Mercy Otis Warren's Rhetorical Analysis Of The Articles Of Confederation

In 1776, after a long and tedious war, the 13 United States of America successfully gained independence from their tyrannical British Monarchy; however, gaining independence was not the only change the states needed to survive after those draining times. Each of the 13 states wished to remain sovereign, taking steps alone in their best individual interest, which caused disjunction within the country. In 1777, the Continental Congress came together in order to resolve these issues and create a new, more unified nation. As a result, the Articles of Confederation were born, in an attempt for these states to act together and become a true unified nation. Unfortunately, this document was heavily flawed and too weak to form a successful central

Warren used a very effective rhetoric in her argument, depicting the suffering the country had to go through in order to gain the freedoms they had. She asked the reader, how could any american turn their back on the values and ideals our fathers worked so hard to gain for us? She contested that anyone who loves liberty and american values should be an Anti-federalist because anyone who called themselves american must want to ensure the liberties they fought so hard to achieve including the right to vote, state sovereignty, and other rights that would be outlined in the document the Anti-federalists wanted: The Bill of Rights. Not only did she use this powerful rhetoric, but Warren also made her argument very straightforward and outlined it in such a way that anyone could follow. She goes through 18 separate points outlining why the new ratification would do no justice. These points include that it would limit the press, unbalance power as the executive and legislative branches could merge, there would be no limit for judiciary powers, there would be unjust representation, the people would have less rights, and many more. Her argument is easy to understand and outlines the exact negative outcomes of the constitution, while making it known that its ratification means turning their back on the American