Mitch Landrieu Speech Analysis - 1642 Words

No matter what a person’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is, everyone should enjoy equality. In the speech Speech Upon the Removal of Confederate Monuments by Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, the removal of the Confederate monuments in New Orleans is discussed. The speech emphasises the fact that the Confederacy was wrong pertaining to their treatment of African Americans, and instead of teaching history, the Confederate monuments convey an image of inequality and violence. Mitch Landrieu argues for the deconstruction of historic Confederate monuments through his allusions to past historic events to contrast the modern shift of equality, so he can call the people to action to deconstruct the monuments. Through the†¦show more content†¦This ‘cult’ had one goal-through monuments and other means-to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity† (p 2). Using a periodic sentence structure, Landrieu puts an emphasis on the fact that the Confederacy was wrong, and people should not follow in its footsteps. The fact that the cult was trying to re-write history implies they know they were wrong and wanted to cover up their wrongdoings. He then goes on to talk about this in a logical sense to persuade the listener, as he then goes on to say, â€Å"...these men did not fight for the United States of America. They fought against it† (p 3). In any logical person’s mind, they should believe that it’s better to have someone that is standing up for their country in power, than someone who is not. Landrieu also uses a short and ‘sweet’ sentence to say how these Confederate men were against America’s cause, putting an emphasis on the facts. With his allusions to past events, Landrieu touches on the listeners pathos; while his differing sentence structure and logical remarks relate to the listeners logos. Using these appeals, Lan drieu is able to help his listeners truly understand the history and image of the Confederate monuments. In this second â€Å"block† of his speech,