Ethos:
William F. Buckley: “It is impossible in my judgment to deal with the indictment of Mr. Baldwin unless one is prepared to deal with him as a white man, unless one is prepared to say to him the fact that your skin is black is utterly irrelevant to the arguments that you are advancing.” Buckley is positioning himself as someone who is trying to approach the issue from an intellectual and colorblind standpoint, attempting to build ethos as a rational debater. He aims to present himself as unbiased and his argument here builds his credibility.
James Baldwin: “It comes as a great shock… to discover that the country which is your birthplace and to which you owe your life and your identity, has not, in its whole system of reality, evolved any place for you.” Baldwin is sharing a personal revelation. The ethos is rooted in his firsthand experience as an African American.
Pathos:
James Baldwin: “One’s appearance was already a kind of confession; one had to be mercilessly ‘realistic’ about that; one had to deal with that and accept the effect that that had on other people.” Baldwin speaks to the reality of being judged on appearance, particularly on his skin color. The emotion lies in the constant struggle of living in a world where his own existence and identity is a subject of bias.
Buckley’s appeal to emotion was more rooted in fears and concerns about societal breakdown and the supposed dangers of radical change. He argued that the push for civil rights might be moving too quickly, potentially leading to bad results. His pathos was more about caution and fears of change.
Logos:
Baldwin’s argument was built on a series of logical situations about the state of African Americans in the U.S. He pointed to systemic oppression, historical subjugation, and ongoing discrimination as evidence that the American dream was, in many ways, not applicable to black citizens. Baldwin’s logic was based on historical fact, social observation, and strong evidence. It all prove to his logos.
Buckley approached the topic from a different angle, arguing about the potential negative outcomes of radical change. He often suggests that rapid change might be more damaging than beneficial. Buckley weren’t as logical as Baldwin. Baldwin uses a lot more historical facts and data, hence to be more logos.
Personal opinion:
I side with Baldwin as he uses all three elements to the speech fully. Buckley, on the other side, weren’t as objective since his arguments were solely based on his own fears and concern. While Baldwin also uses Pathos in his speech, we can see that Baldwin’s usage of Pathos intertwined with Logos and Ethos, making his arguments a lot more relatable and effective.