By Martin Luther King, Jr.

SPEECH ON THE VIETNAM WAR, 1967

In this historic speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. presents a compelling argument about the need for change in American policy. As you listen, watch, and read, begin thinking about the reasoning and language he uses to persuade his listeners.

BACKGROUND

In 1967, opposition to the war in Vietnam was just beginning. U.S. involvement was escalating; the first combat troops had been sent over in 1965 to support the government of South Vietnam against the communist North Vietnam and its allies in the south, the Viet Cong.

BACKGROUND

Criticism of the U.S. Government’s policy by such a leading figure was not welcome. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s stance antagonized the White House and made some of the other leaders of the civil rights movement concerned that he might be jeopardizing support for their agenda.

BACKGROUND

In his speech, King refers to the hardships of black Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal discrimination and segregation, but years of being denied equal opportunities for education, housing, and jobs had trapped many African Americans in a cycle of poverty from which they were unable to escape. They lacked political power, having only recently with the Voting Act of 1965 achieved unrestricted access to the polls. As a result, they had few representatives guarding their interests.

BACKGROUND

King believed that the Vietnam War diverted money and attention from domestic programs created to aid the black poor. According to King - 'the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home...We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.'"

BACKGROUND

King maintained his antiwar stance and supported peace movements until he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, one year to the day after delivering his Beyond Vietnam speech.

BACKGROUND

As a class, we will watch and listen to the speech King gave that April day in New York City. The speech is long and complex, so you need to focus your attention as you watch and listen.

THE SPEECH

The audience of a speech dictates or guides the kind of language and ideas that the speaker includes in order to achieve his or her purpose.

EVALUATE AN ARGUMENT

When you evaluate an argument, look at whether the reasons that the speaker gives for his or her position are logical. Logical reasons make sense intellectually and are based on fact rather than emotion.

EVALUATE AN ARGUMENT: INDUCTIVE REASONING

In his complex speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. wants to persuade listeners to agree with his views about the Vietnam War. To do this, he uses inductive reasoning, a method of argument in which the writer first presents evidence about an issue or problem and then draws a conclusion from it. The conclusion presents the writer’s belief about what should be done or how the issue or problem should be resolved.

INDUCTIVE REASONING

The connotations of words, or feelings and ideas associated with them, can help a speaker sway the opinions of his or her listeners. They can be strongly positive or negative.

DETERMINE CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS

Convincing arguments often include counterarguments, which provide answers to possible opposing views on the issue. Presenting counterarguments shows that the speaker has thought about the issue from both sides.

EVALUATE AN ARGUMENT

The details in a persuasive speech are chosen with deliberation. Details appeal to listeners and enlist their support for a position.

SUPPORT INFERENCES

Rhetorical devices are techniques that writers use to enhance arguments and convey ideas. Examples include parallelism, the use of similar grammatical constructions, to express related ideas. King also uses repetition.

ANALYZE LANGUAGE

Sometimes persuasive speakers rely on literary devices to help their audiences “see” what they are talking about, such as metaphors. A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things. Pay attention to King’s use of metaphors.

LITERARY DEVICES