Institution Affiliation
“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” by Patrick Henry
Althia Giles
201240 Fall 2012 HIUS 221-D54 LUO
Ms. Catherine Hardee
November 12, 2012
“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” by Patrick Henry
Henry’s Speech Was a Call to Action. What Did He Want His Fellow Virginians To Do? What Were His Justifications For The Proposed Action? How Did Henry Address The Concerns Of Those Who Did Not Agree With Him?
At the Second Virginia Convention held on 23rd March, 1775 in St. John’s Church, Richmond Virginia, Patrick Henry stood and addressed his fellow delegates regarding the defense and arming of Virginia State.[1] While some delegated supported the reconciliation with
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Through the use of the image of slavery, Henry managed to paint a clear picture of how the situation was, therefore, making it easier for him to emphasize the need for America’s independence. Also, Henry uses a change in the volume of his voice in his video speech to appeal to the emotions of his fellow delegates. Henry begins his speech in a normal tone of voice, but throughout the video, his voice gradually gets louder with time, and in the end, he shouts his concluding line, “give me liberty, or give me death!”[4] This gradual volume change in Henry’s voice enabled him to appeal to the feelings of his audience effectively, and eventually emphasize on his message of fighting for liberty.
At the beginning of Henry’s speech, he was aware of the fact that not every delegate supported his idea of fighting British rule; some wanted America to make peace and reconciliation with Britain. He politely acknowledged “different men often see the same subject in different lights”[5] and that his aim was to express his sentiments unreservedly regarding the debate on whether Americans should fight for their freedom or remain enslaved by the British rule. Henry hoped his fellow delegates would not see his sentiments as disrespectful. He also told his audience that they had a responsibility towards America and God to seek the truth and that if he held back his opinions for fear of offending others; he would be
In Patrick Henry’s,“ Speech in the Virginia Convention,” he explains to the President as well as the government at the time on how a war with Britain is completely necessary in order to gain full independence for America. Henry uses a proud tone to inspire his audience, simple and complex sentence structure to convey straightforward details, patriotic and passionate diction to bring an uprising of emotion, and ethos to ethically support the main idea.
The colony of Virginia could not agree if they should press for an undisturbed solution with great Britain or to prepare for war. Patrick henry introduced resolutions calling for military preparedness. After politely listening to his fellow colleagues refusal to armed rebellion, he rose to deliver this impassioned speech. His speech was towards the delegates from Virginia, Henrys purpose was to persuade the colony of Virginia to withdraw from great Britain to fight back against them. He alienated Britain by blaming every hardships they faced to Britain. He uses rhetoric to initiate a well- known tone with the audience while the exigency in his words and alarming last line," give me liberty or give me death", left the crowd with a threatening
Patrick Henry’s speech to the Virginia Convention written and spoken by Patrick Henry raised the people 's attention. He spoke passionate words because he no longer wanted to be a slave to Britain.The men that attended the Virginia Convention realized that they needed to start fighting back after all the troubles the British caused. The British terrorized innocent people of America, even killed men, women, and children. In his speech he proposed resolutions to prepare the Virginia Colony for war and gave the speech to support those resolutions. His reasons for the speech were to convince the colonist, to try and maintain peace, to persuade war against Britain, and to show that he would be a good president. Patrick Henry’s speech was very effective regarding the Virginia Convention using ethos, pathos, and logos.
At a tense meeting in a church in Richmond, Virginia, away from the watchful eyes of Britain, Patrick Henry began to deliver a rousing speech to the Second Convention of Delegates. His passion was tangible to the audience as he called the delegates to action. His speech was memorable to everyone in the room and powerful in convincing the delegates to support the war. Little did he know that this speech would continue to be known for its power and persuasion for generations to come. Throughout Patrick Henry's speech, he emphasized the necessity to act against Britain and support the war, but he did so in a way that was unavoidably persuasive. Henry used emotional appeal, metaphors, and rhetorical questions in order to convince the delegates
We must fight against the dreadful British. Patrick Henry wrote the “Speech in the Virginia Convention” to urge the colonists to fight for independence from Great Britain. Henry shows a great amount of strength and patriotism in his speech. This, along with other strategies, aids him in persuading the colonists. Patrick Henry’s influential, “Speech in the Virginia Convention” rightfully uses aristotelian appeals and rhetorical strategies to persuade the colonists to declare war against the British.
Paragraph 1 - the tone of the speech was confident, persuasive, passionate, and urgent. The purpose of the speech was to the Virginia Convention. Some examples of antithesis is “give me liberty or give me death” (Henry p6) - parallel of liberty and death emphasizes difference and the other one is “there is no retreat but in submission and slavery.” Henry appeal the audience with Emotional appeals (pathos). Henry makes an appeal to ethos by making God seem more important than the earthly kings, as character and authority prevail over just authority. Although Patrick Henry emphasizes that he is patriotic towards Britain, he has a different view on how to handle the conflict with them. He does not immediately discredit the views of the audience but attempts to show them a different viewpoint. He references the Bible saying, "Different men often see the same subject in different lights." He uses the word "light" to show his view is aligned with God's purpose. “An act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings” Henry juxtaposes God with the earthly kings. The diction that he uses shows the authority of God over a king (King George III). The word majesty is related with splendor and quality of God. Paragraph 2 - Henry begins the second paragraph of his speech discussing the illusion of hope. Henry is trying to accomplish by saying “It is natural to man to indulge in the
According to Patrick Henry, what is the basic question being debated at the Virginia Convention?
The purpose of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was to abolish all allegiances to Great Britain and be set free from unfair taxes, tyrannical rule, and unfair treatment. The purpose of Henry 's Virginia Convention Speech was to persuade the colonists to enter into war against Great Britain. Henry’s speech is more of a demanding than the Declaration of Independence. His tone is aggressive because he wants to persuade the audience to agree with what he believes is right. Henry wants the crowd to agree with him when he says powerful and memorable quotes such as “Give me liberty or give me death!” (Henry 230) He wants to American people to wake up, stand and fight against the injustice of Great Britain.
According to Patrick Henry, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Henry 7). Patrick Henry was able to give an outstanding speech at the Virginia Convention, regarding the actions needing to be taken by the colonists. This speech included the criticizing and denouncing of Great Britain, along with the urging of the colonists to fight for independence. This including that the colonists need to become prepared because the unjust actions of the British were not simply going to go away. Henry urges the colonists to fight for the freedom that they rightfully deserve, and he does it extremely well. In Patrick Henry’s ‘Speech to the Virginia Congress’, he demonstrates passionate pathos appeals and rhetorical questioning to persuade the colonists to stand up for themselves and join the fight for their freedom.
The prominent patriot Patrick Henry once said, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Henry 7) implying that a life without liberty is not a righteous life. Henry’s quote is included in his popular oratory “Speech to the Virginia Convention.” While discussing with the colonists, Henry lists all of the discrepancies the thirteen colonies had with Great Britain, concluding that there is no other option, but to retaliate instantaneously. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” he utilizes amplifying loaded words and coherent parallelism in order to influence the assembly to unify and reciprocate.
Many men were pivotal to the American cause in the War for Independence, and one of the most influential was Patrick Henry. In his famous speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Patrick Henry delivered a powerful speech through the manipulative use of language and word choice. On March 23, 1775, the third Virginia convention was held in St. John 's Church in Richmond. The convention was held to discuss relations with Great Britain. This was the place where Patrick Henry made his timeless speech "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" to the House of Burgesses with the hope of freeing Virginia from British rule. He spoke with conviction and showed undeniable support for the fight against the English government. He used the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to instill fear and anger in his audience. He effectively used religion and evidence of British oppression to connect with his audience and help persuade opponents and supporters of the Revolution to unite and fight for American independence.
“Give me liberty, or give me death!” Patrick Henry’s words ring out like a bell, covering the crowd of respected politicians and lawyers with stunned silence. Henry’s brave, powerful speeches encouraged the colonies to stand as one to rebel against the British. Today, Patrick Henry is considered one of history’s most influential speaker and played a crucial role, before, during, and after the American Revolution.
This is an emotionally charged speech, “They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?” (3). He is trying to inspire a group of men to go to war. That is never an easy task. Henry begins to use emotions to incite the delegates. He appeals to their fears of having the British completely controlling their lives and quartering soldiers in every home. One of the biggest grievances early colonial American had with the British was the quartering act, a law that forced colonists to provide barracks for British troops, that all the colonists were angry about. Henry brought up an issue that many Americans were passionate about, and used it to make people listen to his message. Henry constantly poses these questions “When shall we be stronger?” or “ Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?” (3). He asks these questions to get his audience to
Patrick Henry, born in Virginia in 1736, was a lawyer and great orator, as well as public officer for nearly 30 years, who believed strongly in citizens’ right to bear arms, especially in face of Great Britain’s injustice towards the colonists, and whose speech to the Virginia Convention lead to the persuasion of his delegation and, therefore, participated in the start of the Revolutionary War. (Probst 100) (Colonial Williamsburg Patrick Henry). In his speech, Henry, whose patriotism had lead him to represent his region since 1765, addressed those who did not want to organize a militia for Virginia. (Probst 100) (Henry 102). One of the first and most important arguments Henry makes is that the question of whether or not to organize a
Henry said many strong and reasonable word in his speech to the Virginia Convention. A very powerful quote that he said in the speech was “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and