I Have a Dream Analysis

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, on August 28, 1963, in the presence of over 200,000 civil rights supporters after the march on Washington to deliver what is now known as his "I Have a Dream" Speech. This declaration holds true even to this day. U.S. representative John Lewis said "Dr. King had the power, the ability, and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a monumental area that will forever be recognized. By speaking the way he did, he educated, he inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn generations." Kings speech was most certainly one that significantly affected the hearts and minds of almost all that heard it, and that was exactly King's purpose. He argued fervently and forcefully that all men are created equal, even though that wasn't the case in America at the time; he claimed that it would be in the future. Through his ingenious use of logos, kairos, pathos and ethos King successfully conveyed his goal of a free and equal America.

King uses a fair amount of logos in a very effective way throughout this speech. The main goal of his logic was to justify his goal of an equal America. To do this he alluded a lot to both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. King said "When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir...it is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned." This effectively supports King's argument because it shows that what he desires for this country isn't so far-fetched. This is an idea that the founding fathers of this very country suggested. In both of these texts it doesn't specify color race religion or anything else for that matter it simply says that all men are created equal. This was a promise made to the people of America and it's one that America didn't keep. Therefore the argument that king has here is completely supported by facts which makes it completely logical and valid. Another example of logos in this piece is when he compares the justice system to a bank. King says that "America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice." By saying this king gets the reader thinking about the whole situation and just how unfair it truly is. King's use of logos really made a significant impact on the effectiveness of his argument.

In this speech King most certainly makes the most out of the kairos appeal. The speech took place on the steps of the Lincoln memorial which is a huge ordeal itself. This was possibly one of the best places to present this speech considering Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the African American slaves. This is symbolic to the fact that King is trying to do a similar thing. He is trying to break the holds that are upon the African Americans therefore this location was very effective to his argument. Also the fact that it was in D.C was important. This makes me believe that King was even trying to bring this issue to the attention of lawmakers and the government. 1963 was also one of the best times to administer this speech. This was a time of great turmoil in