ipl-logo

Speech In The Virginia Convention Vs Declaration Of Independence Essay

569 Words3 Pages

The Declaration of Independence and the “Speech in the Virginia Convention” are two of the most influential and powerful debates in the Revolution. These arguments lead Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry to become very important figures in the American Revolution. The revolution was when America was demanding freedom from Great Britain. Both of these literary accomplishments are targeting Great Britain. The similarities and differences of these arguments is shown greatly in their format, content, and persuasive techniques. Jefferson and Henry are unquestionably two of the greatest persuaders. They both include information on how Great Britain has challenged the way of life for Americans. In each piece they talk about the past events of Great …show more content…

Jefferson’s piece is a legal document with a great amount of input and ideas from others. Henry’s piece was speech, influenced by himself and the actions that surrounded him. The declaration of Independence focuses mainly on the the King and how he is affecting the people of America. While on the other side, Henry is talking about what seems like the people but is really himself, as illustrated in the last sentence, “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death”. IN addition to those, the format of the writings have their own characteristics. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson reaches his main point in the body, while the Speech accomplishes it at the end. Continuing with that, Jefferson separates his main points into paragraphs, at the same time as when Henry was combining all of his points into one long idea. There is one persuasive technique that Henry has mastered, and that is the rhetorical question. He includes a question 22 times in his speech, and the interesting part is that none of them are meant to be answered. As Henry used rhetorical questions, Jefferson used another form of persuasion called logos, logic. Jefferson uses this by bringing up very simple points that resulted in major issue. This technique is also used to easily convince the readers by using basic things the know and

Show More
Related
528 Words | 3 Pages

Rhetorical Devices in “Speech in the Virginia Convention” Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” was a persuasive speech in favor of the revolution against the British Parliament. Like many people, at the time, Henry wanted to break free from Britain and start the United States of America. He delivered the speech on March 23, 1775 to the Virginia Convention with serious tone in attempt to rally up the convention for war. In the speech Henry used many rhetorical devices to persuade the convention. Some of the more effective devices are restatement, hypophora, and antithesis.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Under the control of the British Parliament in 1775, the American colonies consider going to war in order to gain independence from Britain. In “Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Henry addresses the need for American colonists to work together to stop the British from controlling them. Thus, Henry’s periodic sentence, rhetorical questions, antithesis, and anaphora successfully convince the American colonists to unite against the British and to bring awareness to their wrongdoings. Firstly, Henry applies periodic sentences and rhetorical questions to convey the idea that the American Colonists must fight back against the British by working together if they want to gain freedom. Henry believes that “if [they] wish to

Read More
290 Words | 2 Pages

The speech to the Virginia Convention, one of the most famous speeches of all American oratory. It is 1775, the patriots are reaching their breaking point with Britain. Patrick Henry becomes observant of the many colonists who are not caring about the revolution. Thus he gives his speech to the Virginia Convention to call the colonists to action as well as convert some loyalists to patriotism.

Read More
351 Words | 2 Pages

President of the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry, in his speech, Speech in the Virginia Convention.”, describes the current conflict between Great Britain and the thirteen colonies. Dalton purpose is to persuade the 13 delegates to go to war against Great Britain while using a fiery tone while speaking. Throughout his speech he uses many rhetoric appeals to convince the audience. Henry uses ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his essay as well rhetorical devices, rhetorical questions and allusions. One rhetoric appeal he uses is ethos.

Read More
518 Words | 3 Pages

Patrick Henry’s “Speech to Virginia Convention” is structurally more persuasive than Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography and the Declaration of Independence because of his use of rhetorical devices such as, rhetorical questions, logos, and pathos. Henry’s address contains many rhetorical questions to emphasize his point and to induce a persuasion into his audience. For example, Henry said, “Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying on our backs. . .until

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Edward Mitchell 10/22/2016 English 10 Essay Unit 1 Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson played a large role in motivating the fight toward freedom in the weeks leading up to the Revolutionary War and immediately following it. Each believed in the fundamental right to be free from rule. Patrick Henry appealed to the people’s fear of war. Thomas Jefferson was able to convince people that together, they could form a new nation. The writings of each man reveals a very chaotic time in America’s history and the leadership, determination, and boldness of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson ensured that when change came, the people were ready for it.

Read More
668 Words | 3 Pages

One of the common purposes of revolutionary speeches is to inspire the common people that often have little education. Another common purpose of revolutionary speeches is to acknowledge the inevitable war. The most common purpose and possibly the most powerful is the installation of patriotism. Almost all speeches concerning the revolution tell of how England has wronged the colonies and how it is England’s own fault, and to say how the colonies have done everything in their power to avoid war with England. Most revolutionary speeches are geared so that both the educated and the uneducated can comprehend the information being given to them.

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are documents which are designed to work together. They together hold the core values, beliefs and laws of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was written by the young Thomas Jefferson in 1776 when the people of America went to war against the invading armies of Britain. Britain had colonized America under the rule of King George III.

Read More
100 Words | 1 Pages

Declaration of Independence Precis Thomas Jefferson in his historical document, The Declaration of Independence (1776), asserts that the colonies should break free from Britain’s tyranny. Jefferson supports his assertion through the use of anaphora, parallel structure, imagery, emotional appeal to patriotism, and logical appeal to the colonist’s basic rights. Jefferson’s purpose is to advocate for the separation of Britain and the colonies in order to escape the British tyranny that King George imposes on the American colonists. Jefferson writes in a measured tone for the British parliament, King George, and for colonists who have been a victim of Britain’s oppression.

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

The Declaration of Independence is an extremely important document to the United States. Thomas Jefferson receives the most credit for writing the declaration, however he was assisted by five other men that were apart of the Constitutional Congress. They wrote the declaration to persuade the colonist to break free from Britain. The Declaration of Independence uses numerous persuasive appeals and language, including parallelism, pathos, and ethos. Parallelism is “a pattern in writing in which words and phrases are similar in structure, one echoing another.”

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

Henry’s use of ethical appeal, logical and emotional appeals, as well as rhetorical devices, touched the audience. His persuasive techniques were the reason behind his exceptionally successful speech. The patriot strongly believed that the colonization of the British was a deadly virus that spread across the nation, killing the freedom of Americans. His goal was to stimulate action against the British forces by persuading the residents of Virginia that the only way to

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence,” he uses rhetorical devices to convey his purpose which is to say that colonies have decided to break their bond with the King and Great Britain and to explain their reasoning. One of the devices used the most to convey his purpose was parallelism. Jefferson also uses repetition to make his reasons clear. Some might think that his use of restatement further makes his points clear; however, they are wrong. Jefferson uses rhetorical devices like parallelism and repetition to explain the reasonings of the Colonists decision to break their bonds with the King and Britain.

Read More
689 Words | 3 Pages

In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” given by Patrick Henry to the President in 1775, asserts that the colonists should not be trying to negotiate with the British. His purpose was to convince the audience that they should not be trying to befriend the people of Great Britain rather that they should make Great Britain their foe. Henry uses his speech to appeal to both the President and the colonist through the use of figurative language, tone, and syntax. Patrick Henry’s use of diction, a persuasive and forceful tone, appeal to ethos and pathos, as well as various syntactical elements in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” shows that the colonists should be fighting to break away from the British monarchy rather than negotiate terms to try and stay under their clutches.

Read More
756 Words | 4 Pages

In 1775 the American Colonies stood at a tipping point. Britain and the Colonies had been embroiled in a continuing struggle over numerous injustices, and the Colonies seemed at long last situated to engage in a revolution against Britain. However, the colonial representatives were still tied up in negotiations with Britain, and many delegates of the Virginia Convention wanted to delay actions until the negotiations had concluded. Patrick Henry disagreed with the delay, so he addressed the Convention, arguing for the need to mobilize troops against the British, a request tantamount to treason. Instead of shying away from the polarizing nature of his argument, Henry adopted a respectful, but urgent, tone, crafting an argument that would inspire his audience into action.

Read More
467 Words | 2 Pages

In Patrick henry’s Speech at the Virginia Convention, he sought to get his opinion across to the colonists. In this speech Patrick Henry tries to persuade the colonists to declare war against the British. Patrick Henry uses appeals of shared values, facts and data, and figurative language to entice the colonists to join the fight for independence. Patrick Henry uses appeals to shared values in order to address the colonists that they all share the same mission. For example, Henry claims “But different men often see the same subject in different lights.”

Read More

More about Speech In The Virginia Convention Vs Declaration Of Independence Essay

Related Topics

Open Document