American+Rhetoric

=Patrick Henry's //Speech to the Virginia Convention// Questions=

1. Henry's purpose was to motivate the colony's delegates into fighting for their freedom and liberty. 2. His intended audience was the colony's delegates, but his speech was very deliberate. It didn't seem appropriate to put down the delegates like he did. 3. A good example of a rhetorical question from Henry's speech is, "Have we shown ourselves so unwillling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love?" The purpose of the rhetorical questions was to display the importance of freedom. 4. Henry used literary illusions such as metaphors and repetition to to persuade the audience that America had to fight for independance.

=﻿Common Sense Questions=

1. Paine's purpose is to explain how the government affects different parts of society. 2. Paine used deductive reasoning by broadly speaking about the efect of governmet on the country, and then wrote about a specific time when government made a difference in this country. 3. The facts in this excerpt serve a purpose of increasing Paine's credibility, while the rhetorical questions keep his audience focused on the purpose of his writing. 4. There is a section in the middle of the excerpt where Paine claims God gives power equally among the people and the king, while contradicting himself by saying that the king has more power than the people.

=The Declaration of Independace Questions=

1. The main purpose of the Declaration of Independance was to explain to the Brittish parliament why America was so angry at England. 2. Using inductive reasoning helped Jefferson achieve his purpose by building his credibility using specific examples such as the Stamp, Sugar, and Tea Acts. 3. Using anaphora, personification, and emphasis on certain words such as Trade, Taxes, and Consent created a desirable tone toward the need for independance. 4. Most people assume that all the colonists wanted independance, but a moajority of them wanted to stay with Britain in order for Britain to provide the colonists with protection.