Revolutionary Literature

Day II:

Daily Writing: Persuasion

Patrick Henry used many persuasive techniques in his “Speech in the Virginia Convention”. Which of these do you find most effective? Least effective? Why?

#1 SPEAKER #2 INTENDED AUDIENCE#6 MESSAGE

#4 TOOLS (LIST WITH EXAMPLES FROM TEXT)

#5 TONE (LIST WITH EXPLANATION/EXAMPLE)

#3 PURPOSE

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45

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RHETORICAL TRIANGLE“Speech in the Virginia

Convention”

Declaration of Independence Background

June 7th, 1776: Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, read a resolution before the Continental Congress that said the colonies should be free.

June 11, 1776Consideration of the

Lee Resolution was postponed.

The Committee of Five (John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson) was appointed to draft a statement presenting the colonies’ case for independence to the world.

June 11-July 1, 1776

Drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written .

July 2, 1776

The Lee Resolution was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies (New York did not vote).

Congress began to consider and alter the Declaration.

July 4, 1776

The Declaration was officially adopted and was taken to the printer.

July 5, 1776

Copies were dispatched by members of Congress around the Colonies.

August 2, 1776

Document was signed by most of the members of Congress.

SESSION 11-SEPTEMBER 8 & 9Declaration of Independence

1. Listen to the Declaration of Independence

2. Loaded LanguageThe language of the Declaration was carefully chosen. Find examples of words Jefferson uses that are charged with emotion.

3. Looking Closely at One SectionAlthough this is an incredibly important document, the language is outdated. Your group must take one section and figure out the gist. You will write this as a text message that Jefferson could have sent. Texts are expensive, so you have only 25 “words” to text.

PreambleDeclaration of Rights

Charges Against the KingCriticism of British People

Conclusion

4. Discussion QuestionsWork with your partner to answer the questions. Be prepared to discuss in the full group.

Rhetoric and Style

Identify each one of the truths.Identify each one of the rights.Identify the subject and predicate of the

first sentence.Identify the major assumption underlying

the first sentence. What is the rhetorical principle at work?

What effect does the phrase “self-evident” have in sentence 2? How does that phrase help support the speaker’s position?

Why does the speaker begin with an appeal to “respect” as a value before stating the claim?

Consider the speaker’s appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos. Identify and explain two for each.

Read carefully the second and third “truths.” At that time, was it a historical fact that the governments were instituted for the purpose the speaker states? What is the rhetorical purpose of such a statement?

Explain how the speaker uses facts to appeal to logos.

Explain the effect of the rhetorical parallelism with which Jefferson concludes the Declaration.

How does Jefferson explain the reason for a formal declaration of independence? Why do you think it was necessary for Jefferson to state the “causes which impel them to the separation”?

Is the Declaration of Independence a radical document? Explain.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was a slave child of seven or eight and sold to John and Susanna Wheatley in Boston on July 11, 1761.  Her first name was apparently derived from the ship that carried her to America, The Phillis.

First African American to publish a book

An accomplished African American woman of letters

First African American woman to earn a living from her writing (her freedom as well)

First woman writer encouraged and financed by a group of women

Letter to the Rev. Samson

1. What is Wheatley’s argument in her epistle?2. What are some generalizations about the

syntax and the vocabulary of the 18th century.3. On page 284, what religious allusion does she

make and why?4. Why does she personify the principle that she

loves on page 284? 5. Does this letter contradict the documents by

Jefferson and Henry? Why or why not?

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams was known for advocating for public education for girls that was equal to that given to boys

she had no formal education She was taught to read and write at home,

and given access to the extensive libraries of her father and maternal grandfather

Wife of John Adams (letters reflect not only Abigail Adams' reactive advice to the political contentions and questions that John posed to her, but also her own observant reporting of New England newspapers' and citizens' response to legislation and news events of the American Revolution)

Letter to John Adams

1. What does Adams mean when with the simile, “Is a maxim of the state that power and liberty are like heat and moisture” (286)?

2. What is the word that Adams thinks that they will “be despised by the foreign powers, for hesitating so long” for (286)?

3. What is the importance of this letter?4. Is this a formal or informal letter?5. What are the serious problems addressed?

What is an American?

1. How are the poor in Europe affected by the hardships in their lives?

2. How do the conditions in America affect the lives of formerly poor Europeans?

3. What is the structure of this essay? How is this used? Why?

4. Why are American’s “new men”?5. Does this definition still apply today?