"Beyond Vietnam"
April 4, 1967
On 4 April 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his seminal speech at Riverside Church condemning the Vietnam War . Declaring “my conscience leaves me no other choice,” King described the war’s deleterious effects on both America’s poor and Vietnamese peasants and insisted that it was morally imperative for the United States to take radical steps to halt the war through nonviolent means (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 139).
King’s anti-war sentiments emerged publicly for the first time in March 1965, when King declared that “millions of dollars can be spent every day to hold troops in South Viet Nam and our country cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma” (King, 9 March 1965). King told reporters on Face the Nation that as a minister he had “a prophetic function” and as “one greatly concerned about the need for peace in our world and the survival of mankind, I must continue to take a stand on this issue” (King, 29 August 1965). In a version of the “Transformed Nonconformist” sermon given in January 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church , King voiced his own opposition to the Vietnam War, describing American aggression as a violation of the 1954 Geneva Accord that promised self-determination.
In early 1967 King stepped up his anti-war proclamations, giving similar speeches in Los Angeles and Chicago. The Los Angeles speech, called “The Casualties of the War in Vietnam,” stressed the history of the conflict and argued that American power should be “harnessed to the service of peace and human beings, not an inhumane power [unleashed] against defenseless people” (King, 25 February 1967).
On 4 April, accompanied by Amherst College Professor Henry Commager, Union Theological Seminary President John Bennett, and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel , at an event sponsored by Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam , King spoke to over 3,000 at New York’s Riverside Church. The speech was drafted from a collection of volunteers, including Spelman professor Vincent Harding and Wesleyan professor John Maguire. King’s address emphasized his responsibility to the American people and explained that conversations with young black men in the ghettos reinforced his own commitment to nonviolence .
King followed with an historical sketch outlining Vietnam’s devastation at the hands of “deadly Western arrogance,” noting, “we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 146; 153). To change course, King suggested a five point outline for stopping the war, which included a call for a unilateral ceasefire. To King, however, the Vietnam War was only the most pressing symptom of American colonialism worldwide. King claimed that America made “peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 157). King urged instead “a radical revolution of values” emphasizing love and justice rather than economic nationalism (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 157).
The immediate response to King’s speech was largely negative. Both the Washington Post and New York Times published editorials criticizing the speech, with the Post noting that King’s speech had “diminished his usefulness to his cause, to his country, and to his people” through a simplistic and flawed view of the situation (“A Tragedy,” 6 April 1967). Similarly, both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Ralph Bunche accused King of linking two disparate issues, Vietnam and civil rights. Despite public criticism, King continued to attack the Vietnam War on both moral and economic grounds.
Branch, At Canaan’s Edge , 2006.
“Dr. King’s Error,” New York Times , 7 April 1967.
King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 4 April 1967, NNRC .
King, “The Casualties of the War in Vietnam,” 25 February 1967, CLPAC .
King, Interview on Face the Nation , 29 August 1965, RRML-TxTyU .
King, Statement on voter registration in Alabama, 9 March 1965, MLKJP-GAMK .
King, Transformed Nonconformist, Sermon Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 16 January 1966, CSKC .
“A Tragedy,” Washington Post , 6 April 1967.
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The Speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” by Martin Luther King, Jr: Rhetorical Analysis
Introduction.
Martin Luther King, Jr in his speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” argued that US foreign policy was hypocritical when compared to the inequality present in the United States. He spoke at Riverside Church in New York City, a venue that had a history of hosting progressive speakers and thinkers. The speech was given to a large, mixed audience of primarily civil rights activists. In order to convince his audience that the civil rights movement in the United States should oppose the Vietnam War, the speaker appealed to their ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos, the appeal to the legitimacy and authority of the speaker, is used throughout the speech. Martin Luther King, Jr indicates that he is seen as a figure of authority by the civil rights movement. He states, “Many people have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns, this query has often loomed large and loud: “Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King?” “Why are you joining the voices of dissent?”(King). Later, he mentions, “I am a preacher by calling, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision.” (King). These statements serve to communicate to the audience that the speaker is someone of authority and should be listened to.
The author is using pathos as one of his central rhetorical strategies. Pathos is a method applied to represent an appeal to feelings and emotions in a speech and other various kinds of writing. Martin Luther King notes that “we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools” (King). This part of the speech is evoking violent images of death that would affect the emotions of the audience. It also reminds people of inequality through images of everyday life in the United States.
Lastly, Martin Luther King uses logos in his famous speech. Logos appeals to reasoning and argumentation by applying statistics, factual evidence, and data. The speaker comments, that “they wander into the hospitals with at least twenty casualties from American firepower for one Vietcong-inflicted injury. So far we may have killed a million of them, mostly children” (King). The author here is using statistics to present the horrifying picture of the Vietnam War. He is using vivid language to describe the casualties; however, they are also supported by evidence, as he is using precise numbers in this part of the speech. Moreover, Martin Luther King states that “after the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva Agreement” (King). He is using historical facts to create a parallel between the current situation and the past.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr uses ethos, pathos, and logos, among other rhetorical devices, to support his argument that American policy in Vietnam was inconsistent with its treatment of African-Americans in the United States. He applies ethos to establish credibility, pathos to appeal to emotions, and logos to support his claims with hard evidence. Overall, the effective use of various rhetorical strategies is what makes the speech so valuable.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” Church Meeting, 1967, Riverside Church, New York City. Public Speech.
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Rhetorical Mlk Speech "Beyond Vietnam"
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Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence Rev. Martin Luther King April 4, 1967 Riverside Church, New York City. 2 Tonight, however, I wish not to speak with Hanoi and the NLF, but rather to my fellow Americans, who, with me, bear the greatest responsibility in ending a conflict that has exacted a heavy price on both continents.
In a version of the "Transformed Nonconformist" sermon given in January 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King voiced his own opposition to the Vietnam War, describing American aggression as a violation of the 1954 Geneva Accord that promised self-determination.
This essay will discuss Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam." It will examine its content, the context in which it was delivered, and its significance in expressing King's stance against the Vietnam War. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Excerpts from "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" Delivered at Riverside Church, New York, April 4, 1967 Since I am a preacher by trade, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. There is at the outset a very obvious and
Delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City. Note: We added some subtitles in a red font to highlight certain parts of the speech. These subtitles are from us... to help readers follow the speech. They are not part of the original speech.
In his speech "Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence", Martin Luther King Jr. wants the listeners to think of American involvement in the Vietnam war as terrible. The author uses emotional appeal, figures of speech, and a creative literacy to convince the audience of his viewpoint.
On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his first major speech on the war in Vietnam. In this speech he links the escalating U.S. commitment to the war in Vietnam war with its abandonment of the commitment to social justice at home.
" Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence ", also referred as the Riverside Church speech, [1] is an anti-Vietnam War and pro- social justice speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1967, exactly one year before he was assassinated.
Martin Luther King, Jr in his speech "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" argued that US foreign policy was hypocritical when compared to the inequality present in the United States.
In early 1967 Martin Luther king wrote the speech "Beyond Vietnam" to try change the way people see the war to see how it's affecting everyone. In front of over 3,000 people at the New York Riverside Church MLK declared his claims on the war on Vietnam knowing the consequences that the speech could impact his life.