Comparison Of Abraham Lincoln And Martin Luther King's Speech

Part of the function of a speech is to be memorable and have an impact on its audience. At times, this can extend beyond those who actually saw it and lead to it affecting culture on a higher level. In this case, the speech has become valued. Several things, including historical context and actual quality, can contribute to this. As the intrinsic value of media is not objective, ‘value’ here relates to how and why the speech became acknowledged as important. A speech can only remain valuable when it can be applied to the modern world. That is, it has to first relate to a topic which is important to humanity - this topic then has to remain important for as long as it is considered valuable. The speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King
In the Gettysberg Address, this supported the American Civil War. The speech, technically dedicating a gravesite, was intended to convince his audience that surrender was unacceptable. He redirected emotion at the deaths towards his cause, saying that "it is rather for us to here [...] resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." This implied that the best way to honour the dead was to accomplish their goal. Similarly, 'I have a dream' served a dual purpose of vindicating MLK's existing followers and gaining him new ones. He offered the former hope of success as a motivating force. Although the speech is not addressed to them, many of his calls to action are directed at white people and/or those in power. It also raised awareness of suffering, such as in the entire paragraph repeating "we cannot be satisfied." Overall, both speeches hoped to initiate or participate in a change in the lives and viewpoints of their audience. This is why they appealed to emotion and to the values held by their
In a sense, they also criticised the manner in which the world at large put these values into practise. As these values are universal in our society, they allow the speeches to connect with a new audience. The Gettysburg address opens on a statement that America was "conceived in Liberty (sic), and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." This reminds the audience of their shared nationality - building rapport. However, it also relates to the presumed goals of the civil war. This leads into his later points and gives the audience a reason to agree with the work being done. His final call to action also references freedom and democracy, the latter being an extension of the other two. MLK's speech depends on the concept of freedom and equality as considered to be integral to America (as in Lincoln's speech). He forms a contradiction between this and the impact of racism on society. In the fourth paragraph, he essentially states that society contradicts the constitution. He uses the word "freedom" or "free" over 20 times, and appeals to equality and "brotherhood between races" throughout. Throughout the majority of the western world, both of these concepts are still held as highly important. This is what allows the speeches to retain their