Compare And Contrast Wallace And Martin Luther King

Compare and Contrast essay
When you think about the Civil Rights Movement two people that might pop into mind could be Martin Luther King Jr. and Governor George Wallace. These two men wrote speeches about where they stood at a time when our nation was split in two. Governor Wallace, didn't think living in a segregated world was a bad thing, after all that was the way he was brought up that was all he knew. Six months later Dr. King who did not agree with Wallace and his views wrote a speech responding back to the Governor. Both of these men argue great points and to get a better understanding about each man and his message I will compare and contrast the two speeches braking each down using Kairos, Ethos, Logos and Pathos.
In this first

paragraph I will be using Kairos to take a better look at the place and time these speeches were delivered. The 60s were full of historical events one took place in the south where most African Americans resided and seemed to be suck in a subordinated status. George Wallace, Governor of Alabama at the time stood in front of the state capitol and shared his thoughts. Wallace states, “this is the freedom of our American founding fathers…but if we amalgamate into the one unit as advocated by the communist philosophers…then the enrichment of our lives…the freedom for our development…is gone forever”. Basically, Wallace is saying that the way society had been living was the way it was intended and changing it now would not only take the freedom of the white community away but it would also limit their ability to grow and evolve. Then there was Martin Luther King Jr. a civil rights activist, who first handedly knew just how unfair all the African Americans had been treated. King was fighting for equal rights not only for the Negros but for all Americans. He gave is famous “I have a dreams” speech standing on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in front of over 200,000 people. Not only blacks, but whites as well, all joined together to demonstrate an act of unity, to show that change could work.
Now let’s use Ethos to take a look at Wallace and Dr.

King background to see what credibility each man had. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th, 1929 into a financially secure middle class family. In those days it was very rare for an African American family to be financially stable. King was also lucky enough to receive a better education than most average kids being admitted into college at the age of fifteen he went on to receive many degrees.(8). King, other then being a Baptist Minister was also the leader of the March on Washington for jobs and freedom, involved in the Montgomery bus boycott and was president of the SCLC. Governor George Wallace was born in Clio, Alabama on August 25th, 1919 (9). His family owned a farm and made a living off of it, but after his father died, his family’s finances were very limited so Wallace had to start working. He did many like waiting on tables, working in the soup kitchen, driving a taxi he even fought as a professional boxer (10). That not only helped out his family, but helped finish paying his way through law school. He attended the university of Alabama law school receiving his degree in 1942 (11). He served in air force during the Second World War. When he got back home, he worked as a judge and a police officer. In 1958 Wallace ran for govern of Alabama and lost when he ran again in 1962 he went on and changed his message to a more racial one. (12). He was later asked why he had started using racist messages,

Wallace replied, “You know, I tried to talk about good roads and good schools and all these things that have been part of my career, and nobody listened. And then I began talking about niggers, and they stomped the floor” (13). In other words, Wallace believes that no one really cared about the good things he had to say they, just like all the negative, so he went with it because he wanted to win and he was right after he changed his message he gained a large support group even gained the support of the KKK and won his second election. Both Wallace and Dr. King were very strong educated men and had a lot of life experiences to back up the claims they made in the speeches.
Maybe that is way both Dr.

King and Wallace had a very large support group behind them perhaps do to all the Logos in the speeches, also know as logic. Wallace brought up his faith and the founding fathers a lot in his speech. Wallace himself writes, “We must re-define our heritage, re-school our thoughts in the lessons our forefathers knew so well, first hand, in order to function and to grow and to prosper. We can no longer hide our head in the sand and tell ourselves that the ideology of our free being is threatened by another idea…for it is” (14). In making this comment, Wallace urges us to reconsider and really think about the changes the government is trying to make because it is going against everything the founding fathers build America on even though it wasn't being seen that way their idea was being attached and if the change was made they were taking a big step back. That clam to a lot made a lot of sense why would having segregation be wrong now if it had been this way for hundreds of years. But Dr. King’s view on the matter is even more powerful. Kind disagrees when he writes, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promos that all men, yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (15). Kings point is

that every man, women and child that is an American citizen has that same rights no matter what color of skin they have and it is printed in black and white on those documents that the same founding fathers Wallace brings up in his speech signed.
Pathos is that last thing we will look at, this is the emotional appeal each speech had. And both reflected a lot of hope for the people of the United States even if it was a different type of hope the people believe in the words they spoke. Kings hope was the hope of growth in the future. Dr. Kings writes, “ I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”(16). In other words, King believes that if the Negro community comes together and stands strong the voices will be heard and even the worst state will one day be filled with freedom and equal rights for all mankind. Wallace on the other hand is giving the hope of no change he wants to live by the ways the forefathers lived which was divided and most of the white community wanted the same. According to Wallace, “ This nation was never meant to be a unit of one…but united of the many…that is the exact reason our freedom loving forefathers established the states, so as to divide the rights and powers among the states” (17). Basically, Wallace is saying the Negros did deserve the right to their own freedom but divided from the whites. So is that really considered freedom when you are being told where you can be free? The African Americans did not settle they knew they deserved the same respect and freedom the whites had.
Looking back, I can see why these two speeches were a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Both speeches were written by very smart men who put a lot of logic in what they wrote. But when you really compere the two you can see that not both men had America’s best future in mind. Even though Wallace made it seem that keeping segregation was the best way it turns out he was wrong. Dr. Martin Luther king had his eye on the bigger picture and he made the biggest impact giving others the courage to stand up for what they believe in and never give up .