Patrick Henry Speech Essay

Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” performed before the House of the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, argues that the colonies should no longer rely on Great Britain and encourages war against them. He worked to convince the men of the Virginia convention to stop trying to befriend the British, and instead, wage war against them. Patrick Henry employs various rhetorical devices such as hypophora, anaphora, and allusions to religion, along with persuasive appeals effectively work to convince the colonists that they should no longer be dependent on and trusting of the threatening practices of the British.

In the “Speech at The Virginia Convention” Patrick Henry tries to persuade colonists to fight a war against the English; he does this through several main rhetorical strategies: Rhetorical Questions, Metaphors, and Parallelism. Using these are his best way to convince the colonist that they must go to war to actually be free and become their own nation. Patrick Henry shows rhetorical questions when he states “But when shall we be stronger?... Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?” (Paragraph 4).

Patrick Henry effectively encourages Americans to fight Britain by using his tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools. The tone is frustrated, and so the Purpose is to persuade in order to get America’s freedom. Henry’s exciting and aggravated tone unites and empowers the nation.

Throughout the speech, Henry elaborates his purposes through the use of imagery, rhetorical questioning, and allusion in order to encourage Americans to become independent from the British crown. Towards the end of the speech he wonders “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” This evokes fear into the minds of the people and the thought of this angers them enough to make them think to declare independence. Henry continues on saying we have a tendency to “shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she

Being as one of the earliest opponents of British in American colonies, Patrick Henry made a name for himself due to his passion for speeches based on the American democracy. During the middle 1700's, America and Great Britain were both on rocky terms. There was a disagreement between the two countries and Patrick Henry beloved that the only option was to fight. In his speech "Speech in the Virginia Convention" Henry uses ethos, pathos, and logos to explain the different reasons why we should go to war.

Founding Father Patrick Henry, in his “Speech at the Virginia Convention,” emphasizes the necessity to take a stance against Britain by waging war in the name of freedom. He employs a compelling and provocative tone in order to communicate the message of taking up arms and to fight for what is right. Henry’s purpose is to display American strength and power to embolden American colonists in their renouncement of the British tyranny.

The colonists had no other choice but to declare war on Britain. Based on Henry’s speech, they did everything that they could to prevent this from happening. He specifically says, “There is no room for hope.” He confidently says that they must fight and “An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!” He also expresses that they are not weak and that their army is more than capable of battling the enemy.

Patrick Henry uses figurative language throughout his speech to accentuate the idea that the British are preparing for war against the country. “They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry has been so long forging.” His diction made it clear that the British endeavor to spark war with the United States. Patrick Henry and his contemporaries tried to resolve the situation with the British to no avail: “Shall we try an argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years.”

Patrick Henry, in his speech to those gathered at the Virginia Convention and president Peyton Randolph, explains how the United States needs to fight in the Revolutionary War. Henry supports his statement by describing how important it is to answer the call for war. The author’s purpose is to emphasize how the war is inevitable in order to convince the president that they should definitely fight in it. Henry speaks in an inspirational and patriotic tone to those listening in on his speech. He establishes many rhetorical strategies to influence the president's decision including rhetorical questions, anaphora, and repetition. Henry emphasizes how the war cannot be avoided and tries to inspire the audience to fight in the war by addressing the

“Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love?” Britain is not trying to win over the love of the colonist, they are trying to retake the colonies by force. Britain sending military force to try and put an end to the rebellious colonist is seen as a threat by Henry. He is appealing to logic by saying that the use of military force is an attempt to get rid of the colonist’s spirit of rebellion. Henry concludes that the British are untrustworthy and a rebellion is needed to protect their personal liberties. “The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat sir, let it come.” Henry is stating that will come no matter what they do. This was the main point in his speech, that the colonies must go to war to protect their freedoms. Henry uses an appeal to logic to show the congressmen why it’s necessary to go to

“I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death” (Henry). These famous words were delivered by the young Virginia representative, Patrick Henry, on March 23rd of 1775. He was a driving force in the upbringing of America and his use of pathos greatly influenced the nation’s future. Similar to most American politicians of the time, he was highly antagonistic towards British control in the colonies, and thus feared that if U.S. forces were not armed against them, the future of the nation would be in peril. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, he utilizes pathos as a tool to aide him in persuading the Virginia Assembly to prepare America’s troops for battle against the British by evoking trepidation and concern from within his audience.

    Preceding the American Revolution, the colonists were in a dilemma about whether they should amend relationships with British or declare independence.  One of the patriotic leaders in America, Patrick Henry, shifts the balance of the colonists' decisions towards independence in his speech at the Virginia Convention.  Through parallelism, metaphors, rhetorical questions, and religious appeal, Patrick Henry conveys that the British are treating the colonists poorly and that the Americans should fight for independence.

Two hundred forty years ago, Patrick Henry gave an influential speech at the Virginia Convention with the purpose of convincing the colonists to secede from Britain. In an immense display of courage, Henry publicly antagonized Britain by imputing the hardships that the colonists faced from the “mother country.” His speech was so powerful and inspiring, that it was credited with creating the spark America needed to break ties with Great Britain and go to war. Henry spoke from the heart. Along with that, another reason why his speech was so successful is that he used a basic form of rhetoric with perfect execution.

During a meeting in 1775 Virginia, Patrick Henry delivered a speech that moved his audience enormously. He stood in front of many delegates and expressed his stance on America holding onto the hope, to reconcile with their parent country, Great Britain. Henry believed that Great Britain did not treat America with respect and had intentions of their own to prepare for a war against the colonies. Therefore, the colonies must get ready for battle before Britain and fight for their freedom while they still could. He conveyed these ideas firmly and passionately while staying neutral,as well as triggering emotions within his audience.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry, a Patriotic delegate, in his anti-Britain speech entitled “Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention”, he argues for the independence of America from Britain. He supports this claim by first saying that just taking and petitioning to Britain will not get us anywhere, then questioning the motives of Britain for stationing forced in America, and finally calling for America to wage war with Britain and attain independence. Through Henry’s use of realistic tone, rhetorical appeals and rhetorical tools he effectively persuades the other delegates to stop wishing for peace that will never come and declare American independence for Britain. Patrick Henry’s empowering and unifying tone strengthens the nation’s