Question

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a graduation address at the University of Michigan. He discussed his hope for a "great society" without poverty or inequality. Read the excerpt from his speech and respond to the question that follows. I have come today from the turmoil of your capital to the tranquility of your campus to speak about the future of your country. The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation. For a century we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people. The challenge of the next half century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization. Your imagination and your initiative and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.

Write a paragraph of 5-7 sentences that accomplishes the following:

identify the bolded rhetorical device

Answer 1

President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 speech at the University of Michigan introduced his vision of the Great Society, which aimed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, and called for collective action toward achieving a just and improved American society.

Step-by-step explanation:

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his vision of the Great Society, a profound societal transformation aiming to eradicate poverty and racial injustice. This ambitious initiative sought to elevate the quality of life and ensure equal opportunities for all Americans, resonating with values of liberty and pursuit of happiness. The Great Society was to be erected on the foundation of the nation’s abundance, liberty, education, urban development, and respect for nature.

President Johnson’s commencement speech at the University of Michigan became a historical cornerstone, representing a shift towards social justice and emphasizing federal responsibility in facilitating economic opportunity and civil rights. It showed a determined effort to push for domestic legislation for the betterment of American civilization, harnessing the collective will, labor, and heart of its people to realize the envisioned society.

President Johnson’s policies and this momentous speech laid groundwork for future social justice initiatives. His message of optimism and determination to avoid becoming a society of “soulless wealth” is highlighted by his rejection of the counterclaim that such an ambitious project was unachievable, which he mentioned, “We have the power to shape the civilization that we want.”