Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very important, persuasive, influential, historical figure during the 1960’s. There were two instances during the ‘60s where King persuaded many with a letter and a speech. The first was when King was put in Birmingham jail for “parading without a permit” and eight white clergymen wrote a newspaper article where they criticized him for “unwise and untimely” demonstrations. When King was in jail, he eventually found and read the article and proceeded to respond with a letter in the margins of the newspaper. This letter will then become the “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” In the letter, King addressed the situation and defended himself by showing his point of view. The second was when King delivered a speech to a tremendous large group of civil rights marchers in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. King made sure to use rhetorical devices in both of these instances. Both the letter and the speech use …show more content…
King didn’t just use an emotional approach during his “I Have a Dream” speech, but he also uses a logical approach. He uses a lot of emphasize about how after a century, the negro is still not free. Also, it might be a long time before the negro can be freed. King talks about how he has a lot of dreams for the world, and although not all of them will become true, at least some might. He wants everyone to be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. He doesn’t want the African Americans to stop their fight for freedom, even if it might not happen a hundred years from now, hopefully it will happen in the future. King uses different rhetorical devices throughout the speech, he uses analogy the most as a logical approach. At one point in the speech he talks about how the African Americans are overdue for their check from the bank of justice, check meaning a promise for their freedom and justice. Dr. King used more of an emotional approach during the speech rather than a logical