THESIS: In President Lyndon Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome Speech,” he uses images and diction that emphasize unity, strategically employs evidence of his southern heritage, and exploits American patriotism in order to bring political and social change to America.

BODY 1: Both the language and the diction of his speech remind his audience of their collective American identity.

1. Use of Collective Pronouns

2. He continually refers to himself as “your president.”

3. Repetition of Refutation of Differences (This is not a white problem or black problem. It is An American Problem. We are not Republicans or Democrats)

BODY 2: Johnson seeks to form a relationship with the more aggressive members of his audience by emphasizing his southern background.

1.Southern Accent, Word Choice and Phrasing that Reflects Southern Dialect

2. Story about teaching in Texas

BODY 3: The rhetoric of the speech evokes Americans’ emotional connection to the American Dream as well as posits denial of rights as both an economic and constitutional detriment.

1. Evokes emotion

a. Narrative about the process of voting denial

b. Discusses the stifling sadness of Mexican-American students

c. Reminds audience that there should be no pride in such denials

d. Refers to the American Revolutionary War and Civil War

2. Economic and Constitution

a. Repetitively states that discrimination is against the Constitution

b. Emphasizes the importance of being able to choose your government

c. Repeats that discrimination does not allow the disenfranchised to contribute to the country

d. Insists that unwillingness to allow African Americans to vote impedes the notion of states’ rights