Are The Rhetorical Appeals In Patrick Henry's Persuasive Speech

In the 1700’s, throughout years of rebellion and fighting in the East Coast of North America against the British to gain independence, freedom for the colonists was an important matter. Colonists such as Patrick Henry and John Adams encouraged and supported liberty and independence from the British tyranny. Henry urged the delegates to fight until the colonies were free from the King’s cruelty and power as well as, Adams convinced the Congress to form a militia against the British army. Patrick Henry and John Adams used persuasive appeals to convince the delegates to vote for independence. In the Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry, he used logical, ethical, and emotional appeal to insist his countrymen to declare war against the British. He begins his speech with an emotional appeal by stating, “For my own part, I consider it nothing and less than a question of freedom or slavery” (Henry 10). He utters the idea that there is no alternative choice but either slavery or freedom. The idea of slavery is cruel and inhumane whereas freedom is joy and delightfulness. He builds his speech with a logical appeal by continuing, “I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past” (Henry 29). He is persuading the Congress through reasoning from his observations of the …show more content…
Henry encouraged the legislators to retaliate against the British while Adams urged about pursuing peace and reject the Olive Branch proposal. Henry used effective appeals that led to influence the ideas of the delegates about freedom. Adams had strong determination which persuaded the representatives about the importance of forming a militia and the unnecessary worth for a peace treaty. Their ideas influenced and inspired society throughout the history to rise and fight for liberty and