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Ines de la Morena

Ms. Cooper

AP English Language

10 April 2018

From Belief to Action:

A Brief Analysis of the Ineffective

Rhetoric in Wallace’s Inaugural Address

In the early 20th century, a series of changes were sweeping the American continent, and

with them differences in opinion on how to react to these changes cascaded. As the American

Civil Rights Movement took root and the nation recovered from devastating war casualties and

debt, leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the rights of African Americans and their

role in society. A series of Supreme Court decisions, such as ​Plessy v. Ferguson​, upheld the

constitutionality of Jim Crow laws, which justified segregation as long as facilities remained

separate but, somehow, equal. However, the legality of the action did not stop it from socially

occurring, and many were still discriminated against in areas such as The Deep South. In his

inauguration as governor to the state of Alabama in 1963, George Wallace asserted that his

actions would reflect the wellbeing of the entire population by continuing the practice of

segregation while simultaneously keeping facilities separate but equal. Wallace’s claim that he

will do what is best for all Alabamians and expand the state’s potential is only true when the

scope of his audience is limited to mostly the white population and a small minority of black

voters. When the scope is, however, expanded to the entire population of Alabama and
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“Dixieland,” Wallace’s arguments prove untrue as segregation would not benefit the black race

and thus a portion of the population of Alabama (Wallace 3). Wallace’s rhetoric and style

ultimately fail in constructing a cohesive and well-rounded argument.

Wallace claims segregation is the optimal course of action for the people of Alabama to

reach the state’s full potential and grant its people their wish. By the use of asyndeton in the

phrase “Segregation today... segregation tomorrow... segregation forever”, Wallace clearly states

his intent of keeping facilities separate in all aspects of public life while he is governor of the

state (2). The repetition of the word segregation appeals to the supporters of this doctrine, these

defacto being the supporters of Wallace. Approximately 30% of the population of Alabama was

black, totaling ~900,000 people (“Alabama Population”). Although it is possible that some black

citizens supported Wallace’s ideals, the fact remains that African Americans vehemently

opposed segregation as it negated them from equal opportunities - discrediting the idea that

segregation is what ​all​ Alabamians wish. In addition, Wallace’s positive view on segregation

only works when the warrant that facilities can be equal yet separate is reached, something that

he does not discuss but rather holds true. Wallace fails to recognize the Supreme Court’s

decision in ​Brown v. Board of Education​ which recognized that separate facilities cannot, by

nature, be equal and that this doctrine held no place (Supreme Court). The silencing or rather

avoidance of this truth degrades his argument, and ignores the perspectives of a portion of the

Alabamians. He further develops and supports his claim by mentioning the problems an

integrated school system has caused in other cities of the nation, in his eyes being “disgusting

and revealing” to the downside of social equality and integration (Wallace 2). Thereafter, he adds

that Alabamians must “work in [developing] and [enriching] the educational opportunities of
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[Alabamian] children” (Wallace 4). Here, there are two faults in logic. Wallace fails to recognize

that African American schools are still developing and will need more time in order to reach an

“equal” state to white schools, something promised under the law and warranted in his former

claim. By magnifying a section of the issue and taking it out of context, he appeals to white

supporters of segregation in keeping their “children safe”, but he does not form a logical

argument that will appeal to his intended audience -the entire population of Alabama- and does

not conform to their needs. He also promises bettering these conditions for all Alabamian

children, but is intently opposed to any black Alabamian kid attending school with white

children, for that would restrict their liberties. These two claims are contradictory, and frankly

nonsensical.

Secondly, Wallace attacks the idea of a centralized government which holds too much

power over its people, comparing the federal government to a tyranny. This supports the idea

that he is giving the people of the state a voice, and equally distributing the governmental power.

He effectively builds credibility with his audience in the piece by addressing the “farmer in the

field, the worker in the factory, the businessman in his office, the housewife in her home”,

consecutively listing them in asyndeton to appear inclusive of the entire population (Wallace 1).

This appeal to the audience’s emotions, or pathos, makes them feel listened to and cared for at

this time where they face potential desegregation in the hands of the federal government and thus

a disregard for their opinion. Later in his claim, he once again makes the federal government

appear tyrannical because of their disregard of the common man and denying of liberties, as a

centralized power must make democratic decisions which benefit the nation and not simply a

single state. Wallace’s apparent despise of a federal government ignores the rights guaranteed by
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the United States Constitution and its Amendments, which are specifically designed for keeping

the federal government from holding too much power. Wallace mentions how the “ideology of

[their] free fathers is being attacked” with a centralized government (4). By mentioning the

Founding Fathers, authors of the U.S. Constitution, Wallace delivers yet another fault in logic.

He wants Alabamians to pay tribute to what these men would have wished by resisting a

centralized government, by one method: upholding segregation. However, following this

doctrine would cause a third of the population of Alabama to lose some of their 14th Amendment

rights, which guarantee all citizens the right of “life and liberty” (“The Constitution

Amendments”). This amendment is a part of the document designed to prevent a centralized and

totalitarian government, something Wallace claims to support but so anatomically and obviously

revokes. Furthermore, this support for state governments fails to acknowledge that freedom to

everyone does include the black race, and that one cannot preach giving a voice to everyone’s

opinion while ignoring an entire ethnic group and favoring that which goes with one’s ideals.

More state’s rights would evidently not extend the so-called freedom promised by Wallace, but

in fact reduce it throughout the state. In the end, Wallace’s claims appear outdated and half-true,

as he fails to qualify his argument and reach his entire intended audience.

While Governor Wallace’s Inaugural Address worked effectively for a portion of the

Alabamian population, in many instances throughout the speech he lets his racial and class bias

cloud the core of his rhetoric. Governor Wallace’s claims and train of thought in the end prove

faulty and misleading, ultimately devaluing his beliefs and credibility. His inability to look at the

whole picture and qualify his argument, accompanied by various shifts in logic, makes for a

heartfelt yet premature argument.

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Works Cited

“Alabama's Population 1800-2000,” ​Birmingham Public Library​. Birmingham Public Library,

10 Mar. 2016, www.bplonline.org/resources/government/AlabamaPopulation.aspx.

Accessed 9 April 2018.

Supreme Court of the United States. “Brown v. Board of Education,” 17 May 1954, ​Our

Documents​. National Archives, www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=

87&page=transcript. Accessed 7 April 2018.

“The Constitution: Amendments 11-27,” ​National Archives.​ National Archives, 6 October 2016,

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27. Accessed 8 April 2018.

Wallace, George. “The Inaugural Address of Governor George C. Wallace,” 14 January 1963.

Alabama Department of Archives and History​. Alabama Department of Archives and

History, 2010, http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/2952.

Accessed 7 April 2018.