Rhetorical Devices In The American Crisis

In 1776, an important event was happening in the United States, the Revolutionary war. The thirteen colonies wanted to break away from Britain’s rule, however the chances of winning were very slim. For this reason, 1/3 of the citizens were for a revolution, 1/3 of the citizens were against it, and 1/3 of them were undecided. Thomas Paine realized that to become a free and independent nation, he would need the help of every citizen in the colonies. Because of this he wrote The Crisis No. 1 to increase the morale of the people, so that they would fight against Britain in the war. In The Crisis No. 1 Thomas Paine effectively used rhetorical devices to convince people to fight in the revolutionary war.

“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.

Thomas Paine makes a statement and compares the king to a thief that stole their land. Paine states, “but if a thief breaks into my house, threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to “bind me in all cases whatsoever” to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?”(Paine). Trying to persuade people to join the fight, Paine is asking the colonists why they are subjecting their selves to the tyranny of the king; furthermore, Paine is explaining that the colonists have no choice, but to fight or they will forever be under the tyranny of the king. Patrick Henry makes a statement about the petition in his speech that says, “Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?”(Henry). With his rhetorical question, Patrick Henry is trying to show the colonists that the king did not care for their petition and would not settle for anything. Therefore, Henry would then go on to state why they should declare war on Britain and gain their

“Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but ‘to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER,’ and if being bound in that matter, is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon earth.” (Paine, 1776) This quote is a piece of Thomas Paine’s book, which describes what Britain has done to them. Like the book describes, the British have used the colonists as slaves. Consequently, none of the soldiers fighting in the continental congress agree with the way that the colonists were treated by the British. These soldiers now consider themselves “Americans.” Accordingly, if they are “Americans”, they should be willing to make their dream come true, and fight for their cause. This is significant because a cause to fight was something that the Americans had that the British didn’t. The American soldiers were fighting for independence, whereas the British soldiers were fighting for their king. If they should win, the life of every single American soldier would

A leader should be able to diagnose problems in his country and effectively navigate his people safely through that trouble-spot. President John F . Kennedy was a great leader, who was able to lead the United States through several crises. One prime example of his navigational skills through such hardships is in his dealings with the rise in steel prices in 1962. In his news conference, on the issue of steel price, President Kennedy uses parallelism and juxtaposition to create the idea that the increase in price from the steel companies is detrimental to the United States' economy.

This rhetorical device is called logos. Logos is used in this essay to persuade the audience that they should continue to fight back, because it was clearly the best option the Americans had. Paine used common sense when he stated that, "It is the madness of folly to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice." He was saying that if the British have refused to represent us in Parliament or negotiate, why do you think they will show us mercy in the Revolution? Paine was saying that it was madness that the colonists, especially the soldiers, should expect Britain to be kind to them in battle and should instead see how they disdain America. He was breaking down all of the complexities of war and putting them into simple and logical terms so everyone could understand that this was not going to be a war easily

Today we look back at the American Revolution and picture a united people fighting for inalienable rights, but to grasp the impact that Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had upon his contemporaries we must understand the situation in the American colonies in 1776. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, the colonist and The Parliament in London, were almost 10 years into a debate over the rights of limited self-government by the colonies. In the months preceding the publication of Paine’s pamphlet the situation had steadily worsened until the April 19th, 1775 armed confrontation between Massachusetts colonists and British Army soldiers. By the end of that day, blood had been shed by both sides, and armed colonists placed the British garrison in Boston under siege. Despite this violence, most colonists viewed the events as a part of a struggle between Englishmen that would be resolved with the continued allegiance of the colonies to the Crown, but with more favorable treatment from London. It was with this popular mindset throughout the colonies, that Paine would deliver his “Common Sense” pamphlet arguing for complete independence from England. Paine understood that to make his argument resonate he needed to appeal to the public in a manner that had yet to be done.

In result of The Seven Years’ War Britain controlled American trade and territory. In order to pay for the expenses of the war several taxation acts and military presence were implemented such as the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Currency Act, Quartering Act and the presence of British troops at the colonies. Consequently, Americans who thought these actions violated their political and constitutional liberties opposed these policies with petitions, boycotts, and resistance strategies known as the Imperial Crisis. In January 1776 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was composed to convince Americans of the need for independence from British rule and establishment of democracy. This pamphlet

Thomas Paine wrote a passage during the battle to gain independence from britain which is called “The Crisis” it was then used as a motivational speech to get the soldiers riled up for battle. It stated that freedom is not an easy accomplishment but in the end when the freedom is gained it will have been worth it. “Tyranny like hell, is not easily

The second way Paine structures his argument for independence from Britain is through an extended metaphor, comparing England and America to a mother and child. Through this metaphor, Paine illustrates the toxicity of the relationship to the reader in “plain” language. Abandoning technical terms and the phrases often used by higher class, educated individuals Paine keeps the metaphor plain and simple so that everyone can comprehend the message. Paine begins the metaphor by highlighting the destructive “maternal” relationship shared by the countries. “But Britain is the parent country, say some. The the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make

Proving that the liberties of the common people are something worth fighting for, Paine uses relatable figurative language in order to provide a more personal connection to the colonists in hopes of encouraging the proverbial David to stand up and wage war against Goliath. Paine pens an analogy stating that if a “child has thrived upon milk” then the child will never want “meat”. This analogy elicits a critical turning point in Paine’s pamphlet as he transitions from asking rhetorical questions to authoritative and comparative statements. Paine alludes to the overwhelming axiom that the colonies have been a baby drinking milk only satisfied by meeting the needs of Britain, instead of standing up for their individual rights and

The first reason the revolutionary war was justified was because the king ignored a myriad of petitions. In return, their “petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.” (7) Can you serve, respect, and honour a country that has brought death and soldiers into your land? Even after the King George III received the pleas of the settler, he continued to send more troops to their land, waging a silent war with the colonist’s. In Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, makes a very bold point that supports a big reason why the colonists were not guilty of declaring independence from Britain. He says “But...then tell me whether you can hereafter love, honour, and faithfully serve the power [ English Parliament ] that hath carried fire and sword into your land?” (6)What Paine

     Paine went on to speak in more conventional terms about the specific nature of the conflict.  He had anticipated that readers would be startled by his conclusions, and defended against possible objections.  Uncertainty in the British Empire, some caused by disturbances in America, was bad for commerce.  England would continue to drag Americans into European wars that were not their affair, said Paine, and protect them only when beneficial to themselves.  Americans would not require their protection; they already had the means to defend their land.  Distance and poor communication across the Atlantic made the centers of government remote from the colonists. Common Sense stressed the need for and the power of unity among the American

Thomas Paine writes a series of persuasive essays called “The crisis”. Paine writes “The Crisis Volume 1” to talk about how King George's tyranny must be stopped. The United States have suffered enough from being under King George's control. America has to go out and fight even though it will be hard in the beginning. Paine uses the rhetorical strategies such as an aphoristic style and analogy.

Paine opens his persuasion to the nation by warning that getting their freedom from Britain will not be easy. By using the simile, "Tyranny, like hell...", he implies that Britain's control over them will not be easy to overcome. As he says in the beginning of the paragraph, "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will...shrink from the service...but he