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How Did Patrick Henry Use Rhetorical Devices In The Declaration Of Independence

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Independence or Bust “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people” (Jefferson). During the Revolutionary Era, there was controversy as to whether or not the colonies of America should join together and fight King George III and Great Britain in a war for their independence. The writers of the American Revolutionary period use rhetorical devices to persuade the American colonists that they need to fight against Britain or else they will not be taken seriously in the world. The writers of the American Revolution use parallelism to leave a lasting impact on readers and emphasize the fact that the colonists need to take action. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, he states that “Gentleman may cry peace, peace – but there is no peace” (Henry). This highlights the idea of peace and really stresses to the audience that the war for independence has already started and they need to do something about it. Patrick Henry’s last line of his speech is: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” (Henry). This last line is very powerful and memorable; it …show more content…

In the Declaration of Independence, it is said that “They are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). This shows the people of the colonies that they have the right to be free from all ties binding them to the British, so there is no reason to not gain independence. Thomas Paine says that “God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction…who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war” (Paine). Paine is proving to the American colonists that they should unite against the British by telling them that God will not let them all die because they did try to avoid the war at

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Give them liberty of give them death! In 1773, Thomas Paine wrote “The American Crisis”, an essay designed to persuade the colonists to separate from Britain. In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his “Speech in the Virginia Convention with the same idea. Paine and Henry wanted to persuade the colonists to stand up for their freedom and basic human rights against Britain. The writings of Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry both use metaphors, include rhetorical questions, and serve the same purpose.

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