Rhetorical Analysis Of Chief Seattle's Oration

Juxtaposition is used to point out many differences between Seattle’s tribe and the Americans. Take, for instance, Chief Seattle stating that the American’s “people are many” and that “They are like the grass that covers vast prairies”. In contrast, he also describes his tribe as “few” and like the “scattering trees of a

n Chief Joseph’s speech, “I Will Fight no more Forever,” written on the occasion of the white man trying to take away their land in Oregon and addressed to the white men and Native-Americans, Chief Joseph attempts to move those who believe in fighting and getting our land back from the white men to stop fighting and not let the white men take any more lives than they already have taken. One may represent his argument thus: because he had lost so much of his family and tribe that he did not want to go through more loss than he already did, therefore he wanted to stop fighting and live in peace since he wanted nothing else to be taken from him and his tribe. While Chief Joseph’s subject, broadly conceived, is the fighting for their land and why it is not worth the fight, his argument is marked by his use of emotion and repetition to get his point across to the white man and the Native-Americans. Ultimately, Chief Joseph’s argument is very persuasive because he uses rhetorical devices like repetition, parallelism, and pathos, to have his emotions into one speech about one specific topic for his tribe.

The Spanish are difficult to persuade because they believe in the Manifest Destiny. Yet by using both of these devices he evoked pity by describing the indians being left with nothing, but also fear by threatening to continue the violent raids. Chief Tecumseh hopes to show that if the Spanish continue to take away the land of the natives, they will come together and the strength of the red men will overcome the strength of the white men. While Chief Tecumseh’s speech uses pathos and causal relationship, Chief Seattle’s excerpt, “Letter to President Pierce” uses connotations as well as pathos to bring awareness to President Pierce. He brings awareness by pointing out the flaws of the spanish settlers. He addresses the white men by stating, “Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste” (P.5 L.1-2). Not only does he emphasize the loss of native americans through his excerpt, but also brings attention to the loss of the Spanish if they continue to act

The day the colonists first set foot on American soil marked the beginning of an arduous struggle for Native Americans. When the colonists first arrived, there were ten million Native Americans; over the next three centuries, over 90% of the entire population was wiped out due to the white man. The removal of Native Americans marks a humiliating period of United States history. President Andrew Jackson attempted to consolidate the Native Americans when he told them “‘circumstances render it impossible that [they could] flourish in the midst of a civilized community. [They] have but one remedy within [their] reach, and that is to remove to the west. And the sooner [they] do this, the sooner [they] will commence your career of improvement and prosperity.’” In contrast to Jackson’s justification for removal, historians such as Charles Hudson describe removal as a “‘gentle, almost antiseptic word for one of the harshest, most crudely opportunistic acts in American history.’” A number of American people were opposed to removal, the most notorious of which included newspaper editor Noh-Noh-He-Tsu-Nageh. Author Walter T. Durham seeks to illustrate the abdominal nature of Cherokee Removal in his article "Noh-Noh-He-Tsu-Nageh and the Cherokee Removal” through Noh-Noh-He-Tsu’s personal accounts and through the flaws of the various treaties signed with the Native Americans.

Would America be the same country if it was not for our founding fathers and their contribution? Throughout history, our nation has been shaped by people including, Patrick Henry, George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and many other key players who fought for our independence and left a legacy behind. Henry for instance, was one of the leading figures of the American Revolution. In his most famous speech, he effectively persuades his opponents and supporters of the revolution to unite and fight for independence by using rhetorical devices and appeals.

This depicts an instance where the new settlers and the Native Americans were not in alliance with one another, rather Native Americans were being taken advantage of by their

In this essay, I hope to convince the reader that Patrick Henry’s speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” given on March 23rd, 1775, at the third Virginia convention, held in St. John 's Church in Richmond, was the best argument to encourage American colonists to support the cause of independence from Britain. The main reason Patrick Henry’s speech was so effective was through his use of emotion and logic to convince colonists’ that they were dealing with the question of whether they are content with continuing to be slaves of England or if they truly desire the freedom that independence would provide them. Key points of his argument I will go into depth about include the British military presence in America surveying the colonists every move and intimidating them, the ways colonists had tried to reason and work with Britain in order to avoid having to declare independence, his assurance that the colonies already are strong enough to challenge their right to independence from England, and that preservation of liberty is worth fighting and dying to retain.

Thomas King’s The Inconvenient Indian tells the story of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States, it challenges the narrative on how Indigenous history is taught and explains why Indigenous people continue to feel frustrated. King’s seeks to educate the reader as he provides a detailed accounts of the horrific massacres Indigenous people endured, yet he simultaneously inserts humorous moments which balances out the depressing content and enhances his story. The books highlights the neglect and assimilation that Indigenous were subjected to and how their survival was seen as an inconvenience to western culture. King directs his message at a Euro-centric audience to offer an accurate explanation of Indigenous culture and

Chief Seattle describes,“The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of the pond, the smell of the wind itself cleansed by a mid-day rain, or scented with the piñon pine.” (Line 12-14) By using a combination of visual, auditory and olfactory imagery, Chief Seattle portraits a serene nature preferred by the Native Americans. In contrast, he argues that on the land exploited by the white men, “the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heart with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires.” (Line 27-29)

The President opened with a storytelling, a style that is known as "Begin in the middle." He used hypothetical people to create scenes - to lend authenticity to his claim of an improved economy - while not using hard statistical data to back it up. Staying in the real of persuasion, lending an air of accomplishment for things such as lowest unemployment rate in 5 years - but not explaining how unemployment is recorded. He used graphs to without actual numbers to show rising markets, lowering oil prices, etc... All to garner his and his administrations competency.

This book is about the removal of Native American’s in the 1830’s by the government. The Indian Removal Act was approved by Andrew Jackson, and was brutally forced onto all eastern native American tribes. The Indians were forced to move out west and away from the land where they were raised. Horrific times in U.S. but beautiful observations of nature and the Indians interesting rituals were made by Jahoda. Influential, disheartening, and terrible tale of the American Indian removal from east to west. Jahoda points out the senselessness of removing the Indians from their native land and portrays Jackson as being ruthless and greedy. Specifically, this book goes into detail of everything they were put through by the white men. Many Indians died due to the harsh conditions, starvation, diseases contracted from the white men, and the violence from fighting. The Red Eagle incident was bringing in the gradual manipulation and removal of the native tribes because the Indians weren't united: the removal and relocation was made easier because of this. The exile to their new lands were brought on with fighting and death with little remorse by the military. The false promises and deception; the fighting among tribes contributed to the extermination. There were so few American’s that were white that truly wanted to help

“My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain...There was a time when our people covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor, but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that are now but a mournful memory.,” Chief Seattle Speech of 1854. The culture of the Native American people has been deteriorating ever since the Europeans arrived in the Americas. The impactful and immense loss of lifestyle that they faced is one that can never be recovered, what the United States has given them are generations of trauma and blatant suffering. However, the U.S. did not stop there, a multitude of cultures have been broken to help keep America pure. For instance, one of the most significant cultures that have been dismantled by the U.S. other than the Natives and their music were the languages and music of the African slaves. The apparent likeness of these two cultures in the ways in which their deconstruction impacted them is in more of an abundance, such as the dominating influence of the Christian religion and the gravely vital role of maintaining what little heritage they could through language. In contrast to this, the two groups had an opposing difference pertaining to how the Natives and slaves tried to compensate the immense loss of their culture through the generations.

Talking Back to Civilization , edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, is a compilation of excerpts from speeches, articles, and texts written by various American Indian authors and scholars from the 1890s to the 1920s. As a whole, the pieces provide a rough testimony of the American Indian during a period when conflict over land and resources, cultural stereotypes, and national policies caused tensions between Native American Indians and Euro-American reformers. This paper will attempt to sum up the plight of the American Indian during this period in American history.

In Chief Seattle’s (Si'ahl) “Speech on the Signing of the Treaty of Port Elliot, 1855,” he addressed the U.S Government and pleaded for the fair treatment of his people and the respect of their native culture. Born in 1788, Chief Seattle was from the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes and inherited his position as Chief of the Duwamish from his maternal uncle. In his speech Chief Seattle expressed no ill intentions towards the white man for wanting to “buy their land,” although owning the earth was unknown idea to his people. He understands that the white man are many and his people are few and they are no longer are in need of such vast land. With this “purchase” they will also be protected from invading tribes from their new brother’s in arms, although he does struggled with the differences in their newfound God and how they will ever truly be brothers. If they did agree Chief Seattle had one condition. They never be denied the rights to visit the burial grounds of the ancestors, because every part of that soil was sacred. In terms, Chief Seattle valued the earth as a precious living being that shouldn’t be owned.

Chief Seattle said many inspiring quotes during his speech. But, "today it is fair tomorrow I may be overcast with clouds," was one of the quotes that stood out the most. I agree with Chief Seattle's words because people are not sure what the future can bring them. The future may bring surprising, sad and inspiring moments.