Equal Opportunity for All
The Civil Rights era was a very heartbreaking time during Americas’ dark past. Race was a major topic talked about in the 1960’s. Everyone knew it was there and happening but didn’t really want to talk about it. They just pushed it to the back of their minds. Black individuals like Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks had been taken to jail for only protesting peacefully. They didn’t do anything wrong but during this time period; white authority didn’t really like what they were doing. Persistent and patriotic Lyndon B. Johnson directly speaks to the members of Congress to motivate them to pass a bill, but is also speaking to every American and every person in the whole world, in order to hopefully make African
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He creates passionate and patriotic diction through the use of repetitive words, and phrases like “American(s),” “America,” and “equal rights.” Johnson is talking to everyone in the world but since his main audience is Americans, that’s why he uses “American(s)” so many times throughout the speech. He uses repetition in order to let Americans acknowledge his ideas and remember his views. He also repeats “equal rights” on multiple occasions in order to express the main idea of his speech. Johnson is explaining to Congress that this bill needs to be passed for every colored person in America for equality between all the races that are in America. Towards the end of his speech, he uses “President” on multiple occasions to identify some power in his speech and also using ethos to give him some …show more content…
A simile means “a direct comparison between two things using like or as.”(3) Johnson says “In Buffalo as well as Birmingham, in Philadelphia as well as Selma.” He compares the cities of Buffalo, New York and Birmingham, Alabama to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Selma, Alabama by all saying that everyone in America, no matter where, are all struggling with equality, and how “it hasn’t been fully kept a promise.” Even though the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as many other official U.S. documents have said African Americans and all men have equal rights. Antithesis means “a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.”(2) Johnson uses this in his speech when he says, “there is no cause for self-satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights for millions of Americans. But there is cause for hope for faith in our democracy in what is happening tonight.” He’s using a person and thing, directly opposite of each other because at first he is talking about self-satisfaction and denial then faith and hope. This gives the speech some depth and feeling in it to convey his
Equality is on a broad spectrum in the world. What does equality and freedom actually mean? And is America really equal. We are going to explore some of the most famous people who set standard for us to be called equal. Several years ago it was a fight for many people around the country to be able to call themselves free, now what do we have to show for that. The new generation coming into to the world are becoming lazy and not learning what it actually mean to be free and equal. America was made a free country, but there are still injustice things here and on the uprising. Did Dr. King really make a change? Did Emmett till get us to listen and open our minds? Or was it Abraham who tried to get people to hear his speech about freedom? All of these men did something to help change how segregate and unfair laws were back then. But what can do to make these men continue to be the reason why we call ourselves free? The people of today and tomorrow have to do better because yes, a lot has changed, but that doesn’t mean it will stay this way. I heard that history repeats itself and if that is true then the upcoming generations are going to have to get on board and continue to strive for equality and freedom. I don’t think America is truly free nor are the American people just settling because they know that this freedom might be as far as we can go. Sometimes settling isn’t the right thing to do if we are unhappy with the situation we are in we should change it. As Obama said, I know my country has not perfected itself. And at times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best inten...
Johnson uses allusion to show that the government has failed to honor their promises and also to show that Americans have fought for their rights. Johnson uses an allusion to the president’s
Equality in American Democracy American democracy changed drastically after the Civil War. One of the major changes in American democracy was equality. Today, American citizens are more equal than the Americans before the Civil War. Major movements, events, and government decisions changed the way people view equality today. Some of these changes improved the equality between American citizens, but others only increased the inequality.
When the Government Stood Up For Civil Rights "All my life I've been sick and tired, and now I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired. No one can honestly say Negroes are satisfied. We've only been patient, but how much more patience can we have?" Mrs. Hamer said these words in 1964, a month and a day before the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. She speaks for the mood of a race, a race that for centuries has built the nation of America, literally, with blood, sweat, and passive acceptance. She speaks for black Americans who have been second class citizens in their own home too long. She speaks for the race that would be patient no longer that would be accepting no more. Mrs. Hamer speaks for the African Americans who stood up in the 1950's and refused to sit down. They were the people who led the greatest movement in modern American history - the civil rights movement. It was a movement that would be more than a fragment of history, it was a movement that would become a measure of our lives (Shipler 12). When Martin Luther King Jr. stirred up the conscience of a nation, he gave voice to a long lain dormant morality in America, a voice that the government could no longer ignore. The government finally answered on July 2nd with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is historically significant because it stands as a defining piece of civil rights legislation, being the first time the national government had declared equality for blacks. The civil rights movement was a campaign led by a number of organizations, supported by many individuals, to end discrimination and achieve equality for American Blacks (Mooney 776). The forefront of the struggle came during the 1950's and the 1960's when the feeling of oppression intensified and efforts increased to gain access to public accommodations, increased voting rights, and better educational opportunities (Mooney). Civil rights in America began with the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which ended slavery and freed blacks in theory. The Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 were passed, guaranteeing the rights of blacks in the courts and access to public accommodation. These were, however, declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, who decided that the fourteenth did not protect blacks from violation of civil rights, by individuals.
“Women Rights” Hillary Rodham Clinton is a well-recognized woman in the United States. Her great contribution as secretary of State impact people’s lives. One of many remarkable speeches Hillary gave was the “The women rights speech”, in the 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session where she uses strong words and emotions to appeal the audience. Even though the speech talks about women rights, she wants everyone, including men and children to listen and take action. Her use of ethos, logos and pathos throughout the speech made the audience believe in her words.
Lyndon B. Johnson’s main focus was bringing the citizens of the United States together and molding a precedent of equality. Without said precedent, America would not be the safe haven for freedom it is today. LBJ rallies Americans together when he calls for them, “I ask you to join me in working long hours, nights and weekends if necessary-to pass this bill.” Because of the strength the bill requires behind it, the president desperately needed the American people’s support. Without the people, it would have been impossible to pass, let alone enforce this new law. Spearheading the Civil Rights Act alone wouldn’t have worked because “the fact is that the only way to pass these barriers [unnecessary stipulations imposed so that blacks couldn’t vote] is to show a white skin.” African Americans were required to go through extreme conditions just to be allowed the chance to vote, and often they failed. Lyndon B. Johnson changed America for the better, and that is because of speeches such as “The American
The Civil Rights Era became a time in American history when people began to reach for racial equality. The main aim of the movement had been to end racial segregation, exploitation, and violence toward minorities in the United States. Prior to the legislation that Congress passed; minorities faced much discrimination in all aspects of their lives. Lynchings and hanging...
He used these examples in his speech so that whites could see the truth about the wrong doings towards people of color. He wants these unjust acts to emotionally capture the hearts of America. Johnson also uses other examples of pathos throughout his speech to reach out to the hearts of the American people. He states many times that he believes that Americans can change the future not only for us but also for all generations to come. Johnson implied that it was a general feeling of American citizens that something needed to be done about the current situation of voting rights for African Americans.
How would you feel if you were told you can’t sit in the front of the bus or you can’t dine in a certain restaurants because of the color of your skin? The civil rights movement was a movement that held massive numbers of nonviolent protest against racial segregation and discrimination in America especially the southern states during the 1950’s and 60’s. The struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights in America during this time was a major problem. The civil rights movement was not only about stopping racial segregation amongst African Americans but also to challenge the terrible economic, political, and cultural consequences of that time. But with the help of great leaders and organizations in the civil rights movement, help brake the pattern of African Americans being discriminated against and being segregated. Martin Luther King Jr. And Maya Angelou were great leaders who had a huge impact on the civil rights movement; even though Dr. King was in the field marching and protesting to fight against segregation and Angelou wrote poetry to inspire the movement and people aware of segregation, they both helped put an end to segregation here in America (American civil rights movement).
We have seen in 1957, and 1960, and again in 1964, the first civil rights legislation in this Nation in almost an entire century”. From the very beginning, Johnson was determined to become an influential individual and make a difference in the world. He said, “No act of my entire administration will give me greater satisfaction than the day when my signature makes this bill, too, the law of this land” and he meant it. Through the Civil Rights Act, Johnson was able to do just that.
1945 and 1968 was a time of change, a good change, a necessary change to the way modern day America would would treat its african american people. African Americans were unfairly treated and abused with cases like Emmett Till and those who would peacefully protest. From great trades comes people working on better the cause which led to a new type of motivation for the people.To also point out the many organizations and individuals that did so much to better the civil rights moment. Many people often forget about the good that president Lyndon Johnson had done for the civil rights movement and how he could have been the most helpful president to there cause. Many of the civil rights organization admired him mostly because he was one of the reason they became so successful.
The book, “My Soul Is Rested” by Howell Raines is a remarkable history of the civil rights movement. It details the story of sacrifice and audacity that led to the changes needed. The book described many immeasurable moments of the leaders that drove the civil rights movement. This book is a wonderful compilation of first-hand accounts of the struggles to desegregate the American South from 1955 through 1968. In the civil rights movement, there are the leaders and followers who became astonishing in the face of chaos and violence. The people who struggled for the movement are as follows: Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy, and others; both black and white people, who contributed in demonstrations for freedom rides, voter drives, and
“I have a dream that my four little 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 character.” This was a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Even one hundred years after slavery was banned, African Americans were still being treated unfairly. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most famous leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. The Civil Rights movement was a movement of African Americans who felt that they were not being treated equally. There were also many other famous leaders and inspirations during the Civil Rights Movement. This movement was very important to the freedom of African Americans.
He told the citizens that he was concerned about everyone, no matter of race, gender, or religion. Throughout the speech, Lyndon Johnson reminded the nation that he wanted to solve the problem with the nation together. He sees the racial discrimination not only as injustice, but is also denying America and dishonoring the people who gave their lives for the freedom of America (Johnson 2). By doing this, he persuaded the people with emotions and wanted them to support his idea of the civil rights, which promised everyone the right to register to vote without having any problems. It had finally led to an end to the illegal barriers under the 15th Amendment and allowed African Americans to vote without any knowledge or character test.
In the poem, he mentions black people that were treated unfairly and how many of those people are not recognized as much. He powerfully wrote: “Names lost. Know too many Trayvon Martins / Oscar Grants / and Abner Louimas, know too many / Sean Bells, and Amadou Diallos / Know too well that we are the hard-boiled sons of Emmett Till” (Lines 53-60). This quote shows how many of our black people are discriminated by their skin color are mistreated. Abner Louimas, Sean Bells and Amadou Diallos were men that were victims of police brutality and were shot several times by police officers. Specifically, Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin’s deaths were great examples as to how people were and still are racist. To take a case in point, Emmett Till who was African-American was tortured and killed because he flirted with a white woman. Trayvon Martin was a teenager who was shot and killed just because he went to grab a bag of skittles from his pocket, which the person who shot him thought he was reaching for a weapon. The many examples that Johnson makes help show how racism and stereotypes play a major role in our society because many people are still victims of discrimination. They are automatically stereotyped into a criminal who is about to do something that is illegal. In the society that we live in, blacks do not have any power, they do not get the benefit of the doubt whether or not