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How Did Martin Luther King Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

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How Did Martin Luther King Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was a serious turn for the United States, it was devoted toward activism for equal rights and treatment of African Americans and during this time many people rallied for social, political, legal and cultural changes to end discrimination and segregation. According to National Archives Experience, the 13th amendment of the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States and the 14th amendment of the Constitution insured African Americans legal citizenship and equal protection under the law, these two amendments helped grant African Americans more equal rights during this time, but there was far more to be worked out as these amendments didn’t change much at this time, slavery and discrimination still continued. …show more content…
His background in the ministry helped his great ability to speak to a public audience, only someone with his talent in speaking could have put the words together so powerfully. While the other speakers at the march were more direct with demands, Martin Luther King Jr. kept his speech more low key, by stating his feelings on the subject; he educated, informed and inspired everyone on that day, he helped people view things as perspective rather than a demand. It was more or less a testimony of truth, rather than a speech. In the speech, Martin Luther King Jr. generally wanted people to realize how unfair it was to discriminate, how unfair it was to mistreat or judge a person because of their skin color, how unfair it was to give white people more power than colored, but most of all he wanted an end to racism in the United States, he wanted a better future for the generations to come. The speech appealed the Emancipation Proclamation, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution. He established the way for the idea that there is an American dream and we are the ones who can achieve it, who can make it …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. started his speech with prepared remarks, regarding reference to the time when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, according to the National Archives Experience, he was there to “cash a check” for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” while warning fellow protesters not to "allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." He says the words “I have a Dream” 8 different times during his speech, which is a significant reason why it was named the “I have a Dream” speech later on. The King states, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He not only wanted to change things back then, but he wanted things to remain civil between blacks and whites for all of the years to come, he wanted to transform the United States and end discrimination, segregation and racism for good. He ends his speech with very touching words, stating that we

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