Comparison of Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry: Revolutionary Tract

Thomas Paine makes a statement and compares the king to a thief that stole their land. Paine states, “but if a thief breaks into my house, threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to “bind me in all cases whatsoever” to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?”(Paine). Trying to persuade people to join the fight, Paine is asking the colonists why they are subjecting their selves to the tyranny of the king; furthermore, Paine is explaining that the colonists have no choice, but to fight or they will forever be under the tyranny of the king. Patrick Henry makes a statement about the petition in his speech that says, “Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?”(Henry). With his rhetorical question, Patrick Henry is trying to show the colonists that the king did not care for their petition and would not settle for anything. Therefore, Henry would then go on to state why they should declare war on Britain and gain their

Throughout The Crisis, Paine incorporates multiple uses of language to persuade the men to enlist in the war for freedom. Paine states, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered” (1). He emphasizes that Britain's tyranny of the American colonies will be

Henry then goes on to say “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The War is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.” Not only is he committing a fallacy by making it seem like only two alternatives can be considered- in this case, the Americans fight in order to obtain freedom or America submits to being enslaved by the British- but he is also using parallelism and pathos to stir up his audience which is propaganda and demagoguery, respectively.

In his speech, Henry uses rhetorical devices to suggest that Americans need to join the cause for the looming war. The first use of rhetorical questioning occurs about halfway into his speech, when he proposes, “…what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us into submission?” (Henry 102). During this timeframe, Britain sent in troops to quiet the rebellious acts of the citizens, such as the Boston Tea Party, where Americans dumped 10,000 pounds of British tea into Boston Harbor. In this quote, Henry takes a different perspective, implying that the British sent these troops in to submiss the colonies, to keep them firmly under British control. This affects his audience by making them feel inferior to the British. Towards the end of his speech, Henry mentions that, “Our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we here idle?” (Henry 103). Henry refers to the open resistance in Massachusetts, and the people already fighting for independence. In his rhetorical question, Henry probes why most Americans stand by while others actively participate. This proves his point that America must go to war immediately, and that some already agree with him. These rhetorical questions are just two examples of Henry using literary techniques to convince listeners to go to war with Great Britain.

     Paine went on to speak in more conventional terms about the specific nature of the conflict.  He had anticipated that readers would be startled by his conclusions, and defended against possible objections.  Uncertainty in the British Empire, some caused by disturbances in America, was bad for commerce.  England would continue to drag Americans into European wars that were not their affair, said Paine, and protect them only when beneficial to themselves.  Americans would not require their protection; they already had the means to defend their land.  Distance and poor communication across the Atlantic made the centers of government remote from the colonists. Common Sense stressed the need for and the power of unity among the American

The colonists began considering independence when Britain tried to assert an unjust amount of control over them. Paine’s work makes it clear that he believed once the first colonists ventured to North America, the spilt should have been instantaneous. The colonists had endured unjust behavior from Britain for thirteen

Today we look back at the American Revolution and picture a united people fighting for inalienable rights, but to grasp the impact that Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had upon his contemporaries we must understand the situation in the American colonies in 1776. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, the colonist and The Parliament in London, were almost 10 years into a debate over the rights of limited self-government by the colonies. In the months preceding the publication of Paine’s pamphlet the situation had steadily worsened until the April 19th, 1775 armed confrontation between Massachusetts colonists and British Army soldiers. By the end of that day, blood had been shed by both sides, and armed colonists placed the British garrison in Boston under siege. Despite this violence, most colonists viewed the events as a part of a struggle between Englishmen that would be resolved with the continued allegiance of the colonies to the Crown, but with more favorable treatment from London. It was with this popular mindset throughout the colonies, that Paine would deliver his “Common Sense” pamphlet arguing for complete independence from England. Paine understood that to make his argument resonate he needed to appeal to the public in a manner that had yet to be done.

During the Revolutionary War, writers and orators publicly revealed their thoughts on how to respond to Britain’s further subjugation of the American colonies. After a futile hope for reconciliation and failed petitions to the British government, several patriots, such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, called for the colonists to take up arms against the British. Through Paine’s Common Sense and Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention”, they displayed an adamant message for the colonies to fight immediately. Both used the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos within their respective works, and their various applications to the three elements allowed for their arguments to reach all ears and influence the majority of the population towards the fight for independence.

In the years of 1775-1776 the American colonist were locked under British control and were stripped away from their rights and their freedom. During this time the Americans came together to unite and secede from the British power. Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine’s purpose revealed through the Declaration of Independence and exhibits the ideal of freedom and justice. Through these actions, determination sought forth for sovereignty.

Tensions grew between the British and the colonists because the British began to rule with absolute power. The colonist started to taunt the British and on occasion, the British killed them without any doubt and guilt. An example of the killing of colonists took place at the Boston Massacre where “order quickly broke down and the frightened [British] soldiers fired into the crowd. When the shooting ended, several people were dead and more were wounded” (Document 3). Due to this event, Paine thought that the conflict had gone too far to be settled peacefully. In an excerpt his pamphlet Common Sense, Thomas Paine commented on the battles of Lexington and Concord saying “the moment the event of that day was made known, [he] rejected the harden sullen-tempered [king of English] forever” (Document 6). The colonists were tired of their freedoms being denied and being treated unfairly by the British. Due to events like this, the colonists were justified in waging war because the British unfairly killed the

The revolutionary war was a time well known in our history. We grew up learning that all the colonists were tired of the way Britain treated us, what they don’t show at a young age is that not everyone wanted to fight. Not everyone believed that fighting the British was a good idea; some thought it was smart to stay loyal to the British for they had the biggest militia at this time. The only way to face something like that is through encouragement, inspiration, and the wise words from men who want to stand for what they believe in. Many men had the same ideas, this shows that the repetitive ideas were for emphasis and persuasions. Men like Thomas Paine, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Patrick Henry all gave speeches to encourage the people of America to stand up and fight for what’s right. Not only did they sacrifice their careers, some also fought in the war.

Brittany Como Mr. Foley A.P. English 11 1 December 2014 Henry vs. Paine During the 1700s, many Americans wanted to break ties with the British and go to war. As people began to feel fed up with how they were being treated, anti-British sentiment drew America closer and closer to a war. Two important men of the 18th century also had this same idea, and began to spread their thoughts around to Americans and their leaders.

Effective- Henry uses restatement to stress the importance of the impending war. He feels strongly that a war is needed because the colonists must fight for their freedom. War isn’t only for those who can and will fight, it’s for anyone who wants a better life. The battle is for the brave people, and the ones who are ready for danger, and are active. Because they

Patrick Henry used a bellicose tone. He suggested that the Patriots must go to war in order to attain freedom. When Henry said “I consider it nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery…” he was saying the colonists needed to fight for freedom or let the British continue to control them, as if they were slaves. Thomas Paine used an authoritative tone and suggested that no state should surrender to the British or they would suffer the hostility of the other states. “I call not upon a few, but upon all; not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us,” is the quote that shows us this tone and suggestion. Paine also suggested that the Tories were encouraging the British army, therefore, they should be kicked out of America.

What exactly was happening in America? The Continental Army had been weakening through defeats, while the people began to lose moral. The motivation to fight and the notion of patriotism were declining. As a result, many writers came out to inspire them to take a stand and return to war. Two influential writers encouraged them not to give up their fight against the British. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine wrote two different works targeted at two different demographics. Thomas Paine uses strong language and exciting words to grab your attention and get you believing in what he's saying, while Jefferson uses lawyer-like diction and repetitive lists that appeal to a whole different crowd. Thomas Paine’s writes very