Lindsey Bui
RWS 200
Lapointe
October 12th, 2014 Patricia Roberts-Miller, a renowned professor at University of Texas at Austin, in her text, Characteristics of Demagoguery, lists and describes different kinds of demagoguery as she explains their strengths and weaknesses. Roberts-Miller describes demagoguery as a “political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, emotions, fears and expectations of the public.” Demagoguery is a method often used by used by authoritarian figures, propagandist, regimes, to gain power and popularity by arousing feelings, passions, and prejudices from an audience. In George Wallace’s inauguration speech, there are many examples of Robert Miller’s claims…show more content… Wallace made it clear that he believed that Southerners, specifically Alabamians, are superior to all. By favoring the Southerners, Wallace created an “in-group” of Southerners who supported segregation and an “out-group” of who ever didn’t. Anyone in the out-group encourages integration of all races, specifically the federal government. Wallace praises the Southerners and appeals to the in-group when he says, “Alabama has been blessed by God as few states in this Union have been blessed” (5). By saying this, Wallace is emphasizing how great it is to be in the in-group of Southerners because God “blesses” them more than any other states in the country. Wallace then supports the greatness of the South by talking about their natural resources, livestock and information that praises Alabama as the best state in America. This technique of demagoguery works because it attracts and unites the in-group to oppose against the…show more content… Throughout his entire speech, Wallace is blaming the federal government for everything. Wallace believes that the president’s “power thirst” is what is going to cause America to fall, “We have witnessed such acts of “might makes right” over the world as men yielded to the temptation to play God, but we have never before witnessed it in America” (4). By using this slippery slope fallacy, he’s scaring his audience into thinking that government has too much power and is going to take advantage of it. Wallace convincing the people that anti-segregation is not the answer and to side with