Truth is ‘self-evident’, all mankind is ‘created equal’, and are granted ‘unalienable rights’. Government is a tool created by the people and with their consent and subject to abolishment should it fail to serve mankind. These ideas were revolutionary, inflammatory and strictly opposed by the governments of the day; that tended to be monarchial, dictatorial, or oligarchical in nature. Only a philosophy of metaphysical idealism could inform such a document. His ideas concerning the rights of man are also completely consistent with his idealism and even allowed for the freedom of the enslaved populations around the world and throughout the British Empire.
In the two speeches, The Gettysburg Address and I have a Dream, they are both organized in different ways. These speeches were organized using tone, showing the purpose, and how it was structure. In both speeches the purpose is different., but similar. First, In the story I have a Dream, it is used to inform and encourage us about what we can become and how we could all become free from slavery, with the South, how blacks and whites could get along. As King states, “... signing a promissory note…” “... this note was a promise that all men yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” “Let us not seek satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” The Gettysburg Address, to inform us, the war and what could and will happen if the North wins.
Three score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us the true meaning of the word freedom, leaving an indelible mark on America. During the Civil Rights Movement, King preached that nonviolence and civil disobedience are the only way to fight for freedom, successfully leading Blacks in their quest for the “unalienable rights” promised by our Founding Fathers. “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline,” he urged. Freedom, he believed, is the ability for all men to think, speak, and act in the public sphere. Education is the key to thinking, speaking, and acting in a coherent and persuasive manner.
A few times in his speech, he chooses to repeat certain things in order to emphasize how important it is for the nation to be united and not divided by race or anything at all. King repeats certain things in hopes that the reader will have thoughts focused on the prominent issues of racism happening at the time. Issues such as those previously mentioned as, racism, segregation, unjust treatment of African American because of their skin color, etc. The effect that this repetition had on African Americans was very significant. The purpose of the repetition was to uplift and empower African Americans all across the nation so that they would not give up and continue to fight for their freedom because if they stop now, they will never get the just treatment that they deserve.
Another point is, “Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure” (Lincoln, paragraph 2). This shows that this country was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. This also shows that not just the war at stake is important, but the cause and the outcome of freedom and equality for making a new nation is important as well. Overall, all men were created equal and the war led to the end of slavery and the start of a new country of freedom for
Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower. In a similar light, King addressed the speech ‘I have a dream’ to a peaceful mass gathering in Washington asking for change. The speech deemed racial segregation to be an inhumane practice that subdivides society into groups that essentially alienate them from the true sense of humanity; which is brotherhood. King argues that all people are created equal and directly challenged the outdated and abhorrent views that upheld the false flag of racial superiority among White Americans. Luther’s speech was a passionate rhetoric that preached his views about the future.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson talks about quote, “The American Dream, and how life should be different”. The Declaration is written as a break up towards the British king, but Jefferson makes his claims as to why the king should listen to him. In The Declaration of Independence Jefferson states, “... That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…” (40 Jefferson). This quote is the full on definition of the saying the American Dream. In America all everyone wants to do is to be equal and live in peace with one another, in in the text Jefferson states their wants and needs of being equal.
What are the most famous and influential words in American history? Most Americans should be able to recognize this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Americans’ wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in order to free themselves from the hands of Great Britain, a nation whose government supported inequality and oppression. The Declaration of Independence also helped establish America’s government. The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was Thomas Jefferson. In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote in a list of ideals that he believed that the government should have.
Having been adamant believers in such laws, the founding fathers thought the best way to protect the natural rights of American citizens was to establish laws that are in agreement with divine laws. They believed that God brought the world into being with series of principles by which it should be governed. From their perspective, the American people would not be able to continue to exist as an independent civilization without the protection of these principles. Thomas Jefferson, referring to Natural Law, wrote the following words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (The Declaration of Independence, U.S. 1776, para. 2).
When coloured people came to cash the check, it came back marked “insufficient funds.” The climax is reached when King states the black people refuse to believe the “the bank of justice is bankrupt.” In other words, the blacks are fighting to gain the freedom that they had been promised. This idea draws concepts from everyday life to help the people, both black and white, understand the point segregation and injustice have gotten to. This image is potent because it speaks to the need for justice. A powerful thing about King 's speech is the language he uses. One emotive phrase is, “we cannot walk alone.” The idea here is that the blacks need to fight together, even if they are being segregated.