“The Speech to Virginia Convention” and “The Declaration of Independence” These two speeches were written in a time of distress and loads of pressure. The American colonies were starting to take a stand against the British reign and become independent. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick henry were one of the most influential voices of this time period. However “The Speech to Virginia Convention” was written to get the people on board to fight and in this way, written more persuasive than “The Declaration of Independence”. In “the declaration of independence” Thomas Jefferson’s tone is more serious and formal. He most frequently uses logical appeal in his speech to address the topic. For example he states, “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind require that they should declare the …show more content…
causes which impel them to separation.”( Jefferson 112) This was put in the speech to tell basically why he is writing it in the first place. He is using logic with the audience so that they think in obvious terms and go along with what he is trying to say. However the quote is mostly informing you and not really persuading you on the topic. Additionally he includes aphorism saying “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.” This is considered to be a universal truth and throughout history has stuck in the mind of thousands. Yet it is to the point nothing more, nothing less to add to influence. In contrast in “the speech to the Virginia convention” Patrick henry uses a variety of rhetorical devices to persuade the colonies to fight for their freedom.
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
finished. In conclusion, it seems only reasonable that the speech to Virginia convention is most persuasive because its whole purpose was get the people to fight, to persuade them. Since the purpose was persuasion henry’s tone is motivational which is more effective than a formal tone by Jefferson. Henry also uses the most variety of rhetorical devices which are made to persuade. Henry’s speech will be remembered throughout history of what was the beginning of the war. His words sparked a fire that could not be tamed which lead to the war. Altering the world we know and down the road creating America, a land of freedom.
The purpose of a constitution was to remove the royal authority 's institution and still govern the people with a popular sovereignty. Each colony developed their own constitution in different ways based on the economic, political, freedom, and social demands of the people as well as the states ' experiences. The Virginia constitution and the Massachusetts constitution were the two of the many states that created a constitution. Both of the constitutions have their similarity and difference, but they are more in common. In fact, It is said to be that the Massachusetts constitution was often overshadowed by the Virginia constitution. Nonetheless, the similarity between both constitutions is the structure of a commonwealth. That being the case, each state 's government are related to the federal government.
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.
The use of the anadiplosis, “I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there had been in the conduct of the British ministry...with which gentlemen...solace themselves and the house?”, further strengthens his use of logic by presenting the Congress with evidence of the British ministry’s insidious ways. He then inquires the Congress, through a series of rhetorical questions, such as, “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?”, in order to scrutinize the actions of the British ministry, causing fear of the future and of reconciliation to resonate within the Congress. Patrick Henry uses a hypophora when saying, “Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all his accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she had none.” This clearly indicates that the British have sent armies across the sea in order to do battle with America, that there is no other outcome but one of war. Patrick Henry delivers more parallelism throughout his speech as it escalates to draw out emotions such as anger. For example, he repeats the words ‘petitioned’, ‘remonstrated’, ‘supplicated’, and ‘prostrated’, to convey the frustration of seceding from Great Britain. By using the symploce and epimone in, “If we wish to be free, if we mean to
In Thomas Paine's Common Sense, there are some similarities and differences in the tone as compared to Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Paine's approach to his work contrasts that of Jefferson's. However, they still use the same basic techniques to making their feelings known, which include examining the problem, giving reasons for why it is a problem, and offering their opinion on the solution. Jefferson's and Paine's difference in their tone is evident when examining who they are addressing the documents to, the overall layout of their documents, and the relative importance of the documents.
The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Preamble share many similar ideas among them. One idea being the promotion of peace. In the Declaration of Independence, it talks about how it wants to split away from Great Britain, and the document says that it doesn’t want to go into war, but when it’s necessary, the colonists will have too. The Bill of Rights were the first 10 amendments and it described what the power of the government could and could not do. It was set in place, so that people knew the amount of power the government had over them, this promoting peace between the two. The Preamble literally says “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” which correlates
The language used inThe Declaration Of Independence is that of an oppressed people who wishes to be free from their bonds and chains. Jefferson's audience was the people of the world, especially the King and his parliament officials. Jefferson wanted the king and the world to know that it was unfair for a mother country to judge and executed them, imposed taxes, and trade restrictions on the colonists without their own consent or representation in parliament.
These two documents of Jefferson and Lincoln’s are different in more ways than they are similar. More specifically, the clear difference between the two in organization and contradiction of arguments that each expresses are what show that the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence were two documents written on completely different ends of the spectrum. Because of this, the two are just as significant to each other as they are individually to the construction and shaping of America and its rich history. The fact that these two documents are so different from one another is what makes them such great pieces of history. Jefferson’s idea of decentralization and freedom versus Lincoln’s theory of one centralized, unified, and indivisible nation and government represents the change and difference of opinion between two people of different eras in American history. This change and difference of opinion was the result of a growing country and is what was needed in order...
Rhetorical Analysis: The Declaration of Independence. Our Declaration of Independence, was penned most notably by Thomas Jefferson in response to the atrocities committed by the British Crown against the citizens of the American Colonies. At the time of the drafting of The Declaration, Jefferson was widely known to be a successful practitioner of Law as a lawyer, and an eloquent writer. It is due to this, that although Jefferson was a member of a five-man committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was tapped to be the main author. After enduring “a long train of abuses and usurpations” the colonists decided to declare themselves free of British rule (para 2).
The United States Constitution and The Declaration of Independence are two of America 's most famous documents and most cherished symbols of liberty, however they are very different in their intents and themes, although both together laid the foundation for our independence as a nation. The Declaration of Independence proclaims the United States of America a free and independent nation that would no longer be under British Rule. The Constitution is the basis of the U.S. government. It can be rightly stated that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are best friends necessary in support for each other. There are two proofs necessary to make this argument: the first being, the Declaration requires limited, constitutional union
The Declaration has helped in many debates ranging from the banning of slavery to the acknowledgement of newly independent nations (Tsesis 3). In 1774 delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies gather in Philadelphia to meet at the First Continental Congress to decide what to do about the British laws. Most people wanted to fix the relationship with England instead of gaining their independence. The British leaders would have most likely been up to the idea of negotiating, but instead the American Revolution was started. Thomas Jefferson was not present at the first Congress. A month after the Second Continental Congress started, Jefferson took his seat as a delegate from Virginia. John Adams stated that Jefferson had “a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent for composition” (8). Jefferson noticed that many people were not yet open to the idea of independence, they were still trying to stay with England. During this time Common Sense came out and paved the way for the Declaration of Independence. After Common Sense came out, Richard Price published a pamphlet which condemned parliamentary infringement on the colonists’ rights. This pamphlet became very popular and was in circulation in England and America. On April 12,1776 North Carolina became the first colony “to concur with the delegates of the other colonies in declaring Independency” (10). On May 15 Congress published a preamble which explained that the Americans planned to be removed from the rule of England. This was the first step to a real declaration of independence because it finally showed that America decided to gain their independence.
Compare and Contrast Declaration of Independence and Common Sense When I was asked to read the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson and Common Sense by Thomas Paine, I was kind of scared. As I started to read it, I found it to be truly interesting. Reading over them several times to make sure I understood the text and the meaning of them both. Throughout, out this paper I will share many comparisons and contrasts between the Declaration of Independence and the Common Sense pamphlet. There are many reasons why these two documents had a great effect on the American Revolution.
The way that Jefferson structured The Declaration of Independence made the article extremely influential. Jefferson first starts by sharing his belief that governments and monarchies that do not represent the people. He then goes on to tell the rights that he believes all people should have all over the world. The rights he describes are simple and reasonable. From there his last line of that paragraph is “to prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid World.” Then he starts to describe the injustices done to the colonies by the English crown. His structure works well to persuade people because he does not start immediately accusing the king of all these injustices or with strong languages. Like all good speakers and authors, Jefferson starts off with a lightly worded statement about when a group of people should start a new government. He then transitions to a slightly stronger statement about human rights, and then he goes into his compelling injustices of the king. The injustices that he describes include “He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People. The Declaration of Independence is...
There are lots of differences and similarities between the Declaration Of Independence and The “I Have A Dream speech” by Martin Luther King. One of the similarities is that Thomas Jefferson and Martin both faced with human equality problems and those problems inspired them to write two of the most influential works that made people from all around the world to realize that they were doing wrong by not having equality and respecting each other. Now for a difference would be how Thomas freed the colonists and gave them freedom. Martin gave African-American equal rights and respect.Some of Thomas’s goals were similar to Martin’s goals. They both had a really big impact in American literature. The Declaration Of Independence was written as a letter
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the American colonists to proclaim freedom from Great Britain's oppressor, King George III. American colonists had been suffering for many years when this important document was drafted. King George III had pushed the colonists into a state of tyranny and most decided it was time to start an independent nation under a different type of government. Jefferson focused his piece toward many audiences. He wanted not only King George III and the British Parliament to know the American's feelings, but also the entire world. The time had come for an immense change amongst the American colonists and Jefferson made sure everyone was aware of it by using his superior strategies of persuasion.
When in the course of the household we, the teens, have always had the responsibility of doing the chores around the house.When oneself has to do chores one has to miss out on hanging out with friends, going to the mall, et cetera. Of course we do not wish to be disrespectful toward our parents but it is now time that we write our own Declaration of Independence. It is important that our parents or guardians know how everyone feels about the chores that have been placed on us and why we should be independent.