In some of the pieces of literature like “I, Too, Sing America,” “America and I,” “The Bill of Rights,” and “Veterans Day: Never Forget Their Duty” the authors have different ideas of what it means to be American. They also express their ideas using different strategies: negation, classification, and function. With these ideas and strategies a more complex definition on what it means to be American was developed. Being an American means being patriotic, having freedoms, and believing in a dream of something amazing.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, there was a tense relationship between the colonists and their British rulers. Large gatherings in the colonies to discuss the grievances caused by the actions of the British were common. Patrick Henry applies the rhetorical strategies of allusions and repetition in his “Speech in the Virginia Convention” to assert that the colonists should believe fighting for their freedom and rights is necessary and that they must fight as soon as possible.
The United States is well known for being a melting pot of cultures, and because of this there are constantly changing trends. In the 1980s it was poofy hair and disco clothes, in the early 2000s it was long hair for guys, and in recent years it has been for guys to have short, styled hair. There is always something trendy in the United States, and in the early to mid 20th century, it was the color pink and the (pink) flamingo. Jennifer Price details this in her essay ”The Plastic Pink Flamingo”. Through her use of satirical devices, Aristotelian appeals, and persuasive techniques she shows how the country is constantly going through fazes.
As a social worker and reformer, Florence Kelley utilizes asyndeton, juxtaposition, and rhetorical questions in her ardent speech for the attendees of the convention for the National American Women Suffrage Association to “enlist the workingmen voters” in helping with the implementation of more stringent child labor laws to encourage the protection of children, especially girls, from working in factories at such young ages.
“It takes one, to know one” a quote by the Unknown. America has many different people with many different races. Every single person, no matter where they originated from, or where their ancestors originated from, has the power to make the world a better place. The article is about a life of a man who came from France and fought in the French and Indian War. He was one of the few people who stayed behind and accepted the new beginnings of a new, free world. He often questioned what is it to be an American? He quoted “…all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great change in the world.”Some people agree with this idea because a lot of people from all over the world have caused great changes and that the nations are melted
Florence Kelly delivered a speech before the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia on July 22, 1905. She used rhetorical analysis such as pathos, anaphora, and logos to enlist working men to vote for the reform of child labor laws.
In his speech Kennedy uses different rhetorical devices to unify the citizens of both the United States and the world. Kennedy was giving this speech after winning by a very small margin of votes so he was trying to unite the people of the United States and show he was the correct choice for the president. This speech was given during the Cold War so he was trying to connect the people around the whole world and establish peace. Kennedy was able to unify the people and try to establish peace while at the same time making himself seem like a very competent leader. In his speech Kennedy tries to build his credibility as a personable leader by creating ethos. Kennedy uses the words we twenty eight times, us twelve times and our twenty one times.
This speech by Florence Kelley is filled with numerous rhetorical strategies. Giving her speech in Philadelphia, she touched the hearts of many. Appealing to the emotions of the other women in the audience, Kelley got her point across. She despised child labor as she felt it was dangerous and inappropriate. By using rhetorical strategies such as imagery, anaphora, and forced teaming, she engages the right audience (women attending the suffrage convention) whom were already seeking change.
After a recession in 1962 steel companies decided to raise prices dramatically. Consequently, President Kennedy approached the steel companies and asked them to lower prices, but they continued to raise them. The steel company raised prices, therefore, America could not afford it with a war occurring. President Kennedy then held a press conference for the public, with many different rhetorical strategies, turn the American public against the steel companies.
Child Labor was one of Florence Kelley’s main topics at a speech she gave in Philadelphia during a convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Kelley talks about all the horrors children were going through and the injustices they were suffering. She talks of the conditions children working in, the hours they were going in, and all in all, how wrong child labor was. Her purpose for this was to gain support of people to petition for the end of child labor. Kelley’s appeals to Ethos, Pathos and Logos through the use of great rhetoric is what allows her to achieve her purpose. The main devices being extraordinary diction, repetition, and sarcasm/irony.
In the story, “on Birds, Bird Watching and Jazz” by Ellison, the interesting theory as to how Charles Porter Jr. got his nickname as “Bird “ is told using humor in his stories along with a careful choice of syntax and his diction.
There are five foundations of America’s political system. These foundations are Popular Sovereignty, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Federation, and Individual Rights. The first of the foundations is Popular Sovereignty, where,“the people possess the superior power over their political community, and can alter their government or amend the constitution.” (Ahmed Ehab,”Foundations of the American Political System”). The second foundation is the Separation of Powers, where the government is split into separate, equally-powerful branches. An example of this is the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the American government. The third foundation, Checks and Balances, involves the government’s divisions keeping each other in line, and from becoming too
On Friday, January of 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered a speech to the citizens of the United States of America and the world. Kennedy made a speech that he knew would be remembered for many years to come even after his presidential term. In fact, Kennedy accomplished his goal and is still remembered today, as the best speech ever written and delivered. Kennedy presents his speech with strong Aristotelian appeals of ethos, pathos and the stylistic devices of alliteration and antithesis. Kennedy accomplished what every speaker strives for and surpassed it by capturing the hearts of the audience and inspiring the people’s trust.
American Exceptionalism was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. To illustrate how the American way of thought is superior to the other ways of the world, Tocqueville expresses that the American way of thought is distinctively unique and special. This distinction is exemplified through liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and Laissez-Faire Economics. These qualities prove America’s exceptionality and difference from other countries. Although American Exceptionalism originated in the early 1800s, the idyllic values Tocqueville paints in his book can be seen throughout American history. Specifically, in the 1960s, a decade where de Tocqueville’s defining characteristics of American Exceptionalism are
In Brad Paisley's song American Saturday Night a great deal about the cultural diversity in America is seen throughout the song. In the chorus specifically Paisley lists several things that "make America great" as a whole. American is just a big melting pot of so many cultures, religions, and different people from all over the globe. I think this song does just that in representing what America really is. So, with that being said, the song and video portray a view of America and all the many cultural universals, which are customs and practices that occur across societies (Kendall pg.), that make up the United States. When America was established that is where everyone wanted to be because it was where you could bring yours or start a family in a free country. There is so many opportunities here, so with that people started migrating to the US. When they migrated they brought their customs and ways of life with them and that carried on through families.