Emma Nations

AP Lang

Cooper

May 4, 2019

Superior Governor, Superior State, Superior People

Standing in the same place where Jefferson Davis gave his inaugural address as the first

and only president of the Confederacy, the stakes were high for George Wallace. In 1963,

George Wallace gave his inaugural address as he was being inducted as the governor of

Alabama. The focus of Wallace’s speech is central around superiority. In the beginning of his

speech, he dwells on the superiority of Alabama as a state with it’s vast resources and God’s

blessing. He also focuses on the superiority of the state government as the founding fathers saw

it. Wallace is effective in his argument that Alabama has the potential to be a superior state. He

uses ethos and pathos to build up his credibility and make the audience believe him. He also uses

pathos and logos to recount the vast potential in natural resources and opportunities that Alabama

has to offer, in part due to God’s blessing. Wallace then calls the people to action as he draws

from their loyalty to the south to get them to vote and step up to fight for superiority.

Wallace begins his speech by using pathos and ethos to convince his audience that he, as

a state governor, is going to make a difference in their lives. By defining himself as a state

governor, he is appealing to their ethics and establishing his credibility. Through this he is also

able to make a claim about his dedication to the people and to the state. Wallace makes a point to

connect with the people and assure them that he will make the changes that they want. One of

these changes is the banning of alcohol. Wallace operates under the warrant that his audience is
against drinking. For those who are, this is an effective argument. Wallace uses ethos by proving

that he is true to his word when he says “I have said to you that I would eliminate the liquor

agents in this state and that the money saved would be returned to our citizens… I am happy to

report to you that I am now filling orders for several hundred one-way tickets and stamped are

these words… ‘for liquor agents… destination:… out of Alabama.” When he says this, he also

uses repetition to enforce the idea that his promise to them is being fulfilled. He also uses

repetition when he says later, “Let me say one more time… no more liquor drinking in your

governor’s mansion.” This act of banning liquor both allows Wallace to show his power and

influence, as well as proves to the people that he has listened to them and that he is there to

support them. Wallace also speaks to many different type of audience member using an

emotional appeal as he speaks about ways that he is going to take care of the citizens of

Alabama. Wallace highlights many individual groups which is an attempt to make them feel

valued and noticed, which is an effective strategy. By doing this he is also able to promote his

individual goals for each group, which effectively assures them that the state government is

capable of helping every citizen reach their goals. Wallace speaks to the senior citizens saying “I

shall not forget my duty to our senior citizens.” He speaks to the common working class,

assuring them “that our people can have industrial jobs in alabama and provide a better life for

their children”, which also speaks to parents. He speaks to parents and students as he says “I

want to assure every child that this state government is not afraid to invest in their future through

education”. He also specifically mentions the government's ties to their improved lives as he

says “I want the farmer to feel confident that in this state government he has a partner who will

work with him in raising his income and increasing his markets. And I want the laboring man to

know he has a friend who is sincerely striving to better his field of endeavor.” All of these
specific calls to people and classes are attempts to reach every audience member and assure their

faith in him and the government. By mentioning the government, he is able to reassure every

person that he has the power to help them and that the government is on their side, which was not

a common thought in the civil war era.

After developing his credibility, Wallace goes on to exploring Alabama’s vast resources

and the blessing that he is able to work with as a governor. Wallace goes on to claim that

Alabama is a superior state to many resource wise as he lists all of the ways that. Wallace uses

logos to justify this claim. Wallace says “Our state owns ten per cent of all the natural resources

of all the states in our country. Our inland waterway system is second to none… and has the

potential of being the greatest waterway transport system in the entire world. We possess over

thirty minerals in usable quantities and our soil is rich and varied, suited to a wide variety of

plants.” He goes on to list many more qualities that the natural side of Alabama has that he fully

intends to utilize. Building up Alabama to appear as this incredible, superior state gives the

audience a sense of pride and is an effective strategy to make them more susceptible to what he

says because they like what they are hearing. Wallace also says these things because he wants

the people to know that he is going to work with these resources and he is determined to further

Alabama’s superiority. Wallace also establishes Alabama’s superiority through a religious view.

Wallace relies on the warrant that the people that he is speaking to are christian as he mentions

God several times throughout his speech in reference to the many ways that He is present in

Alabama. Before going into the vast resources that Alabama has, Wallace says “Alabama has

been blessed by God as few states in this Union have been blessed.” Wallace also highlights the

things that God has given specifically to the citizens of Alabama when he mentions the many

“opportunities of our citizens and the fulfillment of our talents as God has given them to us.” If
the person who hears this is a christian, then the strategy of bringing religion into this is very

effective. Wallace is telling his audience that God is involved in this process and he is further

connecting himself to these people through their beliefs. If the person is not religious, than this

argument is a weak one. However, connecting his status as a governor to the idea of a superior

state and a religious belief is a very effective way to draw on the emotions of the audience he is

speaking to due to the fact that they are mostly white christians. Wallace also briefly calls

Alabama the Rocket Center of the World. Many people would not think about Alabama as the

Rocket Center of the World, however the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is

a museum showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. This is yet

another way that Wallace shows off Alabama’s superiority even though Alabama is not known

for space. This is a weaker argument by Wallace because it is not well known and is not a huge

accomplishment.

Wallace transitions his essay into a call for action. By doing this he tells the people that

the government is going to do its best to help them, but that in the end the people need to step up

and fight for themselves. One of the calls that he makes to them is his call for them to support the

government by voting. This is common among politicians, and Wallace uses pathos to encourage

his audience. He calls upon them based on their southern roots, which is very personal and is an

effective way to get the people to listen to him. Wallace uses effective diction as he says “We

call on you from your native soil to join with us in national support and vote.” He then calls on

them based on the sole fact that they are southern when he says “We invite you to come be with

us...for you are of the southern mind… and the southern spirit… and the southern philosophy…

you are southerners too and brothers with us in our fight.” By calling it a fight and uniting them

on common ground of being from the south, he is building a strong connection that will make
them listen to him and follow his lead. Wallace then goes on to other calls of action from the

people. He reaches out and references different actions that he believes must be taken in the

community and in the state, and he relies on the warrant that the people want these changes to

which would make it effective. Wallace says “We must re-define our heritage, re-school our

thoughts in the lessons our forefathers knew so well, first hand, in order to function and grow

and prosper.” This is a call to all of these different things that most likely reach many people and

push them to want to take action. Wallace also references the founding fathers message and tells

people that they must fight to defend the fathers ideals when he says “We can no longer hide our

head in the sand and tell ourselves that the ideology of our free fathers is not being attacked and

is not being threatened by another idea.. For it is.” By doing this, Wallace calls the people out for

not taking action, which is an effective motivator.

Wallace uses many effective strategies to convince his audience that they have the

potential to do great things. He brings up how they can do better in their communities, with their

resources, and it many other ways as a united state. He makes it clear that under his guidance

Alabama will do great things. Staying true to the ideals of the founding fathers, he advocates for

a stronger state government and believes that this will lead to great improvements for the citizens

and the state of Alabama.

Works Cited

NCC Staff. “Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln: Dueling Inaugural Addresses.” National

Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org, 18 Feb. 2019, constitutioncenter.org/blog/

 jefferson-davis-and-abraham-lincoln-dueling-inaugural-addresses.

Paul, Richard. “How NASA Joined the Civil Rights Revolution.” Air & Space Magazine, Mar.

2014, www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/how-nasa-joined-civil-rights-revolution

-180949497/.