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Rhetorical Analysis Of Lyndon B. Johnson's We Shall Overcome

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The 1960’s were an age of political unrest. There were many African Americans nationwide striving for racial equality. In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a speech to garner support from the members of congress to pass his proposed voting bill. Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” speech, uses the rhetorical appeals and repetition to push for racial equality in order to pass the Voting Rights Act.
Background Information
During the 1960s, the fight for equality based on race was progressive. Hence why this was known as the Civil Rights Era. Although Africans Americans had been set free from the chains of slavery, they had other injustices to endure. The 15th Amendment which states “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall …show more content…

Johnson was the 36th President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Encyclopædia Britannica. Lyndon) Johnson also served all four all four federal elected positions like Representative, Senator, Vice President, and President. Prior to becoming President, Johnson taught at a school for disadvantaged Mexican-American students (Encyclopædia Britannica. Lyndon). This firsthand look into their lives helped him shape his views on discrimination happening in America. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson also played a key role in the development of voting equality. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 in order to attack racial …show more content…

President Johnson includes in his speech, "All men are created equal." "Government by consent of the governed." "Give me liberty or give me death." By using quotes from the US constitution in his speech, he reminds the people of the American freedom and democracy in which the country was founded. Although he United States of America was lacking both of those at the time, he wanted to bring them back. Quoting the constitution also serves to correlates his ideas to be American. In addition, Johnson also talks about the discrimination that African Americans encountered when they showed up to vote.
The Negro citizen may go to register only to be told that the day is wrong, or the hour is late, or the official in charge is absent. And if he persists and, if he manages to present himself to the registrar, he may be disqualified because he did not spell out his middle name, or because he abbreviated a word on the application. He may be asked to recite the entire Constitution, or explain the most complex provisions of state

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John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, leaving his Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, in charge of a hopeless and disbanded country. Shortly after he was sworn in, Johnson attempted to ease those emotions in his speech, "Let Us Continue." In his speech, "Let Us Continue," Johnson's purpose is to persuade his audience that the country needs to be united again in order to move on and to ease the hopelessness and emotional tension after Kennedy's assassination. Johnson first addresses his audience, and then starts out with the usage of an antithesis, stating that "The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time," creating an empathetic mood in order to soothe the emotional tension within the audience.

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“We shall overcome” is a speech by Lyndon Baines Johnson on March 15, 1965. This speech took place one week after Selma. “We shall overcome” was created to convince the Members of Congress, into joining him in his fight against racism by approving a bill meant to abolish racist voting restrictions. Lyndon Johnson’s speech to convince Members of congress to help him pass a bill to abolish racist voting restrictions by using a strong tone to create the sense that what he was saying was important, and in his speech he used Pathos and Logos to make the crowd feel sympathy for the black community because of the harsh truth.

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In the 1960’s during the era of the Civil Rights movement, America had been divided by the voting rights that were not given to the African Americans. Although, a decade ago the African Americans had been freed from slavery, but they were still not considered “equal” because they weren't able to vote. The discrimination in the area even had political leaders affected, therefore many of those political leaders during that time attempted to put an end to the several agonizing events going on. Lyndon B Johnson, a white persistent president speaks out to the lawmakers using compassionate encouraging appeals about voting for Civil Rights, in order to unify the nation “to build a new community”. President Johnson utilizes many devices in his speech such as anaphora, emotional appeals, and

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Americans have lost their lives for centuries in exchange for our nation’s freedom, but is every citizen really free? President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed congress following a police beat down during a peaceful protest in Selma, Alabama. The protest led by Martin Luther King became a turning point in American history; attacks on African American’s at Selma sparked reason in the eyes of many. Johnson used his address to Congress as a call to action, his goal was to ensure freedom and equality for all citizens; they shall not face persecution for the color of their skin. “We Shall Overcome” suggests that the text focuses on the constitutionality of the police beat down in Selma, Alabama and the concern of how our nation will overcome the issues of racism.

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