Rhetorical Analysis Of Lyndon B Johnson's Voting Rights Speech

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WE the American People Lyndon B. Johnson’s Voting Rights Speech was given on March 15, 1965. In the past, America had a hard time trying to give African Americans voting rights even though they gained their freedom years before, but, it was hopefully all going to change. Johnson supported the idea of African Americans having the right to vote and he worked his hardest to talk Congress into passing this law. In his speech he’s talking to both the American Citizens and Congress trying to gain their support. When he was trying to get the support of the American people he went out of his way just to show them that this issue was about much more. In his speech, Johnson uses many strategies to persuade the people into giving African Americans the right to vote. He uses pathos to get the support he needed. He did his speech just days after the brutal violence took place in Selma, Alabama. By talking about this event he appeals to many people’s emotions to motivate them to support his cause. If this tragic event didn’t take place I think Johnson's speech would have been less effective and not as meaningful as it was. …show more content…

He took a stand to make a difference in something he was passionate about and he urged the American people to do the same. He made the audience realize that even if this law is passed there will always be times that We the American people will also have to take a stand to do what’s right. His speech is so well written it makes it seem like the only option is to vote for the law to be passed. In a way this speech inspired me to take a stand when something wrong is happening and make a difference. Living in a time period where this was a big issue would have been hard but, I think it needed to happen to show the world that just because your skin color or religion we are all American people and we all need to work together to make this place

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