Hannah Ring

Anne Williston
English 12B
28 October 2019

Have you ever wondered how important historical figures felt about slavery? Were the
people who believed it was immoral political outcasts? There are two pieces of media evidence
that represent the idea of equality for every race. The first is the Second Inaugural Address and
the second is the Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill, July 2,
1964. The first text was written by Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed in front of many people on
March 4, 1865. The second piece of media was retrieved from President Lyndon Johnson’s
broadcast from the White House.
I believe that the broadcast from President Johnson had more of an impact because it
directly states the concept of freedoms for everyone in America, regardless of race. “We believe
that all men are created equal. Yet many are denied equal treatment.” (Johnson para 7) That
quote from Johnson’s speech strongly supports his morals. Johnson’s broadcast more effectively
indicates his beliefs about racism. Lincoln’s speech has quotes about actual racism and more
about the tense state between the North and the South. Lincoln expresses this here, “Both parties
deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other
would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.” (para 2)
Johnson’s speech is historically important because many people who were not white
were enduring unfair treatment for no reason other than their skin color. Individuals who have
done just as much for America as other people faced judgement and discrimination. Johnson
speaks on this in this quote, “Americans of every race and color have died in battle to protect our
freedom.” (para 6) This media evidence used many strong verbs that contributed to the main
idea. Johnson made references to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Constitution to relay his
idea that everyone should have equal rights.
Lincoln’s speech was also significant because he attempted to bring the North and South
together, who had fought over slavery. This is shown in this quote from Lincoln, “Both read the
same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other.” (para 3) The
south was opposed to the idea of slavery not existing and Lincoln wanted to convince them it
was immoral. Lincoln uses religion which heavily ties in with American values to reinforce his
idea that slavery is wrong. The theme communicated in this text is how the North and South
should not fight over slavery because it isn’t ethical.
One similarity between the two pieces of media is the overall purpose, which is to
persuade the American people that slavery and racism are unjust. Another similarity between the
two is how they use American values to encourage the reader. Johnson references patriotism and
Lincoln references religion. There are also a few differences between them, such as the overall
structure and word choice. Another difference between the speeches is the actual examples of Commented [1]: Incorrect word use. Change to "of"
why the American people should not be racist. In Lincoln’s speech, he talks about how God
would not approve and how the North and South need to unite, however in Johnson’s speech he
talks about general morals and how every race has fought for American freedoms.
To sum up, there are many correlating and distinct attributes to each speech that makes it
unique. In the end, they have a common goal which is to persuade people to believe racism is not
virtuous. Each speech has different reasoning to support this statement, but they each are able to
do it with multiple explanations.

Works Cited:

Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989, Retrieved 25
September 2016 from http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-64. Volume II,
entry 446, pp. 842-844. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1965. Retrieved
25 September 2016 from http://www.lbjlibrary.net/collections/selected-speeches/
november-1963-1964/07-02-1964.html