The Legitimacy Of The Butler Act By William Jennings Bryan

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William Jennings Bryan builds an effective argument proving the legitimacy of the Butler Act by persuading the audience that the act was created with a justifiable and tangible purpose in mind, rather than merely on a whim. He accomplishes this by appealing to pathos, more specifically the audience’s sense of entitlement. He proposes that the law is just, as a majority of people in Tennessee support it and since their taxes go towards paying teachers, they have a right to influence the public education system. He argues that the Legislation was acting in favor of the majority, which he furthered by using the collective word “we,” throughout his speech when referring to the people paying taxes to build a feeling of solidarity. By doing so,