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President Johnson's Speech, The American Promise

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“The American Promise” is a speech that opened Americans' eyes to a problem that was occurring at that time, inequality. The speech was given by President Johnson on March 15, 1965. His speech is one of the most remembered and popular speeches in history. This is because in this speech, he uses direct and compelling words to get his view and point across, and his choice of words turns the views of Americans around. President Johnson describes by using many literary devices, repetition being one of them, “. . . This time, on this issue, there must be no delay, no hesitation and no compromise with our purpose” (Johnson). President Johnson is explaining, to all who will listen, that this problem cannot be put off anymore. When he uses the word “no” multiple times or synonyms, he shows how urgent resolving this issue is, and how he does not want to wait and settle down. This problem affects everyone whether they are conscious of it or not, “There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There only is …show more content…

He says “our fathers” referring to the founding fathers of America, and this makes the listener and reader think back to why they wanted to write the Constitution and started this country. They want equality, liberty, and freedom, but now we are doing just the opposite they worked for. He once again refers back to our fathers “‘All men are created equal --- ‘government by consent if the governed’ --- ‘give me liberty or give me death . . .” (Johnson). Saying these famous quotes helps transport all who listen. That is exactly what President Johnson was doing, he was reminding the American people of what started this country and how the reason it was built was equality and freedom. In a way this makes some of the wrongdoers feel guilty about how they treat others like they are not one of them or

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