Patrick Henry Ethos Pathos Logos

Our forefathers dedicated their lives to the establishment of our nation, but what inspired these men to do this? First, these men felt a responsibility to their country. George Washington said in his first inaugural address “I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love…” (Document C) Second, they were unhappy about Great Britain’s brutality towards the colonies. As stated by the founders in the Declaration of Independence, Great Britain was responsible for “cutting off our trade with other parts of the world” and “imposing taxes without our consent.” According to the founding fathers, Great Britain also “plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.” (Document N) These men thought the actions of Great Britain were unfair and they needed to protect the rights of their people and stand up for their country. Finally, they wanted freedom for themselves and for generations to come. In a letter to Abigail Adams, John Adams writes “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study

“Unite the liberality with just frugality; always reserve something for the hand of charity; and never let your door be closed to the voice of suffering humanity” (“Patrick”). Patrick Henry was an important figure throughout the American revolution. During the revolution, Americans fought against the British for their independence and liberty. Before the war began, Americans were hesitant to fight because they feared the backlash that could have come with if the revolution was unsuccessful, and also because some refused to believe that their motherland would fight against them. Henry felt they had no choice but to battle against Britain and that the war was inevitable, so he decided to speak to the Virginia Convention in hope to rally them. In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry, he uses logos when talking about Britain to persuade the colonists to take up arms.

Patrick Henry evolved from being an attorney to becoming an influential and inspirational revolutionary who convinced the colonists to fight for independence. During this time the British ruled and colonists had begun to resist them. Furthermore, religious values were important in the time as most everyone belonged to a church. In his speech to the Virginia convention, Patrick Henry uses pathos to enact a sense of distrust and fear toward the British.

The fight for American independence was a long, arduous struggle, but many great literary works aided the battle. One such example is Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention”. Given in 1775 at the Virginia Provincial Convention, Henry aims to convince listeners of the futility of peace with Britain, and that they should join the efforts for the inevitable war. To accomplish this, Henry uses many different persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech”, Henry uses techniques such as rhetorical questions, allusion, and emotional appeal to convey the point that the United States must rebel against Britain.

Patrick Henry was born in virginia in 1736. He was a lawyer and a politician who encouraged the separation from great britain, by delivering the “Speech to the virginia convention” on March 23 1775, 3 week before the actual war. He was a powerful speaker whose words helped sweep the colonist towards their Declaration of Independence. Rhetorical devices and rhetorical appeals are ways that the writer draws you into the reading. By using ethos pathos and logos, the author finds ways to entregue everyone in different ways.

In Neil Postman’s novel, Amusing Ourselves to Death, he argues that rationality in America has become dictated by television. Through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos, Postman demonstrates that his claim is valid and reliable. These are three forms of persuasion that are used to influence others to agree with a particular point of view. Ethos, or ethical appeal, is used to build an author’s image. Ethos establishes a sense of credibility and good character for the author (Henning). Pathos, or emotional appeal, involves engaging “an audience's sense of identity, their self-interest, their emotions” (Henning). If done correctly, the power of emotions can allow the reader to be swayed to agree with the author. Logos, or logical appeal,

During the Revolutionary War, writers and orators publicly revealed their thoughts on how to respond to Britain’s further subjugation of the American colonies. After a futile hope for reconciliation and failed petitions to the British government, several patriots, such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, called for the colonists to take up arms against the British. Through Paine’s Common Sense and Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention”, they displayed an adamant message for the colonies to fight immediately. Both used the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos within their respective works, and their various applications to the three elements allowed for their arguments to reach all ears and influence the majority of the population towards the fight for independence.

“We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the sound of that siren, till she transforms us into beast,” (Henry 103). During this period of time, everything was brand-new to the colonist. Sometimes, new things can be extremely scary and it might cause fear. The majority of the colonist wanted freedom but were scared to go against Britain’s rule. Families were very emotional because of the lack of freedom, money, and all the people dying. Patrick Henry used the colonists’ fear to help encourage and motivate them into taking a stand and fighting against the British.

Patrick Henry's Essay In the speech of the Virginia convention, Patrick Henry convinces colonists to fight Britain through the use of several main rhetorical devices: Pathos, Diction, Allusion, and Rhetorical Questions. Patrick Henry, a Virginia militia Colonel, with his militia troops faced down Lord Dunmore, forcing the British Government in the famous "Gunpowder Affair" to return the large quantity of gunpowder which had been set aside for the Virginia militia by the colonial legislature.

"But when shall we be stronger?" On March 23,1775 Patrick Henry gave his speech at the Virginia convention to persuade people to join and fight against Britain. But they are afraid. Patrick uses pathos throughout his speech by speaking respectfully, and asks rhetorical questions so the audience can feel more connected.

The effect that ethos has on the text is that it gives a comforting and vehement persona by advertising that he is the only man that thinks more highly of the patriotism, fawning the assembly and establishing himself as a convincing person. In addition, rhetorical questions are brought into play to make the audience think about their pride. An example of this is when Henry asks, “But when shall we be stronger? Will it be next week, or next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?

Throughout history, rhetoric has been used by great orators to persuade a people to believe one thing or take action on another. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, proved that a respectable argument must use ethos, pathos, and logos. Patrick Henry’s “give me liberty” speech is well known to have inspired many people to take up arms against the British and start the American Revolution. He used ethos by proving he would die for his country, saying “give me liberty or give me death,” pathos by explaining how poorly America is treated and how they are seen as inferiors, and also logos by stating all the atrocities Britain had done to America (“Patrick”). These same values must be applied in modern debate to vanquish the other side, and it is in these

The search for freedom from repression sparked the imagination of enlightened thinkers to create a new world outside of tyranny and monarchy. The United States of America, the baby of perseverance and liberty, is the longest lasting democracy in the world and has continued to be admired for its equality and fairness as a government. However, the U.S. could still easily be just a dream if it had not been for the influence of visionaries who were willing to promote and fight for their ideas during the 1700s. Without the involvement of patriots like Patrick Henry during the America Revolution period, the great nation of the United States of America would be nonexistent. In his speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry urged the audience to fight for freedom by comparing a life

Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author. We tend to believe people whom we respect. One of the central problems of argumentation is to project an impression to the reader that you are someone worth listening to, in other words making yourself as author into an authority on the subject of the paper, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect.