about how we should always protect each other and that Abraham Lincoln agrees on the fact that slavery should be put to an end. “When now it shall be said that the colored man is soulless that he has no appreciation of benefits or beneficiation, when to foul reproach of ingratitude is hurled at us, and it is attempted to, we may comply point to the monument we have this day erected to the memory or Abraham Lincoln.” (Frederick Douglass). (Frederick Douglass Cuts Through The Lincoln Myth To Consider The Man). ...
wanted the civil rights to take place and action. King didn’t want his people to fight against the whites but to only get the same amount of freedom. King wanted everyone to stand up for what they believed in not to stand down. They asked Martin Luther King Jr. “when will you be satisfied?”
Dr. King first starts out all pumped up on a very light note. He is very optimistic about his speech in the very first line. However he bluntly addressed the issues of hardship, which African-Americans endured while America was beginning to become a stronger symbol of hope and freedom. He acknowledged the experience of wealth which his race became accustomed to, the ghetto poverty. He recognized the right of each color and pale man who contains the right to live, liberty, and the pursuit of true happiness. As bluntly as he began his speech, he boldly pointed out the Supreme Law of The Land- the Constitution - and quoted the Declaration of Independence as all.
By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners. Lincoln had numerous purposes for the Gettysburg Address. Firstly, it was to be used to dedicate the land where the Battle of Gettysburg had taken place as a cemetery for the fallen troops of both the North and the South, the most apparent and central reason for his address. His second purpose for the address was to transform the war on states’ rights into a war on slavery and upholding the ideals that the Founders had authored in the Declaration of Independence.
He wisely used the issue of slavery to appeal to both the abolitionists and to Negrophobes, Northerners who were afraid of living side-by- side with Negroes and competing with them for jobs. For example, on July 10th of 1959, Lincoln gave a speech in Chicago, a primarily abolitionist town. Lincoln stated that inequality was unnecessary in this country. If all men were created equal then were should look past race, saying, “Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal” (Hofstadter, pg. 148).
Lincoln begins his speech by speaking about the past in which the founding fathers established this country in equality. " Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." This was very important because that was exactly the opposite of what was going on in this country during that time. America in the late 1800s was a time of slavery. That was one of the main reasons the Civil War was declared.
Abraham Lincoln’s greatest challenge during his presidency was preserving the Union during the Civil War after the Southern states seceded from the Union. There were many dividing issues in the U.S. before his election in 1860, and his presidential victory was the final straw that led to the Civil War. The North and the South were already separating due to regional differences, socially, politically, culturally, and economically. Slavery was one of the biggest factors that led to the division between the North and the South. Preserving the Union while half of the country refused to regard federal law while in secession was extremely challenging, yet Abraham Lincoln decided to fight war against the South not only for the sake of abolishing slavery, but most importantly for the sake of preserving the Union. He was dedicated to fighting for the equality of all men in the U.S., as mentioned in his famous Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He used this to argue a basic point: if all men are created equal, then all men are free. His House Divided speech showed his determination to keep the...
On January 1st ,1863, President Abraham Lincoln walked into his office and spotted a document on his desk which was given the name “Emancipation Proclamation”. The Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for the slaves in the southern states that were currently fighting against the United States. Lincoln was the one who wrote the first four pages of the original Emancipation Proclamation.He had no doubts of signing this document because he was much alerted about how important it was to be signed. As Lincoln signed this document, he stated, ”I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper.” Lincoln’s main goal during his presidency was to keep the United States unified.
Martin Luther King uses a lot of repetition in his speech. They are scattered throughout but very close. One of the repetitions in his speech is “I have a dream.” He uses this phrase to show what he sees in the future of America. One of the phrases he uses with it is: “I have a dream that one day this nation will and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” Another is “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their nature. I have a dream today.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 12) Two other repetitions he uses is “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 16&17)
On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous and powerful speech I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The purpose of his speech was to fight for the civil rights, equality, and to stop the discrimination against African-American people. His use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor in his speech had created an impact with his audience. King used the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos to help the audience understand the message of his speech.
As we can only imagine, one can not erase the vivid images, of the Civil War from their memories, after seeing the fallen bodies and the fields of ash and smoke. The lasting images we view through photographs reminds us of the war that divided the nation, during tumultuous times. As the war came to an end, President Abraham Lincoln was elected for his second term in office. During, Lincoln's second inaugural speech he persuades his audience, to understand that the war was a catastrophe for all. The healing that is needed from this catastrophe will not begin, until the reformation of the once standing brotherhood, in order to, maintain peace and prosperity as a nation. To help persuade the audience, Lincoln's use of rhetorical strategies, evokes the audience to consolidate as one.
In his speech, King uses different types of rhetorical guidelines. He uses them to show his points in a better and easier way to understand .At the beginning he successfully uses a mythos. A mythos has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience. In mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation he shows that our ancestors signed a contract, in which all human beings are created equal, and therefore should be treated in the same way as others. He also visualizes his ideas with visual examples, which everybody can understand. “America has given the black population a bad check, which has come back marked insufficient funds”( I Have a Dream)
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.
“Lincoln’s dedication to the ideas of freedom and equality continue to inspire people around the world.“ Martin Luther King Jr. brung it to people around the world that everyone should be equal. Abraham Lincoln justified why all should be equal. Abraham and Martin worked together for freedom and equality for all in the nation, Martin had a dream to change the world he made it happen, and Lincoln’s speech shows the importance of ending the civil rights.
The purpose of the speech was to address the issues of segregation and racism as a whole. King speaks about the issues of racism and segregation in America during the 1960’s. He encourages the use of non-violent protests and to fight for equality to help America solve the issue. King begins his speech by referencing important historical documents such as the Constitution of the United States and the Emancipation Proclamation. This is emphasized when he states, ”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.