George C. Wallace's Inaugural Speech

746 Words3 Pages

Here one comes across the two sides of one great debate: the question of equality in color. There are two people: Martin Luther King, a black minister, and George C. Wallace, a white Alabamian. First up to bat is Wallace, hitting the ball with a whack as he confidently stated this alliteration: "...segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever". This inaugural address has a clear message. Wallace will not let Alabama crumble at the feet of opposition. He states that Alabamians will now take the offensive and stand up for the idea of segregation. Alabama will wave its views in the face of Washington. Now that Wallace has made such an impactful first impression, he goes on to call upon Southerners, wherever they may be. He wants them to cease being oblivious saying, "We can no longer hide our head in the sand and tell ourselves that the ideology of our free fathers is not being attacked and is not being threatened by another idea, for it is." Wallace does not want a centralized government that controls all. He desires that Alabama should choose the way that Alabama wants to deal with the issue of race. Wallace believes that this new wave of change is just like Hitler's wave of dictatorship. The white minority are the persecuted Jews. Wow...that is a big statement. This statement feels extreme but those are …show more content…

Envision crowds, gathered under a blistering sun, mixed in color, and packed together. They all wait eagerly to hear the message of a humble minister. And so he begins, like a fire rocket from beginning to end. This speech, titled "I Have a Dream", drips with allusions, metaphors, similes, and rhythm. Even in his introduction, King begins with an allusion to the Emancipation Proclamation, follows this with a simile, and then ends it with a metaphor! While reading the speech, it seemed as though at every turn there was a new rhetoric to stare in the face. But keep them