The Patriot Rhetorical Analysis

On January 6th, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his eighth State of the Union address to Congress, known as the speech of the “Four Freedoms.” The purpose of this speech was to persuade Americans to shift their attention from the Axis threat to the British and allied troops in desperate need of support. During the time of this address, America was in a great state of isolationism. The majority of Americans sought to disassociate themselves from any foreign ties, including wars. “Policies to curb immigration quotas and increase tariffs on imported goods were implemented, and a series of Neutrality Acts passed in the 1930’s limited American arms and munitions assistance abroad” (“The Four Freedoms”1). However, President Roosevelt successfully delivered his message that every country is deserving of the four

Liberty Mutual creates an ad to persuade viewers to switch to their insurance. The first rhetoric technique used is pathos when Liberty Mutual says, “You totaled your brand new car. Nobody’s hurt, but there will still be pain.” People have either been in an accident and understand the emotions involved, or they have not and worry about what will happen in an accident. The emotional response is fear over the rising payments, and regret over being in an accident. They then combine logos with pathos by stating, “It comes when your insurance company says they’ll only pay three quarters what it takes to replace it [the car]. What are you supposed to do? Drive three quarters of a car?” The logic is that someone can not replace a car for less than

The ability for people to look at a situation from a different perspective is vital in today’s globalized society. Diversity is the most important, core attribute we each share that gives us the ability to assess new situations through our diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Unlike Patrick J. Buchanan’s argument in his essay titled “Deconstructing America,” diversity is a necessity in America’s culture as opposed to the burden it is described as. Conversely, Fredrickson 's essay titled “Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective,” illustrated a more precise version of American history that disproves Buchanan’s ethnocentric ideologies. Buchanan speaks of diversity on a narrow, one-way street. His imprecise interpretations

“For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Two hundred and forty one years ago, the American colonies began their fight for freedom -- one year later they declared their independence from Britain as the United States of America. Patrick Henry’s The “Speech in the Virginia Convention” and Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence were the catalysts for this revolution, and the reason for these documents’ fame could easily be attributed to the power within the words. Both were written on the topic of Britain’s mistreatment of the colonies and thus their need for freedom;

With the Civil War in full swing, the fate of a nation hung in the balance. In the North, Union forces were not being flooded by African Americans ready to fight. In the South, Confederates and plantation owners were fueling their industries on African American slave labor. Nevertheless, African Americans wanted to show their bravery, patriotism, and love for their country. Alfred M. Green then gave an inspiring speech calling all African Americans to unite and campaign against the injustices their forefathers underwent. Utilizing ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos, Green created a well rounded and effective argument for inspiring African Americans to serve in the Union ranks.

As American citizens, we have long been subject to the back and forth between the Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Since the very beginning, both parties have struggled with each other over power and policy, with us, the citizens, in the middle. With every reelection, a new president along with a political group attempts to establish a new regime of executive, legislative, and judicial power in D.C. Recently, however, with the term of President Obama, Congress has favored a more republican ideology, creating an impassive lawmaking system that is incapable of authorizing effective pieces of legislature. As a result of this inability, the president has made several authoritative decisions, completely bypassing congressional review, to establish a trust between the American people and

Michaelangelo Landgrave and Alex Nowrasteh (2017), a doctoral student in political science and an immigration policy analyst, argue in their informative article The DREAMer Incarceration Rate that DREAMers are less crime-prone than Native-born Americans. Landgrave’s and Nowrasteh’s (2017) purpose is to insist that Congress should expand the parameters of a future legalization for DREAMers. They employ logos, ethos, as well as juxtaposition, in order to convey to their readers the idea that DREAMers are less crime-prone than Native-born Americans.

Here at the Saratoga Springs chapter of NHS, we place tremendous value in the efforts of individuals to not only make a difference that they wish to see but also inspire others to do the same. With this in mind, it is my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker, Mr. Dave Brown. A graduate of Le Moyne University, Mr. Brown has become one of the most respected and highly regarded members of our Saratoga Springs Community. Whether teaching about his favorite President, James K. Polk, or dauntlessly leading his girls volleyball team into a sectional match, I have never failed to see Mr. Brown give less than one hundred percent. In my experience in his United States History course, I saw Mr. Brown’s ability to connect with each of his students. Unique

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave his remarks at the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York in honor of the Fourth of July. Douglass uses his platform to highlight the irony of inviting a once enslaved man to speak on a day that celebrates freedom, liberty, and justice. To challenge Americans celebration of the Fourth of July, Douglass exposes the hypocrisy of America’s value: they preach and celebrate freedom, yet condone the enslavement of individuals on the basis of skin color. As an ingenious orator, why would Douglass carelessly praise the founding fathers and abruptly criticize the American citizens if he wanted to gain their support?

The analysis I made was based on Douglas McGray’s article “Lost in America”. You did a great job starting your introduction in a creative way using a question as attention-grabber. It is an effective strategy to grab the reader’s attention. You briefly summarized the article’s main points; it provides readers a brief explanation of what will be further analyzed. You also established a very solid thesis statement with a purpose, audience and rhetorical device being analyzed. It shows that you have a strong understanding of the purpose of the article. However, in order to make your thesis clearer, you should specify the author’s purpose of persuading or informing his audience. Saying only that the author argues does not specify his purpose toward

The author begins his essay with a quotation from the Declaration of Independence because he wants to address to the pursuit of happiness as being dependent to us, not to the nation. This quotation helps the author to expand his argument because he says that citizens need the promise of the declaration of Independence, even though, they have to build their own happiness. This means that human beings need to be reminded what the meaning of life is which is to achieved happiness.

Douglass utilizes the repetition of “your” and the irony in the founding documents to emphasize the immorality of slavery, exposing the hypocrisy of white, slave-holding American culture in hope that the original democratic principles that America was built upon will be reestablished and enforced. Throughout his speech, Douglass addresses American customs and holidays, such as the Fourth of July, as “your National Independence”, the day of “your political freedom”, liberation by “your fathers”. By repeating “your” when referencing these national events, Douglass establishes separation between him and his white audience, displaying their differences in attitude in regards to the Fourth of July. To the white Americans, the Fourth of July is a joyous celebration of their “deliverance” from their oppressors, Britain, able to free their inalienable, natural rights to liberty and justice; however, this observance is infuriating to a slavish, black population that dwells in America, for these inherent rights

A quote from Frederick Douglass’s speech, “This Fourth July is yours, not. You may rejoice, I must mourn”. Douglass points out that Fourth of July reminds the blacks of what they do not have, the whites get to celebrate but the black have nothing to celebrate. The fourth of July has no meaning to the slaves. Douglass passionately argues how unfair it was for people to celebrate their freedom when some are held captive and how the celebration of independence while allowing slavery is shameful. The tone of Douglass during his speech starts off by drawing the audience in and warming up to them by stating that he nervous but, as the speech continues he becomes angrier and passionate, trying to reach his point. He was addressing the people who were

On December 7, 1941, the United States was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor, and a day later, our president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded with a speech to influence the people to enlist in the draft and support for America joining World War II. At a time when America felt defeated, hopeless, and attacked, FDR responded with hope and determination to let the American people know that the United States would do everything in its power to defend themselves and obtain victory. As the president of the United States of America, it was Roosevelt’s job to lead and make the best decisions for the US based on what happened. He had to appeal to his audience with emotion, logic, and his authority.

Rhetoric, when used properly, can be a very effective communication skill. However, a large majority of students do not even understand proper rhetoric or even know what rhetoric is. Rhetoric should be taught in high schools because , while also giving students effective ways of influencing and interpreting culture.