Historical+and+Biblical+Allusions

= There are many examples of historical and biblical allusion in Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. They all further his purpose of inspiring people to fight against segregation with integrity of character and without violence. = = King first uses historical allusion by referring to Abraham Lincoln and how, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” Mentioning how Lincoln, one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, fought for Negros gives King authoritative appeal in his argument. This inspired people to fight against segregation, because it made people realize that respected historical figures fought for their rights in past years, and encouraged them to fight for themselves. = = Another time King uses authoritative appeal through historical allusion is when he said, “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.” By stating that the Founding Fathers created this country for the purpose guaranteeing all men, “the undeniable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and by pointing out that the very foundation of our country is freedom for all men, King inspires people to stand up for their rights, just as the colonists did many years ago. = = What is a current issue that people need to stand up and fight for? Can it be done peacefully and without violence? = = At the end of his speech King used a mixture of historical and biblical allusion when he declared that when white men and black men are equals and said, “This will be the day when all God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring.” By referring to equal black and white people as God’s children, he implies that there will be a great sense of unity in the nation when equality of races is finally established. This is furthered when he says all will sing the American national anthem, reminding people that they all live in the same great nation, and all have the same national pride. The historical and biblical allusion conveys King’s purpose of inspiring people to fight against segregation without violence and with integrity of character by creating a sense of spiritual unity in all the hearts of the people listening to his speech. = = King’s final sentences are also a mixture of historical and biblical allusion. He states that by fighting against segregation “we will be able to speed up the day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!’” King states that by fighting against segregation, people will be able to unite factions of the human race that are notorious for fighting against one another. This is inspiring because it gives them yet another vivid image of unity, and people singing of the freedom they have acquired together. = = What are some other examples of different races or religions that have conflicted in the past? Is there anything that can be done to stop the world’s cycle of hatred between different types of people? =