Speech Project

_ Who is speaking?

Lyndon B Johnson


_ Why was/is the speech important to society?

The speech is important because it signifies the landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public.


_ Why do you feel it is important or interesting?

It is important and interesting to me because it is a document of the Civil Rights Act.

_ What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?


There is a feeling of strength and pride for all Americans. The mood of the speech is encouraging. It is a formal speech.

_ What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...

There are many pauses, emphasis, and softness throughout the speech. It helps the listener understand and appreciate what is being said.


_ What do you FEEL should be loud or soft, long pause or rushed?


I feel that there are many spots that should be louder to illustrate more feeling and emotion for the act.

_ Is there a call to action? When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?

The call to action is for equality. There are emphases on words/phrases that show the importance of equality for every American.

_ How does it make you feel?

The speech makes me feel a sense of pride for an act being passed.


_ How do you imagine the audience felt?

The audience might of felt great change happening in the country.


_ Could there be another interpretation of the speech? 


There aren’t really any false or different interpretations for the speech. It’s straightforward.

_ Write/find a short bio, of the person giving the speech

Lyndon Baines Johnson ,often referred to as LBJ, was a US politician who served as the 36^th President of the United States after his service as the 37^th Vice President of the United States. He is one of four people who served in all four elected federal offices of the United States: Representative, Senator, Vice President and President.

Johnson, a Democrat, served as a United States Representative from Texas, from 1937–1949 and as United States Senator from 1949–1961, including six years as United States Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. After campaigning unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1960, Johnson was asked by JFK to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election.

Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of JFK, completed Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin in the 1964 presidential election. Johnson was greatly supported by the Democratic Party and, as President, was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that upheld civil rights, Public Broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education, and his "War on Poverty." He was renowned for his domineering personality and the "Johnson treatment," his coercion of powerful politicians in order to advance legislation.

Simultaneously, he greatly escalated direct American involvement in the Vietnam war. As the war dragged on, Johnson's popularity as President steadily declined. After the 1966 mid-term Congressional elections, his re-election bid in the 1968 presidential election collapsed as a result of turmoil within the Democratic Party related to opposition to the Vietnam War. He withdrew from the race amid growing opposition to his policy on the Vietnam War and a worse-than-expected showing in the New Hampshire primary.

Despite the failures of his foreign policy, Johnson is ranked favorably by some historians because of his domestic policies.