In his speech to his fellow African Americans, Alfred M. Green implores the group to join the ranks of the Union Army during the Civil War, despite their ability to do so. Hopeful, Green attempts to persuade a group of unmotivated men to fight with their oppressors. In order to convince his fellow men, Green appeals to the pain they received, to their pride, and to their sense of community. To show that he empathizes with the pain his comrades felt, he appeals to their pain by reminding them of the hardships that they all had to face. For example, he explains that he knows that the citizens of the United States “have failed to bring [the African Americans] into recognition as citizens.” Furthermore, he also explains that he, too, dealt with the “fugitive-slave laws, Dred Scott decision, indictment for treason, and long and dreary indictments.” By explaining that he understands the difficulties they faced, the audience knows that he understands their pain. His mentioning of their hardships allows him to declare that their “duty...is not to cavil over past grievances.” In other words, he wants his fellow African Americans to look past their difficulties and to fight with those who failed to even recognize them as citizens. By explaining that he empathizes with his audience, his …show more content…
He motivates them to “hope for the future and improve the present auspicious moment,” and to “not be derelict to duty in the time of need.” Green tags on to the pride of the African Americans claiming that if they fight for the Union Army, they can then “let not the honor and glory achieved by our fathers be blasted or sullied.” Strictly speaking, he wants the African Americans to ignore the past and to bring pride to the family name. By calling on their sense of pride and familial relations, he further kindles his fellow comrades into fighting for the Union