American+Rhetoric


 * Patrick Henry’s //Speech to the Virginia Convention//**

1. In his speech, Henry’s main purpose is to convince the delegates at the Virginia Convention to vote in favor of fighting for independence.

2. Henry’s audience was the delegates at the Virginia Convention. I think his words were appropriate for his audience. Throughout the speech he addresses them as Sir, and gentleman.

3. At the beginning of his speech Henry uses two rhetorical questions, which I believe set the tone and basis of the entire speech.

“Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?”

By using rhetorical questions he causes his audience to question their previous thoughts on the subject.

4. Henry uses two allusions in his speech. One is of the siren, which in Greek mythology is a creature that sings to sailors, and then lures them to their death. The other is from the bible when Judas betrayed Jesus. In both these allusions people are being betrayed, and lead to their doom, he compares America to them, because he believes that without a revolution they are doomed.

**“Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution”**

1. Paine is trying to convey how the English government doesn’t work, and how the democratic government currently set up in the colonies is better.

2. I think it was a good choice for Paine to use deductive reasoning. This pamphlet was made for the public, and I think Paine used this to make his argument a little bit simpler and easier to understand.

3. Compound-Complex: Paine used compound-complex sentences a lot to make his ideas flow together. Simple: Paine only used a few simple sentences in this section. He uses them to get a point across quickly, so that he can turn right to the next one. Complex: The complex sentence structure is probably used the most. Paine uses it to keep a rhythm, and flow in this section.

4. Paine used a lot of biblical language, and allusion when describing the “creation of government”. I think he used this to make it into a kind of story, that was easier for the common reader to comprehend.

**The Declaration of Independence**

1. Jefferson was making a statement to Britain, the colonies, and the world, that the colonies were now an independent country.

2. Jefferson used inductive reasoning when he named out all the examples of the things King George had done. This helped provide evidence that what they were doing was justified.

3. Simple: Jefferson doesn’t use a lot of simple sentences, but when he does he uses them to when stating evidence about why the colonies need to secede. Compound-Complex: Jefferson uses these when trying to connect two different ideas. Complex: Jefferson uses complex sentences when he is trying to describe a certain idea.

4. One misconception about the declaration is that Thomas Jefferson wrote it. Although he was the appointed writer, and primary writer, the entire convention edited, and made improvements upon it. Another misconception is that the declaration is made up of very short, and straight to the point sentences. It is actually very eloquent, and contains many ideas on government. People think it’s this way because of how many well known short phrases have come from it.

Comparison Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson all argued for American Independence. Thomas Jefferson gave the most convincing, and well supported argument of the three. In the //Declaration of Independence// he uses lots of evidence against the king, such as “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good,” (para. 3) to prove his argument. Patrick Henry’s argument was also very strong, but did not use examples like Jefferson’s. Henry instead used rhetorical questions, to get his reader to really think about what he was saying, and question their opinion. Henry’s speech succeeded in it’s purpose, and caused the revolution to gain many votes. Thomas Paine’s argument was a bit difficult to understand. He used allusions, and deductive reasoning to make his audience better understand his argument, but there didn’t seem to be any real progression through ideas. However //Common Sense// was one of the biggest contributions to the cause of the American Revolution.