I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
The audience was already aware of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s status as a prominent civil rights leader and minister. Martin Luther King appeals to his credibility as a pastor and establishes a connection to his audience, which was at least partly Christian, by citing scripture as part of his argument for equal rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. appeals to the audience's emotions by cutting to the heart of why they desire civil rights: so their children can have a better future. He uses charged language to remind his audience of their own disgraceful position in society and calls them to not be satisfied with that for their children's futures.
Lysbilde: 2
PATHOS
We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only.
Martin Luther King builds his claim that the Black people of America are being wronged by using logic. He says that even though America promised the slaves freedom, the country has never truly honored that promise. Logically, it is the right of the Black people to demand that liberty from society and to receive it.
Lysbilde: 3
Five score years ago, a great American... signed the Emancipation Proclamation... But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free.