Jessica Mehrlich

Darryl Clark

COMM 423

November 20, 2017

He Took Up Their Rallying Cry

Martin Luther King Jr and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) were

working to make Selma, Alabama, the center of their voter register campaign in 1965. After a

peaceful demonstration was attacked by white segregationists on February 18, resulting in one

young demonstrator being fatally shot by a state trooper, a 54-mile protest march from Selma to

the state capitol of Montgomery was planned (History.com Staff).

Sunday, March 7, 1965, was the day King and the SCLC chose for the civil rights march.

This infamous day, later known as Bloody Sunday, took place at the height of the modern civil

rights movement. The civil rights marchers, totaling around 600, only made it six blocks down

their U.S. Route 80 path (United States). When they reached the Edmund Pettis Bridge, there

were state and local police waiting for them. The marchers were attacked with billy clubs,

nightsticks, bull whips, and tear gas. The days events were broadcast on television causing

many Americans to become angry (History.com Staff).

Eight days after the violent events in Selma took place, President Lyndon B. Johnson

called a special joint session with both the House and the Senate. He wanted to address the

violence and inequality black Americans were facing. Johnson specifically wanted to address

their right to vote without threat. On March 15, 1965, Johnson delivered the speech entitled
Mehrlich 2

Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise, also known as We Shall

Overcome. In this speech, Johnson specifically addressed the need for all Americans to have

voting rights.

Although the eventual outcome of LBJs speech were beneficial to the civil rights

movement, many of the movements members did not trust him. Many of the leaders did not

think that Johnson had done his best to serve them.

When, on the night of March 15, 1965, the long motorcade drove away from the White

House, heading for Capitol Hill, where President Johnson would give his speech to a

joint session of Congress, pickets were standing outside the gates, as they had been for

weeks, and as the presidential limousine passed, they were singing the same song that

was being sung that week in Selma, Alabama: We Shall Overcome. They were singing

it in defiance of Johnson, because they didn't trust him. (Caroaug)

At that time, African Americans did not feel that they had been given any reason to trust him.

Johnson was born and raised in Stonewall, Texas. Since he was a southerner, LBJ was

not seen as a likely champion for civil rights. Professor of communication arts and sciences at

Calvin College Garth Pauley who specializes in rhetoric surrounding the American Civil Rights

movement wrote, Born and raised in the Texas Hill Country during the early twentieth century,

Lyndon Johnson's childhood experiences did not predispose him to become an advocate of racial

justice (Pauley). During his time in the House and Senate, LBJ had voted against every civil

rights bill that had been brought up for a vote. However, once he turned his thoughts toward

potentially running for president, he decided that he needed to work to pass civil rights

legislation to show the American people that he was more than his southern roots. He wanted to

prove he could listen to the nation as a whole. In 1957, Johnson brokered a political
Mehrlich 3

compromise when it seemed that powerful Southern senators and their liberal adversaries would

lock horns over a comprehensive civil rights bill written by President Dwight Eisenhower's

attorney general--and thus fail to accomplish anything (Pauley). Even though the Civil Rights

Act of 1957 was not a very impactful law, Johnson pointed out the importance of laying the

groundwork for future legislation. As president, LBJ oversaw the passage of the Civil Rights Act

of 1964. However, this was seen as another flimsy piece of legislations that in reality did not

change much.

Throughout his years in government, Johnson had come in contact with many cases of

blatant racism and discrimination. He became familiar with the areas of civil rights legislation

that needed improvements and became a strong believer in the need for stronger protections for

African Americas. He believed that voting was a fundamental right, guaranteed by the

Constitution to all Americans and was a crucial step on the path to equality. When voting rights

demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, dramatized the problem of voter discrimination for the entire

nation, Johnson seized the moment to help guide federal voting rights legislation--a law his

Justice Department had been developing since 1964--to swift passage (Pauley). This law in

development was the one he presented to Congress and the American people in We Shall

Overcome and eventually became the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Johnson had originally planned to write a letter to go with his proposal to Congress.

However, he decided that this message was far too important for that. He had an audience of 70

million television viewers, who had seen for themselves clubs, bullwhips and tear gas unleashed

against people trying to register black Americans to vote. The veil was off the injustice. The

president was throwing his heft and force into the cause before a special joint session of

Congress (@WBUR).
Mehrlich 4

After greeting his audience, Johnson introduced his subject for the evening: the dignity of

man. By saying man and not African Americans he made the argument inclusive. He didnt

limit the idea to civil rights but to rights afforded to all under a democracy. He then went on to

compare the events in Selma to other important moments in American history such as Lexington

and Concord and Appomattox. By equating this battle of civil rights with historically great

battles for the American cause, Johnson made the need for justice in this case undeniable. If

justice was needed in the other battles, justice was needed in Selma.

LBJ also mentioned mans unending search for freedom. Through this he implied that

freedom is not something that can be boxed in and defined. Freedom is constantly evolving and

calls for men to adapt with it. All men are searching for freedom and in this case giving African

Americans the right to vote was a needed adaptation.

Johnson linked the denial of the right to vote to the denial of the rights of Americans. By

asserting that this right was essential to the American promise he made sure that his audience

knew that this was a problem for the whole nation to tackle.

There is no cause for pride in what happened in Selma. There is no cause for self-

satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of millions of Americans. But there is cause

for hope and for faith in our democracy in what is happening here tonight. For the cries of

pain and the hymns and protests of oppressed people have summoned into convocation all

the majesty of this great Government the Government of the greatest Nation on earth.

Our mission is at once the oldest and the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do

justice, to serve man (Johnson).

Mehrlich 5

He made sure to say our mission. This was not just a pet project of his, but a calling

for all Americans. He was calling on all Americans to extend the American mission to all

citizens.

Pauley said that by presenting the problem in this light, Johnson makes this form of

discrimination a threat to America itself.

The president may not have converted them to active supporters of voting rights legislation,

but he likely persuaded some to accept it passively. His speech helped demoralize the

Southern opposition to equal voting rights by making racial discrimination at the ballot box

seem fundamentally un-American, at odds with what the nation was all about. It squarely

put segregationists on the losing side of an issue of principle: None could argue

convincingly that voter discrimination was consistent with American values (Pauley).

By using his authority to bring attention to this national inequality and abuse, Johnson

made it nearly impossible to deny that voter discrimination was an issue across the whole

country. LBJ made the issue unavoidable. He brought it to the forefront of the nations thought

and plainly explained how it was to be fixed by enfranchising all Americans. He did not allow

the blame to be put on one region. He did not point to southerners and say that it was their fault.

If he had done this, he would have likely gotten a defensive and negative reaction. Instead, he

used inclusive language throughout to make it clear that it was everyones problem to address.

He made the controversial topic relevant to everyone. LBJ was able to talk about the issue

without making any one group resent him for the blame.

President Johnson did not simply ask Congress to right this wrong, he asked the whole

nation to do so.
Mehrlich 6

A plea for Congress to do its constitutional duty also would have put the American people

on the margins of the decision-making process by focusing on the responsibilities of the

federal government. And though possessed of a reasonable appeal, such a plea would have

been less inspiring than his appeal to the American Promise: Johnson presented a stirring

definition of the meaning of America rather than the meaning of the Constitution, a

significant but arcane document to many citizens (Pauley).

In his speech, Johnson quoted from the nations founding documents. He said that those

are not just hollow words but promises to be acted upon and followed through. He said, And we

ought not and we cannot and we must not wait another 8 months before we get a bill. We have

already waited a hundred years and more, and the time for waiting is gone. Johnson spoke with

urgency and stressed the need to act now. He found immediacy to be so important that he

repeatedly spoke about it in different ways.

LBJ made sure to address what would happen after the bill was passed. He said that the

battle would not be over, What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which

reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negros to secure for

themselves the full blessings of American life. He clarifies that this is not the complete solution

to the problem. It is merely a crucial step in a process.

Throughout the speech, after every new point, Johnson made sure to call on all

Americans to help. Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really

it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall

overcome (Johnson). When he said And we shall overcome he was sending a much bigger

message. At that point he was taking up the civil rights battle cry. Johnson knew that when he

stated And we shall overcome, in his address, he would unequivocally tie himself to the
Mehrlich 7

movement (265). While the potential political costs are not fully elaborated on by Johnson,

unlike the physical and personal costs paid by others, they form an underlying tone throughout

the whole address (Pressel). LBJ left no room to wonder where he stood on the issue.

Johnson was signaling that he was one their side. Martin Luther King was watching the

speech at the home of a family in Selma with some of his aides, none of whom had ever, during

all the hard years, seen King cry. But Lyndon Johnson said, We shall overcome - and they saw

him cry then (Caroaug). By using the movements rallying cry he drew out the emotions of the

audience. This was no longer an informative speech but an emotional appeal to bring change.

Johnson then went on to recognize that this was not the only problem facing the nation

and that by working together they will be able to overcome them all. He said, This is one

Nation. What happens in Selma or in Cincinnati is a matter of legitimate concern to every

American. But let each of us look within our own hearts and our own communities and let each

of us put out shoulder to the wheel to root our injustice wherever it exists. By recognizing how

much work there was to be done he was telling the nation to get to work and start making

changes. He connected the nation by drawing on both northern and southern examples of racial

injustice and calls them to action.

LBJ was not typically seen as a great orator. He typically appeared to be very

uncomfortable, monotonous, used awkward gestures, and kept his eyes on the script. That

Johnson used his legislative acumen to shape U.S. history is not surprising, whereas the fact that

he motivated the nation through public speaking is remarkable. Johnson possessed considerable

skill in his interpersonal communication (often referred to as "the Johnson treatment"), but he

generally was a poor public speaker (Pauley). Despite his shortcomings in presentation, the

speech was able to inspire Congress to push through legislation.

Mehrlich 8

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law on August 6, just five moths after

LBJs address. "Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans, I have written, but

it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy's sacred curtain

behind them, placed their hands upon the lever that gave them a hold on their own destiny, made

them, at last and forever, a true part of American political life, (Caroaug).

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a result of this speech as well as the unrelenting

efforts of civil rights advocates. It is arguably one of the most important documents in United

States history. Specifically, the act banned literacy tests as a requirement for voting, mandated

federal oversight of voter registration in areas where tests had previously been used, and gave the

U.S. attorney general the duty of challenging the use of poll taxes for state and local elections

(History.com Staff). It will forever be known as a marker on the road to equal rights and be an

important part of defining justice in America (Goldzweig). For example, the percentage of voter

turnout among the black community in Mississippi alone increased from 6 percent in 1964 to 59

percent in 1969 (History.com Staff).

The speech was written by Richard Goodwin at the request of Johnson. He was given just

eight hours to compose it. For inspiration, he thought about the anti-Semitic prejudice and

discrimination he had dealt with. His goal was to move men to action and that it did. The speech

was interrupted with applause 40 times. It is the custom of presidential speechwriters to

disavow ownership, yet Goodwin would join Johnson that night in the presidential quarters.

Johnson had no desire to go to sleep, Goodwin said. He knew he had had a great triumph. The

two of them stayed up drinking scotch until 3, hoping the applause would help bring about a

piece of legislation responsible in part for one of the biggest social changes in the nation. We

Shall Overcome truly was the rallying cry of the civil rights movement. According to Caroaug,
Mehrlich 9

there was another indication of the power of that speech. When the motorcade returned to

the White House, the protesters were gone.

Mehrlich 10

Works Cited

Caro, Robert A. "Speech Analysis We Shall Overcome. L.B.Johnson."

Http://www.nytimes.com/. N.p., 28 July 2008. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Goldzwig, Steven R. "Lbj, The Rhetoric Of Transcendence, And The Civil Rights Act Of 1968."

Rhetoric & Public Affairs 6.1 (2003): 25-53. Communication & Mass Media Complete.

Web. 23 Oct. 2016

History.com Staff. "Selma to Montgomery March." History.com. A&E Television Networks,

2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

History.com Staff. "Voting Rights Act." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 30

Nov. 2016.

Pauley, Garth E. "Lyndon B. Johnson, "We Shall Overcome" (15 March 1965)." N.p., n.d. Web.

23 Oct. 2016.

"President Lyndon B. Johnson's Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise March

15, 1965 [As Delivered in Person before a Joint Session at 9:02 P.m.]." President

Lyndon B. Johnson's Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise March 15,

1965. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

Pressel, Robert. "The Costs of Justice: An Introduction to a Collection of ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 23

Oct. 2016.

"Reflections on President Lyndon Johnsons Voting Rights ..." Www.stetson.edu/. N.p., n.d.

Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Rothenberger, Elizabeth. "Rhetorical Analysis of Lyndon B. Johnson's "We Shall Overcome""

www.scribd.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Mehrlich 11

United States. National Park Service. "We Shall Overcome -- Selma-to-Montgomery March."

National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

@WBUR. "The Making Of LBJ's Historic 'We Shall Overcome' Speech." WBUR. N.p., n.d.

Web. 05 Oct. 2016.