James Baldwins started his speech by talking about historical facts of injustices against black people and how the United States of America was established upon the expense of cheap labor back then and still now. All these historical contexts that he introduced were referred to at the end of his speech where stated his point of view that black people have always been at the expense of others’ success, taking his stand for the debate topic. On the other hand, going against Baldwins, Buckley mainly counterargued Baldwins’ speech stating that it was irrelevant to the debate topic. Buckley stated his stand in the beginning and expanded upon it by adding his understanding to the examples given by Baldwins. Their speech structure was quite different which might be caused by the order they presented in.
James Baldwins
Ethos: “We are sitting in this room, and we are all civilized; we can talk to each other, at least on certain levels, so that we can walk out of here assuming that the measure of our politeness has some effect on the world.” The way he uses the word “we” are tying every single individual in the room with him if everyone is prepared and are here to talk about real issues based upon real sources, then he is as well. Doubting his words will be doubting yourself, Baldwins put everyone on the same boat before anyone notices, if the boat sinks, everyone drowns.
Pathos: “But what is worse is that nothing you have done, and as far as you can tell nothing you can do, will save your son or your daughter from having the same disaster and from coming to the same end.” Once again, using the word “you” is strong in relating emotions together as one individual. Those audiences might be a bit older or the others younger but most of them have or are going to have children, Baldwins is trying to create a common anxiety here where everyone could start to think about these generational issues of injustices.
Logos: “I am speaking very seriously, and this is not an overstatement: I picked cotton, I carried it to the market, I built the railroads under someone else’s whip for nothing. For nothing…. None can challenge that statement. It is a matter of historical record.” This is a very strong fact as “it is a matter of historical record” that speaks out from someone who and his ancestors experienced.
William Buckley:
Ethos: “I urge those of you who have an actual interest in the problem to read ‘Beyond the Melting Pot,’ by Nathan Glazer and Daniel Moynihan.” The fact that he is naming the book and authors directly gives the audience the sense that he is confident about what he is talking about, and the confidence is based upon real facts from research and books.
Pathos: “If it finally does come to a confrontation between giving up the best features of the American way of life and fighting for them, then we will fight the issue. We will fight the issues not only in the Cambridge Union, but we will fight as you were once asked to fight…” The choice of utilizing the word “we” is very emotional in this case to wrap up his speech. It is not only gripping those who agree and support his idea but those who might still be challenged by this new concept introduced as well.
Logos: The way William Buckley started his speech was in a logical sense to counterargue against James Baldwin. Instead of disagreeing with Mr. Baldwins directly, he agrees that mistreating and discrimination exist, but it does not align with Mr. Baldwins’ idea that it makes them the expense for the successful American dream of others. With this starting, he builds upon his idea of how America has been one of the nations/might even be the most proactive in solving discrimination issues compared to others.