Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention”: Rhetorical & Persuasive Strategies
- England’s Acts
First major opposition to British policy came in 1765 after Parliament passed the ______; it was later repealed
Most colonists called for a boycott of British goods & some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors
In ______, which granted the East India Company a monopoly on the American tea trade
Viewed as another example of taxation without representation, militant Patriots in Massachusetts organized the “______”
*British tea, valued at 10,000 pounds, was dumped into the Boston harbor
*Britain, outraged, enacted the ______, or the ______:
*closed Boston to merchant shipping
*established British rule in MA
*made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America
*required colonists to quarter British troops
March 24, 1765: Parliament passes the Quartering Act
March 25, 1774: Parliament passes the Boston Port Act
March 28, 1774: British Parliament adopts the Coercive Acts
March 23, 1775: Patrick Henry voices American opposition to British policy
- Patrick Henry: We Must Fight!
To avoid interference from Lieutenant-Governor Dunmore and his Royal Marines, the ______met on March 20, 1775 in Richmond, instead of the Capitol in Williamsburg.
Delegate Patrick Henry introduced a resolution to the Virginia Convention to form the ______to be prepared to fight the British.
Henry’s opponents urged ______until the crown replied to Congress’ latest petition for reconciliation.
The resolution passed by five votes.
- SOAPSTone
When reading Henry’s speech, one must consider the following key pieces:
Speaker: ______
Occasion: the ______, before we declared independence
Audience______
Purpose: ______
Subject: ______
Tone: ______
The important consideration is to whom he is addressing his speech.
- Rhetorical Devices: Persuasive techniques to enhance an argument
Rhetorical Question:
*a question that does not require a reply because the answer is obvious.
Rhetorical Question Examples:
Grandma Simpson and Lisa are singing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" ("How many roads must a man walk down/Before you call him a man?"). Homer overhears and says, "Eight!"
Lisa: "That was arhetorical question!"
Homer: "Oh. Then, seven!"
(The Simpsons, "When Grandma Simpson Returns")
"Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?" (1960s television advertisement for Dial soap)
"Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?" (H. L. Mencken)
"If practice makes perfect, and no one's perfect, then why practice?" (Billy Corgan)
Antithesis (can also be called either/or fallacy)
*When contrasting ideas are expressed in a grammatically balanced statement.
Antithesis
"Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee" (advertising slogan).
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Neil Armstrong).
Brutus: "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”).
Repetition
The use of the same word or phrase more than once for emphasis.
Repetition
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” (Winston Churchill).
Parallelism: a form of repetition in which a grammatical pattern is repeated to create a rhythm
parallelism of words:
She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate. (3 adjectives)
parallelism of phrases:
Singing a song or writing a poem is joyous. (2 gerund phrases)
parallelism of clauses:
Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.
(noun / verb / adjective)