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Brian Brennan
Ms. Betsy Woods
Eng. 111 RA
2 October 2013
“We Shall Overcome” Rhetorical Analysis
Writer’s Reflection: I’m proud of the work I put into the essay. It took a while to go through the
speech and pick out the rhetorical strategies, but made the paper easier. I thought the most
effective and organized the paper was to break the speech up into three parts and dissect each
part. I focused mostly on the main three rhetorical terms, logos, ethos and pathos, but identified
others, such as anaphora which was used numerous of times. As I said, I’m happy with the effort
put into this paper, and think I went by devising it the most organized way I could think of.
On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered one of the most riveting and
famous speeches in American history. The speech came right after a death of an African
American protester in Selma, Alabama. The protest was over African American voting rights, as
few African Americans could vote due to racist whites manipulating the voting system. African
Americans shied away from voting because of fear of being harassed or absurd tests were given,
such as stating the entire U.S Constitution. Johnson’s purpose of his speech was to convince
Congress and Americans everywhere to pass his bill on voting reformation. To help make the
speech more effective and convincing, Johnson used rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, logos,
and pathos.
Johnson’s first part of the speech uses rhetorical qualities that unify the audience and
make them sympathize with the victims of voting rights. The speech starts off with anaphora and
warrant strategies. The president repeats “I” and “Americans” throughout his first couple
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sentences and unifies the audience by stating, “I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the
destiny of democracy. I urge all Americans of both parties, Americans of all religions and all
colors… to join me in this cause” (Johnson). By disregarding any differences among Americans,
Johnson unites all citizens together. He turns to pathos to get in touch emotionally with the
audience. He talks about the protesters in Selma, adding, “Long-suffering men and women
peacefully protested the denial of their rights as Americans. Many were brutally assaulted. One
good man, a man of God, was killed” (Johnson). Johnson adds “man of God” to reassure the
innocence of the victim and make the audience feel even more for the injured and killed African
Americans. After speaking of Selma, the president starts to shift the focus of the speech by using
anaphora. “There is no cause for pride in what has happened in Selma. There is no cause for selfsatisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of millions of Americans. But there is cause for
hope and for faith in our democracy in what is happening here tonight” (Johnson). Johnson talks
about the country’s mission and how it’s “to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man” and how
that we are “challenged with issues of value” and, “The issue of equal rights for American
Negroes is such an issue” (Johnson). Johnson lays down the issue and uses logos to help
convince Americans he is correct. One way he shows logos is by using an allusion stating part of
the Constitution, “All men are created equal” (Johnson). The president also tries to use logos by
explaining how denying a man his hopes because of color, race or religion “is to deny America
and to dishonor the dead who gave their lives for American freedom” (Johnson). President
Johnson lays down the foundation of his speech and is slowly reeling the audience in with the
first part of his speech.
The middle of Johnson’s speech is filled with ethos and logos to try and unify and
convince the citizens of America. He uses logos when talking about law articulating, “For the
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fact is that the only way to pass these barriers is to show a white skin. Experience has clearly
shown that the existing process of law cannot overcome systematic and ingenious
discrimination” (Johnson). He continues to elaborate on law, “No law that we now have on the
books,” and uses ethos to build his credibility by saying, “And I have helped to put three of them
there -- can ensure the right to vote when local officials are determined to deny it” (Johnson). His
credibility is strengthened because he reminds people that he has been an advocate of the voting
laws by making three new ones, and they still aren’t ensuring the right. After talking about laws,
Johnson declares he “will send to Congress a law designed to eliminate illegal barriers to the
right to vote” (Johnson). The president uses this statement at a kairotic time because it’s fresh in
the audience’s minds how the voting laws are being broken and manipulated. Johnson, then uses
anaphora to emphasize the importance of this issue. “There is no constitutional issue here…
There is no moral issue…. There is no issue of States' rights or national rights. There is only the
struggle for human rights. I have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer,” helps unify
the people, and it leads to one of the most memorable parts of his speech. He goes on to explain,
“But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over… Because it's not just Negroes, but
really it's all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice,” and then,
for what the speech is known after, “And we shall overcome” (Johnson). The last of the middle
part of the speech is all about unifying the audience against racism. He uses ethos when saying,
“As a man whose roots go deeply into Southern soil, I know how agonizing racial feelings are. I
know how difficult it is to reshape the attitudes and the structure of our society” (Johnson). He
uses anaphora by pronouncing, “These are the enemies: poverty, ignorance, disease. They're our
enemies, not our fellow man, not our neighbor. And these enemies too -- poverty, disease, and
ignorance: we shall overcome” (Johnson). People are more unified because it shows that they are
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all human with a common enemy that they need to overcome. Repeating “we shall overcome”
further strengthens Johnson’s purpose of his speech. Also, he uses antithesis when stating
similarities between opposite ends of the country. “In Buffalo as well as in Birmingham, in
Philadelphia as well as Selma, Americans are struggling for the fruits of freedom. This is one
nation. What happens in Selma or in Cincinnati is a matter of legitimate concern to every
American,” is another example of unifying the people of America (Johnson). The middle of
Johnson’s speech helps unify the people and sets up for a strong ending.
The last part of Johnson’s speech uses all three of the important rhetorical strategies to
convince the audience once and for all. The president speaks on how he admires the African
American. “His actions and protests, his courage to risk safety and even to risk his life, have
awakened the conscience of this nation,” helps people sympathize and realize what African
Americans endure and the struggles they face (Johnson). He uses a mixture of pathos and
anaphora when he brings up, “In Selma, as elsewhere, we seek and pray for peace. We seek
order. We seek unity” (Johnson). Anaphora is used again with logos as Johnson states, “People
cannot contribute to the nation if they are never taught to read or write, if their bodies are stunted
from hunger, if their sickness goes untended, if their life is spent in hopeless poverty just
drawing a welfare check” (Johnson). The president is sympathizing with the minorities and
begins to tell a story about his life that is a great example of ethos. He talks about how his first
job was a teacher in “Cotulla, Texas, in a small Mexican-American school” (Johnson). “My
students were poor and they often came to class without breakfast, hungry. And they knew, even
in their youth, the pain of prejudice,” touches the audience emotionally with pathos, gives
Johnson more credibility for the speech (Johnson). To end his speech, Johnson reflects on
religion, stating, “God will not favor everything that we do. It is rather our duty to divine His
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will,” and, then, closes with, “But I cannot help believing that He truly understands and that He
really favors the undertaking that we begin here tonight” (Johnson). Johnson’s ending motivates
the audience by using the influence of a higher power and that God will look favorably upon the
people who follow Presidents Johnson’s path. The last part of the speech gives the people a goal
and urges them to achieve it.
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” speech changed the course of
American history and the future of voting rights for African Americans. His slow, calm, and
adamant voice touched the hearts of American’s everywhere. It was one of the greatest and
convincing speeches in American history because he used rhetorical strategies, such as ethos,
logos, and pathos.
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Works Cited
Johnson, Lyndon B. "We Shall Overcome." Voting Rights Act Address. Washington, D.C., 15
Mar 1965. Address.