| This dissertation examines the civil rights rhetoric of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X between 1961 and 1965. The rhetors construct a discourse challenging the assumption that the creation of new civil rights law necessarily ensures racial justice. Such a rhetorical struggle performs the nation's uncertainty about the need for and desirability of civil rights law during the period.;In the process, Kennedy, King and Malcolm X create an identity-in-relation that even today is clearly recognizable. Their rhetoric invites audiences to understand the powers and limitations of civil rights law, while revealing guidelines for moral progress. Such a move illuminates the rhetorical process as a human development project. |
