Rhetorical Analysis Of We Shall Overcome

Lyndon Baines Johnson, sworn into office after Kennedy was assassinated, becoming the 36th President of the United States. Johnson spoke in the House Chamber of the Capitol Building in a joint session of Congress that broadcasted live across the United States on March 15, 1965 in response to “Bloody Sunday”. Just a week before, on March 7, 1965, 600 people fighting for civil rights planned to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama but they were viciously attacked and some were killed with tear gas, whips, and nightsticks used by state troopers because they refused to leave. Johnson addressed Congress, American people, and Negroes in his speech. The purpose of We Shall Overcome was to persuade Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that would

Johnson states three iconic phrases known by Americans, “All men are created equal,” “government by consent of the governed,” “give me liberty or give me death.” (paragraph 9). Those phrases make the promise that all citizens are worthy of the respect of others. This promise is in violation because it relies on the fact that everyone has access to the same opportunities. Since Negroes are denied their basic rights as citizens, they don’t have access to these opportunities. Johnson had an effective approach because it reiterated the values America stands for- liberty and justice. It is those values that revolutionaries such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson fought for in the American Revolution. Johnson used logos to warn the American people that if they continued to deny basic rights, America was going to lose sight of its identity and the qualities that makes it unique from all the other nations in the

Johnson states, “And so, at the request of your beloved Speaker, and the Senator from Montana, the majority leader, the Senator from Illinois, the minority leader, Mr. McCulloch, and other Members of both parties, I came here tonight…” (paragraph 63). Johnson chose to use this approach because it shows the American people that the effort to achieve voting rights for all Americans is a bipartisan effort. He also invites the Republicans to join him and his party, the Democrats, to move forward and make the Voting Rights Act the law of the land for the good of the people. Johnson also says, “We Shall Overcome” twice in his speech. By saying this phrase, Johnson is directly addressing Negroes. This brought tears to Martin Luther King Jr. while watching the address in Selma, and touched the hearts of Negroes across the country. The song ‘We Shall Overcome’ was sung at protests and sit-ins, providing the Negroes hope and a reason to continue persevering during the civil rights movement. In that moment, Negroes knew that their president had heard their cries for rights that would allow them to be treated the same as their fellow Americans. Johnson uses diction to remind the audience that they are all Americans. He uses the pronoun ‘We’ multiple times in his speech and says, “…we are met here tonight as Americans--not as Democrats or Republicans; we're met here as Americans to solve that problem [equal rights for Negroes].”