Maya Angelou once said, “ Freedom is never free.” Freedom is meant for everyone, not just certain people; everyone deserves to be free. Patrick Henry’s “ Speech to the Virginia Convention” and John F. Kennedy’s “ Inaugural Address” are both speeches about freedom, equality, and achievement and success. Both were written in different time periods, but they were trying to make the same points. While some differences between Patrick Henry and John F. Kennedy are reasonable, the similarities in their beliefs are significant. Patrick Henry and John F. Kennedy were similar when discussing the value of freedom. Patrick Henry was speaking to a group of representatives to persuade them to not go back to Britain's rule. Henry stated, “... give me liberty, give me death” (85). He was convincing people to fight for their freedom. In a like manner, John F. Kennedy was presenting his Inaugural Address to people of the United States. Kennedy stated, “... oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty” (p2). Kennedy was reassuring the American people that if someone tried to threaten their freedom, they will fight back. Both Patrick Henry …show more content…
Kennedy spoke differently when discussing achievement and success. Patrick was explaining how the American people should wake up and see how England is being unjust. Henry voiced, “ Those who have eyes, but not see, ears, but hear not” (83). He was attempting to wake up the people supporting England, the people are not done, nor finished fighting for this country. In contrast, John F. Kennedy communicated with the people of the of the United States to help extend a hand to people in poverty. Kennedy commented, “... for man holds in his mortal hands, the power to abolish all forms of human poverty” (p1). He was trying to help all people in America, not just a handful of people. Both speakers have goals for the country; they both just have found different ways of being
Who is Patrick Henry in the revolution? What are his notable contributions to America, particularly to the American war of independence? To begin with, Patrick Henry is one of the greatest firebrands of the American Revolution. This founding father has served as a governor in Virginia for several fruitful terms.
In 1775, the second Virginia Convention was held and during the debate on whether or not the colonies should mobilize for military action in response to Britain; Patrick Henry respectfully proposes arming the Virginia Militia and introduces his view on what actions to take in regard to the conflict with Britain. While the delegates want to peacefully approach the situation, Patrick Henry calls for action and he expresses this by establishing credibility with the audience, questioning the audience, and use of repetition. Henry’s tone shifts from a respectful to a frustrated and urgent tone. Patrick Henry starts of his speech by taking into account of the colonists and emphasizes that he has a different view on how to handle the conflict.
The "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" speech, was delivered by Patrick Henry at the third Virginia convention, held in St. John's Church in Richmond on March 23, 1775. Patrick's goal was to get the colonists to take arms against the British, but of course, no revolution starts with just asking. He wanted to motivate everyone in the church by presenting his speech in a very urgent and motivational manner. As a result of this speech, a majority of the delegates joined him in his plight for fighting against Britain. His opening line is strong, "No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism.
Henry says "... but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Henry shows his own belief, which is that he would rather stand up for his country and fight for its people. It establishes his place amongst the people of the country and since he is one of them he is more likely to prove his point and gain the trust and respect of the people in his fight for liberty. “No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House.”
In this source, the impact of America’s founders, such as Patrick Henry, and the impact they have on modern America are discussed. The American Founders remain the most important authority for deciding if principles of the American government are legitimate even though time periods have changed. Their ideals in liberty are taken into account when laws are passed today. This resource is very useful in describing the impact of the speech.
Only 18 years apart, two men spoke about the concepts of liberty. These men, John F. Kennedy and Learned Hand, spoke to civilians in wartime America. Hand gave his speech at the height of WWII. Kennedy gave his shortly after, during the cold war. Both Hand and Kennedy agreed on the same basic principles of liberty: it is directly related to freedom, it must be fought for, Hand, the federal judge who studied philosophy at Harvard, gave his speech "The Spirit of Liberty" to over 1.5 million people in 1944.
Patrick Henry Argument Analysis Throughout Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses many literary devices to convey his thought and opinions to his audience, and with it, he hopes to alter or sway their views on the subject matter. Starting from the very end of Henry's speech, he states “but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”, this now infamous line uses the logical fallacy of false dilemma. This fallacy, also known as either/or, plays to his advantage as it makes the problem seem greater than it actually is by only presenting two extreme options, liberty or death. Another literary device Henry uses in his speech, is ethos, which appeals to the audience's moral or ethical plane.
On March 23, 1775, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was heard all throughout St. John 's Church. These famous words were not only a great speaker looking to have his voice heard, but they would have an everlasting impact on young English students studying the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Patrick Henry also used figurative languages such as allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In this specific piece of literature, qualities like independence and individualism are exceedingly prominent, this all being due to Henry’s use of literary devices. Conversely, in the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to articulate how he is patriotic to his home, but he occupies diverse views than his audience, the Virginia
Over 100 million people in the world do not have the same basic freedoms that every American has, and over 4 billion people face harsh religious freedoms not allowing them to believe in what they want. During times of conflict in the world the United States and its presidents work to keep the freedoms that we as Americans have. Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address describe how they want to preserve freedom in our country and the world. However, Roosevelt’s speech talks about aiding other countries to protect freedom and liberty, whereas Kennedy’s speech talks more about protecting our own country 's freedom and how to do it, through negotiation.
John F. Kennedy discusses and analyzes on how the nation differs from the past and present day in that time period. Kennedy narrators on the division and war in the the world to appeal to the audience patriotism by using pathos and logos. In this speech President Kennedy states “to thoses who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request; that both sides begin the quest for peace, before the dark power of destruction unleashed.” He uses this quote to obtain a logical appeal to the appeal to the people. Kennedy uses logos to show that he wants the nation to come together and be humble together in one peace.
“For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” This quote from the 35th president of the United States set a precedent of greatness for our country. The man who set such a precedent was John F. Kennedy. A very persuasive and well-read man, when he gave his inaugural address, our nation and the world knew we were in good hands. JFK not only was well-read, he gave moving speeches.
Kennedy often sets himself equal to his audience, as if saying that he is no better than anybody else, gaining their respect and support. For example in Kennedy’s inaugural speech, he states, “ United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.” In this Kennedy is placing himself in the same category as his audience and saying that he needs them, just as much as they need him. Another example of Kennedy setting himself equal to his audience is, “ In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” In this statement, John F. Kennedy is saying that the people of America, united, have more power than him.
Patrick Henry, former governor of Virginia, bravely spoke on the 23rd of March, 1775, at St. John’s Church, introducing his strategies to end the American Revolution in victory. The speech was so inspiring that it ignited a massive flame of patriotism. Americans began to greatly support his political ideology. Due to his stirring choice of words, the phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!” impacted the listeners, making his remarkable words yet known to this date.
“In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our despair, against our will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God”(24-30). RFK used this quote to say people may want to stay angry and bitter, but anger will eventually be replaced with wisdom and understanding no matter how much they try to fight it. Kennedy recognizes his audience as Americans, but especially
Also, he is stating to never be afraid and figure out ways to face them. By doing this, Kennedy left a greater impact on people by making his speech more