Comparison of the “I have a dream” Speech by Martin Luther King and the “Ballot or the Bullet” Speech by Malcolm X
The first speech, "I Have a Dream" is one of the most famous public speeches in the history of the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this influential address on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. "The Ballot or the Bullet" is a public speech by human rights activist Malcolm X. It was delivered on April 3, 1964, at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X fought for the same cause. However, each of them had different ideas, what means should be used to achieve the goal, the civil rights for Black people
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In the United States are often mentioned the two fundamental documents – The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States.
Martin Luther King is not an exception in this regard. At the beginning of his speech he reminds the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation of slaves in 1863. Even though it was one hundred years since the Emancipation Proclamation, Blacks are still not fully free.
A big role in the “I have a dream” speech plays the main principles of Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The guarantees of the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" included in these documents were not fulfilled in the case of American Blacks. King again uses a reference to the Declaration of Independence and its first sentence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" to make his point about the need for equality among all people, not only Whites.
He also uses the text of the song that was the national anthem until 1931. The words are appropriate for the occasion more than the lyrics of the new