How Does Patrick Henry Use Ethos In Speech To The Virginia Convention

In “The Speech to the Virginia Convention”, Patrick Henry addresses the colonists’ submissiveness towards Great Britain. He utilizes passionate diction, syntax, and figurative language to implore the delegates that it is time for America to fight for its freedom. To commence, Patrick Henry incorporates a biblical reference into his speech which juxtaposes the American, British conflict with the Bible. Henry implemented the verse “Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss” (para.3) that entails when Judas gave Jesus a kiss even though he was betraying him behind his back.

In his “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” Patrick Henry uses ethos, logos, and pathos to convince the delegates to give up hope for a peaceful reconciliation with the British and declare their independence. Patrick Henry gives this speech to convince his audience that the war with English is inevitable. Henry starts his speech by not just giving respect and credits to his audience, but also state his argument by saying that war is the “only way” (1) that they can resolve this situation. Henry uses ethos is a way of reluctant conclusion, expresses in the phrase “only way” to show his audience that he is being forced to come up with this conclusion by the facts that they have all experienced. That military power is not something that he wants

Many men were pivotal to the American cause in the War for Independence, and one of the most influential was Patrick Henry. In his famous speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Patrick Henry delivered a powerful speech through the manipulative use of language and word choice. On March 23, 1775, the third Virginia convention was held in St. John 's Church in Richmond. The convention was held to discuss relations with Great Britain. This was the place where Patrick Henry made his timeless speech "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" to the House of Burgesses with the hope of freeing Virginia from British rule. He spoke with conviction and showed undeniable support for the fight against the English government. He used the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to instill fear and anger in his audience. He effectively used religion and evidence of British oppression to connect with his audience and help persuade opponents and supporters of the Revolution to unite and fight for American independence.

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry, which he used to close his speech to Virginia Convention. During this time period, the 1770s, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson all made arguments in favor of separation of the American colonies from Great Britain; many of these appeals were persuasive for different reasons, whether that be logical, emotional, or pertaining to credibility and trust, which is to say logos, pathos, and ethos. First of all, we will examine Henry’s arguments during his speech at the Virginia Convention. Then, we will identify Paine’s appeals in a part of his essay, The Crisis n1. Lastly, we will evaluate Jefferson’s myriad of arguments in a part of his Autobiography.

Writing to an audience that still lacks the desire to oppose the British, Patrick Henry in his "Speech to Virginia House of Burgesses" focuses on the rights of man and defying oppressors. Through figurative language, rhetorical questions, and diction, Henry heightens the necessity to rise up and fight against the British ruling power over the colonist population in Northern America.

In the year 1775, the American colonies are at a crossroads. With no ideas on how to move forward, or how to break away from British control, colonists look towards a leading figure to guide the way. This figure comes in the form of Patrick Henry, a well-known American attorney who was willing to be the starting face of the revolution. With colonial tensions rising, many are willing to rebel against the newly implanted taxes imposed by the British. In his “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, Patrick Henry shows that he is willing to do anything to break away from English control. His strong use of persuasion and rhetoric make the Virginia Convention think about the possibility of rebelling against the British. With the revolution starting only ten years later, many argue that Henry’s speech was the spark to start it all. Through pathos, ethos and logos, Patrick Henry is able to make motivate the colonists to unite against the inconsiderate acts of the British government.

Pathos or, playing on the emotions of the leaders of colonial America, is another tactic Henry draws on to convince them that revolution is essential. He uses the patriotism and pride of the colonial leaders to make them see how the British crown is taking away their natural rights as human beings. He states that outsiders say the colonies are “weak” because they would be “unable to cope with Britain as their adversary.” The leaders of the colonies are not used to being called weak, because they are of the upper classes of the Americas. Therefore this would ignite them to revolution, because the British would be against them, they who had dared question the strength of the members of the colonial Americas. Also, this statement of colonial American weakness would make the members of the House feel slighted because they have been working towards strengthening the Americas and saying they are weak is saying they are failing as leaders of the colonies. Further more, Patrick Henry continues to excite the emotions of the House of Burgesses, stating that

Patrick Henry knew how to manipulate an audience with pathos, he tugged on their emotions whether it was for better or for worse. Henry says, “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.” The audience doesn’t want Henry to feel guilty, they know feel pity to the man for he has done no wrong to deserve that feeling. He also mentions, “Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on.” Being human, one can only help the fact that this statement would make them feel panicked. The use of pathos can help win over any audience for a cause.

Pathos are used to create an emotional attachment to the cause between the audience, the colonists, so they agree with Henry on going to the war with Britain. “Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense?” (Henry 3) This uses pathos to get the readers to think about why we are holding back going to war. As one can see, using pathos in a speech can enhance the audience’s passion and relatability. Furthermore, Pathos accurately aided Henry in grabbing the audience's attention and come off as well mannered and credible. “The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery” (Henry 2) This quote grabbed the audience's attention by making them critically think about the choices they must decide on the subject of going to war with Britain. This quote assists the colonists to agree with him, seeing that the audience feels further spirited and motivated towards going to war. Since this statement undeniably made them question the subject and feel connected to the cause knowing that no colonist would want to be enslaved, the answer to his question would be freedom, speaking on behalf of most, if not all of the colonists. So, how does one get freedom? Simply by

Patrick Henry’s speech to the Virginia Convention written and spoken by Patrick Henry raised the people 's attention. He spoke passionate words because he no longer wanted to be a slave to Britain.The men that attended the Virginia Convention realized that they needed to start fighting back after all the troubles the British caused. The British terrorized innocent people of America, even killed men, women, and children. In his speech he proposed resolutions to prepare the Virginia Colony for war and gave the speech to support those resolutions. His reasons for the speech were to convince the colonist, to try and maintain peace, to persuade war against Britain, and to show that he would be a good president. Patrick Henry’s speech was very effective regarding the Virginia Convention using ethos, pathos, and logos.

Patrick Henry knew how to use rhetorical thinking in his speech and he used it to a point. He used pathos in speech when he talks about what

Henry includes a passionate pathos appeal in his speech to fill the audience with much passion and emotion to make them want to join his fight. Towards the end of his writing, Henry states, “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come!” (Henry 6). This piece of the speech uses a significant amount of emotionally charged language, as well as, emotionally charged punctuation. Through the immense amount of emotionally charged language and punctuation, these statements easily display a pathos appeal. Henry displays this information to ensure his audience knows that these unjust British actions are not going away. He also is including these statements, so that the audience knows that the British are preparing for war, and if the colonists do not prepare, then then Britain is simply going to crush them and going to make matters even worse. At the end of the speech, Henry mentions, “Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!” (Henry 7). These statements easily display many emotionally charged words, along with a few emotional punctuations that show the use of the pathos appeal. Henry mentions this in his

The prominent patriot Patrick Henry once said, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Henry 7) implying that a life without liberty is not a righteous life. Henry’s quote is included in his popular oratory “Speech to the Virginia Convention.” While discussing with the colonists, Henry lists all of the discrepancies the thirteen colonies had with Great Britain, concluding that there is no other option, but to retaliate instantaneously. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” he utilizes amplifying loaded words and coherent parallelism in order to influence the assembly to unify and reciprocate.