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Patrick henry speech analysis ap english
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“Give me liberty or give me death!” This statement from Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” delivered to the House of Burgesses, has been quoted by many, becoming almost cliché. However, the declaration is truly understood by a select few. The unjust Stamp Act passed by the British crown in 1765, brought fame and notoriety to Henry as he spoke out against the unjust taxation without representation. Ten years later on the eve of revolution, Henry calls upon the Colonial government of which he is part, to act for the betterment of the people. Patrick Henry attempts to persuade the House of Burgesses to revolt and declare war against Britain by logically convincing them that it is their natural right to be free and calling on their patriotism and pride as leaders of colonial America.
Throughout his speech, Henry justifies his argument for going to war, by logically explaining himself to the leaders of the American colonies. Obviously “men often see the same subject in different light.” Therefore, Patrick Henry uses this in a step-by-step explanation of why he believes that the colonies should join together in revolt. He states, because men have different views, he wishes to express his own, without “be[ing] thought disrespectful,” to anyone in the House. This shows his call on logos, because he logically goes through a process of explaining why his opinion even matters to the House. Continuing, he asserts that because he has an outlook on the topic, he therefore should express that viewpoint, or he would consider himself, “guilty of treason.” He believes he would be hurting his country by not standing to assist it in the way he sees best fit. In addition to the previous example, as Henry is speaking, he asks, “What...
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...e colonial leaders, by stating he is ready to die for his cause. This would make the members of the house introspective and look into their hearts to see if they are ready to die for their cause. Henry excites fear by stating he is so passionately ready to sacrifice for his country. This play towards pathos, or appealing to the audience’s emotions, is an effective way of trying to convince the House to go to war against Britain. This pathos combined with the logic of Henry’s speech, makes for a convincing argument. Logically taking the house step by step from stating that because he has an outlook on their situation, he should express it to them, to stating his argument before the House, to saying that lacking freedom is worse then death, then taking it full circle pronouncing he would prefer to be “give[n] death” then to have his freedom taken away by the British.
Henry’s speech to Virginia uses several tactics to get your attention; the stress at the time was overwhelming as the pressure from Britain to dissemble and succumb intensified. “It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.” His intention behind involving God and religion
The first appeal that Henry uses in his speech is ethos which appeals to ethics. Evidence from the text is, “fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country” (lines 13-14). This shoes that God has credibility. It also shows that you need to respect God over Britain. The next piece of evidence that I found in the speech is whenever the text said, “…and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings” (lines 16-17). This is saying that you should respect God above man. That is two ways how Henry used the ethical appeal, ethos.
There are few speeches in the American history that compel us towards great acts of patriotism. Patrick Henry's speech in the Virginia Provincial Convention of 1775 is a prime example of one of these great speeches. During the debates on whether or not to compromise with Great Britain, Patrick Henry proposed the idea to his fellow members of the First Continental Congress to declare war on Great Britain. A reason why the speech was so powerful was the rhetorical strategies of the diction of slavery, the appeal to God, and the appeal to logic, that he deftly employed.
He addressed the cruel taxes and policies that have been placed upon the American people. He also, speaks of the tiring efforts of the colonies to overcome the impossible British policies. Henry begins his statement with the numerous actions taken by people in response to the British approach to limit their freedom. Writing in the statement, Henry complains that many actions have been taken in an effort to achieve freedom but have failed. Henry himself writes, “In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation?”. In making this comment Henry urges the British to be prepared for them. After overcoming the stamp act , Henry urges the British to be ready for revolution if freedom is not given. This exactly, Henry points out, if basic privileges are not given to men and women, there will be a war. Henry himself writes. “give me liberty, or give me death!”. Basically, Henry is warning that if freedom is not given, he is willing to fight until it is. Patrick Henry’s statement is crucial to the American cause in the War for Independence. He led the fight against the stamp act, after being elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1765. Also, he proposed his argument for going to war was in an effort to live as free men and fight. His speech inspired men to join the cause and fight for
Such as parallelism he states, “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostated” in this quote henry is trying to really emphasize that they have tried everything to which no avail. He wants to silence the people’s speculation and by repeating “we have” and using the same verb tense his point only comes across stronger. Another rhetorical device he uses is logical appeal saying, “And judging by the past I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years.” Here he is explaining that the British have done nothing for them in such a long time so what would they have to gain by staying loyal. He is stating the facts to which no one can argue and this is what makes his speech strong. Lastly he is most famously known for the line “I know not what course others may take but as for me give me liberty or give me death.” The emotion he uses at the end of his speech only heightens to the climax and leaves people to think long after he is
In 1776, four years after the burning of the Gaspee, Thomas Jefferson would include in the Declaration of Independence, the charge against the King, “for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences”. When Jefferson included this passage into the Declaration, he was referring to the law passed in May of 1774, known as the Administration of Justice Act; a law that was one of the measures included in the “Coercive Acts”, which Americans referred to as the “Intolerable Acts” (Selesky, 1). The Coercive Acts was the British Government’s response to the events that had occurred in December, of 1773, known as the Boston Tea Party. The Administrative of Justice Act was directed primarily at the people of Boston, and Massachusetts (Ammerman, 1).
Henry is somewhat naïve, he dreams of glory, but doesn't think much of the duty that follows. Rather than a sense of patriotism, it is clear to the reader that Henry goals seem a little different, he wants praise and adulation. "On the way to Washington, the regiment was fed and caressed for station after station until the youth beloved
... denied their natural born rights “with taxation without representation.” Parliament had exercised “virtual representation” when it came to the Americans. In Parliament there was recognition of the colonies issues at hand, however, no one was there to represent them. The two provisions of the Sugar Act attracted the most colonial opposition. In 1764 the Massachusetts House of Representatives resolved that the colonists had not consented to these taxes. A year after the Sugar Act was passed the Stamp Act was enacted, this started a pattern of even more Acts being created to tax the colonies over the course of the next 10 years. In the summer of 1765, the Sons of Liberty, the driving force to free the colonies from ties with Great Britain, organized. The American colonies were now on the brink of war with Great Britain questioning the tyrannical rule of King George II.
Henry spoke these words to try and get the people to stop letting themselves be pushed around and go to fight for what they want. The British were being bullies to us and he wasn't just gonna let them stand there to be picked on. He wanted us to fight for our country to have liberty just like Brantley Gilbert sang in his song “One Hell of An Amen”, he sang about two people that both have something they need to fight for. Deep down we all have something we need to fight for, we never give up on, and we all dream about.
War is the science of destruction or the purpose of peace. Hundreds of wars took place in history including World Wars, Revolutionary wars, Civil wars, and Religious wars. The outcomes of these battles varied widely, ranging from victorious wins to disastrous defeats. However, soldiers and major historical figures have different perspectives on fighting, both unfavorable and positive. Two of these men include Patrick Henry and Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce Indians. Patrick Henry delivered a speech to the Virginia Convention in the prelude of the Revolutionary War and ended with the immortal words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” On the other hand, Chief Joseph recited a speech upon his surrender to the US Army.
In the event of America’s victory in the American Revolution lead to the birth of a new nation. However, before the American Revolution the original colonies of America were already becoming impatient with British rule. This was mostly a result of a foreign country trying to rule people an ocean apart, and by rule this meant collecting taxes Americans found unfair. This rebellion against British rule became more prevalent from the passing of the Stamp Act of 1765 created mostly by George Greenville. The passing of this tax was Britain’s way of reinforcing their authority in the colonies and lessening their financial burden. However, from British standpoint that was not the sole purpose for the acts as they also wanted to build a defense against foreign nations and insure Britain benefited from her Acts of Trade (Alden 4). This ideology of lessening their burden through taxing the colonies failed instantly, because the colonist refused to pay the taxes at all cost. It became impossible to sell the stamps and anybody who dared try was threatened with violence. American’s rebellious nature against the new taxations methods lead to the creation of The Stamp Act Congress. The Stamp Act Congress denied the right of parliament to levy an internal tax in the colonies, and voiced American’s discontent. The colonist insisted the detested the law be repealed, and reinforced their demand by refusing to import British goods. Leading Britain to become furious with her distant subjects as the colonist began declaring acts of tyranny against them. With the refusal of British imports in America and constant riots British troops were sent to Boston to protect the Customs Commissioners, but were met by angry colonist leading to the Boston Massacre ...
In the “Speech at the Virginia Convention” Patrick Henry tries to persuade colonists to fight a war against the English; he uses several main rhetorical strategies such as; parallelism, metaphor, and rhetorical questions.
Through high moral character Henry established credibility with the audience through creating a setting that aroused feelings in the people at the convention in order to convince them they had to fight for more than just peace. The goal Henry had when he spoke about war was to be honest with the crowd and point out that they needed to do something now or they would loose not just what he loved, but what they also loved. Henry said “If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending...and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight!”. In this quote the tactic of ethics is apparent in that Henry wanted to achieve a personal level of connection with the audience and establish his credibility. By relating losing the war it also meant the lose of their feelings of comfort and contentm...
Patrick Henry’s effective diction emphasizes how much the British had suppressed the colonists and that it was time to fight for their freedom. Henry displays this through his strong use of pathos, logos, and ethos. His rhetorical questions really appeal to the logic and ethics of the colonists and leaves the no choice but to join him and rebel.
Declaring independence from the British Empire is one of the most noted historical events that changed the course of American history. July 4, 1776 was the day when the American colonies declared their independence from the British Empire. There were those who supported and opposed the movement. The colonist that supported the idea of breaking their ties with Great Britain primary grievance was “no taxation without representation.” The slogan “no taxation without representation” was the thriving force for the support of independence when the British Parliament passed various acts to raise revenue, as well as many other grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence. After the French and Indian War, colonist claimed the British rule tyrannical which “violated [their] rights [as] Englishmen.” As those who opposed the British rule, there were also those who remained loyal to the king in the thirteen colonies. As the ties between Great Britain and the American Colonies loosened, there were still some colonist that thought of themselves as “loyal English subjects.” Some “moderators” such as John Dickinson, hoped for reforms that would permit reconciliation with Great Britain.