American+Rhetoric


 * Patrick Henry's Speech**
 * 1.** Patrick Henry's purpose was to state his oppion that the British are taking away the freedom that the colonies deserve and he would rather die than lose his liberty.
 * 2.** His audience was the delegates that were representing each of the American colonies. The meeting was held in order to vote on whether the colonies should remain loyal to Britain or start a revolution. His words were appropriate because they voiced his oppinion that America should not remain under British control.
 * 3.** Henry used many rhetorical questions some of which are, "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?", "Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?", "...what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission?", "Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?" and " Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?". The rhetorical questions are used to get the audience to really think and figure out their own opinnion on the subject.
 * 4.** He used the allusion, " We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts." This allusion based on Greek mythology was to persuade the audience that the British were like the sirens, leading them to their destruction. He also used the Bibliocal reference " Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.", which refered to the way Jesus was betrayed by a kiss in the Bible. Henry used this to symbolize that although the British were once a friend they are not a friend anymore.


 * Thomas Paine's Common Sense**
 * 1.** Thomas Paine's purpose was to show the American colonists the errors of Britian's ways and persuade the colonists that they should break away from Britain and create a better society.
 * 2.** He uses deductive reasoning by placing the main argumentat the beginning and then backs it up by specific examples of why he stated that. For example, at the beginning of one paragraph he states " Government in its best state, is but a necessary evil" then he explains " man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it neces we have been wise necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest." This strategy works well because it gets his point across clearly.
 * 3.** He uses the compound sentence "The state of a king shuts him from the World, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly..." this sentence is good because it explains why a country should not have a king. He uses the complex sentece "...though we have been wise enough to shut and lock a door against absolute Monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough to put the Crown in possession of the key." This sentece helps push his point that the colonies don't need a king. He also uses the compound-complex sentence "I draw my idea of the form of bovernment from a principle in nature which no art can overturn, viz. that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered...". This sentence helps explain the advantages of small governments.
 * 4.** He uses words like"heaven" "blessings" and "moral virture", in his explanation of how the growing number emigrants in the colonies cannot be taken care of properly in the current government set up.


 * The Declaration of Independance**
 * 1.** Jefferson's purpose in writing this was to declare the American colonies independent of Britian.
 * 2.** He wrote all of the ways the British rule had hurt the colonies and then he stated that the United colonies wanted independence. It was an appropriate choice because it stated the reasons why the colonies wanted independence. It explained why they thought they did, and explained their actions.
 * 3.** He many long sentences which are useful because they give lots of detial. For example, " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the purssuit of Happiness." He also uses loose sentences like, "He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries." The loose sentences are good because they are up front about the point. He also uses fragments for example, " For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:" The fragments are used when he is listing some of the things the king did wrong. The use of fragments is beneficial because he does not have to adress the subject over and over.
 * 4.** Many people confuse the U.S. constitution and the declaration of independence with each other. The declaration of idependence does not have any governing rules in it. It was written to the king to declare independence, not to govern the people. This misconception exists because not enough people study history. Another misconception is that on July 4th 1776 the American colonies were free. They were not. It was the beginning of the American revolution, not the end.