Essay On Presidents Johnson’s Speech

Every citizen expects their president’s speech to be a source of inspiration, for a message of hope or simply to get guidelines regarding a national event or an occurrence. In this speech, President Johnson addresses the racial discrimination of his time; he has to choose the right words to deliver his message and meet his citizen’s expectations. President Lyndon Johnson uses rhetorical devices such as diction, syntax and repetition in his speech in an attempt to discourage citizens from discrimination during the process of voting. This essay seeks to explain how President Johnson has employed the use of diction and repetition in his speech to convey the need for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and demand the end to the actions of other citizens which would discourage minorities from voting.
Diction is demonstrated in President Johnson’s speech as he chose his words carefully in order to convey his message, while giving clear details in his speech. In his speech he states, “Every American citizen has an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that.” President Johnson chose the word “every” to show that there should be no segregation, and all Americans are the same. He goes on to further describe the “every” which include all citizen regardless of their color, race, or religion. “All men are created equal” is a phrase used by Johnson to show why people should not be denied the right to vote. The president chooses his words carefully to show the strength of his emotion and conviction to the fight against discrimination that risked tearing America into pieces based on racial heritage. Although the constitution defines this, the President explains that it has not occurred. Diction, therefore, brings out the desired effect by citing the words directly from the founding fathers’ decrees.
President Lyndon Johnson used repetition to ensure clarity, and to put an emphasis on his message. In Johnson’s speech, he repeats the following words, “we cannot, and we must not” and in another line “we ought not and we cannot and we must not” President Johnson urges the people to protect the rights of voters and emphasizes the need for the approval of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The repetition of the words “we cannot” and “we must not” is, therefore, to emphasize the necessity of the citizens to end practices that would discourage minorities from voting. Johnson also uses the term “American” to unify all citizens in one term. He explains what it means to be American regardless of race, religion, or part of the country. To act in opposition to these ideas would be un-American and dishonorable. Repetition is used to convey the importance of the bill for all Americans and encourage the audience to share the same emotion with the speaker.
Lyndon Johnson’s speech, therefore, incorporates the stylistic devices of repetition and diction to bring out the message effectively. Throughout the speech, we can see that Johnson supports the idea that people should be given equal opportunity to vote, regardless of race. The speech acts as a promise to the American citizens, has this promise been fulfilled? Can discrimination exist in a country where all men are created equal? Johnson’s speech demonstrates that these rights have been outlined by the Constitution and that any citizen who would deny them is un-American and dishonors those who died for these freedoms.