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Comparing King And Lyndon B.'s Beyond Vietnam

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In the context of assessing the persuasiveness of speeches regarding America's involvement in the Vietnam War, two pivotal addresses stand out: President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Speech on Vietnam" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam." While both speeches offer distinct perspectives, when considering the context and rhetorical strategies employed, it becomes evident that King's speech is more persuasive in arguing against America's involvement in the conflict. To begin, President Johnson's "Speech on Vietnam" seeks to justify America's military engagement in Vietnam within the framework of Cold War geopolitics. Johnson emphasizes the need to contain the spread of communism in Southeast Asia and defend South Vietnam from aggression, portraying the conflict as vital to safeguarding American interests and global stability. However, Johnson's argument …show more content…

King connects the struggle for civil rights at home with the injustices perpetrated abroad, framing the war as a symptom of deeper issues of poverty, racism, and militarism within American society. By appealing to conscience and morality, King challenges the audience to confront the moral implications of their country's actions and calls for a radical reorientation of national priorities towards peace and social justice. Moreover, King's speech resonates with the growing anti-war sentiment among the American public and taps into broader concerns about the human and financial costs of the conflict. By highlighting the suffering inflicted on both Vietnamese civilians and American soldiers, King underscores the senselessness and futility of the war, effectively swaying hearts and minds towards the anti-war cause. His impassioned plea for a "revolution of values" strikes a chord with audiences, compelling them to reconsider their support for the war

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In addition to general exhaustion from war, the American people wanted to focus on domestic equality before moving forward with global equality and democracy. Anti-Vietnam War protests were not necessarily unwarranted, as the anti-democracy Tet Offensive of North Vietnam resulted in the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, with the vast majority of states reporting over 100 war casualties in 1968 alone. (Document E) Economically, the Vietnam War was challenging to manage, as the department of defense budget once again rose to today’s equivalent of 450 billion dollars, adding to an already quickly growing, massive national debt. (Document G)

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Lyndon Baines Johnson, who reigned as president from 1963 to 1968 in the US, sparked a profound impact on the Vietnam War by escalating the involvement of the United States through The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and implementing the controversial strategy of Operation Ranch Hand. As a result of the passing of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Johnson obtained the authority to utilise a range of defensive measures that he considered essential in promoting international peace and securing Southeast Asia. This discussion will encompass how the interaction between the measures that Johnson enforced and the logic surrounding them ultimately transformed the Vietnam War in 1955. Lyndon Baines Johnson significantly impacted the Vietnam War by utilising the Gulf of Tonkin

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The United States experienced many battles and disagreements that have influenced the world in many ways throughout its existence. In these cases, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B Johnson are both helping the country through difficult times through the State of the Union addresses. In the first passage, President Roosevelt explains how he believes that America can work together to prevent Japanese imperialism, and in the second passage, Johnson explains how America will fight to prevent communism in Vietnam and acquire peace. Although Roosevelt has mentioned some inspiring aspirations in his passage, the passage which includes part of Johnson’s speech sticks with one idea.

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Dr. King felt passionate about his belief that America's involvement in the Vietnam war was unjust, and decided to write a essay on the topic. Dr. King used many persuasive elements to better his chances of affecting the reader. For example, he uses factual information to push points, reasoning to back up said facts, and emotional appeal to speak to the reader on a personal level. Dr. King makes specific points on the unjust use of the poor during the war and the persistent issue of social inequality still plaguing America. Using these methods Dr. King is able to better persuade the reader on the issue at hand.

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Through his words, King paints a vivid picture of the horrors American soldiers were committing in Vietnam. This use of emotional appeal causes American citizens to feel compassion towards Vietnamese victims. Therefore, listeners would feel compelled to pull American troops from Vietnam in order to put a stop to the atrocities being committed there. His words remain emotional, while still providing facts as to why he believes the war is causing more harm than is necessary. Those who favor Johnson’s support of the war would argue that  Johnson does not need to rely on the persuasive methods of pathos in order to convince people that the Vietnam War is essential to the survival of America.

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“There is at the outset a very obvious... connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I and others have been waging in America,”(Document E: Martin Luther King, Jr.). During the period of the Vietnam War, division struck the United States due to people’s vast opinions, this caused a rift in the country and began protests. Citizens of the USA did have legitimate reasons to protest the Vietnam War, but not all agreed with that. American citizens had many different reasons to protest the Vietnam War, but the biggest reason was that people were realizing how horrific wars truly were.

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Throughout the first paragraph of King’s speech, he used emotional diction with words such as struggle, poverty, and poor to prove that the war in Vietnam was bringing down the American’s and their families fighting overseas. King proved this partly with the quote, “America would never invest the necessary funds… in the rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued…” (King, Beyond, 9). King was establishing his point that America was more troubled about healing and adjusting other countries, but would never invest the same in their own country. He was in the process of proving that it wasn 't a money issue in America, but an equality issue.

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Martin Luther King Jr. disagreed with the way the war was being handled, and thought nonviolent demonstrations would be more efficient. In his speech, “Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence” Martin Luther King Jr., uses appeals to emotion, appeals to credibility, and powerful diction to strengthen his argument and persuade his audience that the Vietnam War is unjust. First, Martin Luther King Jr. uses emotional appeals to persuade his audience that the Vietnam War is unjust because it is unfairly killing the poor and its destroying the country. King uses emotional words and descriptions to capture the audience’s attention and convey the injustices caused by the Vietnam War.

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