In a time when few were willing to listen, Martin Luther King, Jr. proudly stood up, rallied, and attracted the attention of over 200,000 people . Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech was very effective and motivating for African Americans in 1963. Many factors influenced Kings speech in a very positive way; the great emotion behind the words, giving the speech on the steps of the memorial of the President who defeated slavery. And not only was this message beautifully written for the hope of African Americans, but it is also the underlying message for white people, revolution, and peace. To stimulate the emotion of both sides of his listeners, King used a selection of rhetorical devices such as allusions to historical documents, metaphors, similes, anaphors, and others. Martin Luther King's use of allusions to historical documents helps his message of equality hit home. Most of the allusions were aimed more at whites than blacks because they provided printed evidence of past documents written by white males. His first, "Five years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation" is an allusion to Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address. His first reference to the Declaration of Independence: "This note was a promise that all men, yea, blacks as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' " Another quote King uses from the Declaration of Independence is not as publicized, King interjects incidentally: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” King also makes some allusions to the Bible; “…in the center of the card…they would be treated as equals and would walk hand in hand with each of each color. Martin Luther King Jr. suggests that his dream is none other than the dream of the Founding Fathers, which he refers to several times during his speech. And ending with another powerful anaphora, “let freedom ring,” King looks forward with joy to the day when “all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to hold hands and sing.” because he knows This movement is bigger than just for those of color. By expressing his emotions on the topic of racism, King's persuasive speech impacted and impacted America for the better in the early 1960s. With its many uses of different rhetorical devices such as allusions, metaphors, smiles, and anaphors, King's speech truly changed the minds of hundreds of thousands of people..