Thomas Paine's Speech

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

Since this great country was first established many intuitive minds have tried to answer the question; "What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American.

In the work of Thomas Paine, "Common Sense" Paine mentions throughout of the working for a positive government with the idea of equality. Thomas Paine writes different excerpt that give theories and idea with the goal of implementing those ideas into a government that may be just and fair. Paine reflects on the English constitution specifically the crown. Paine also provide an insight to having a higher power to run a government. Paine also criticizes the idea of monarchy and hereditary succession. Complications would ultimately arise through his ideas and theories due to the differences in religions.

From the Crisis No.1 written by Thomas Paine and the Speech at the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry were two major sources during the time of the Revolutionary War. Both speeches were persuasive and moving for the colonist. The common purpose of the revolutionary speeches during that time was to persuade the common people to become fully independent from tyranny. Even though the common purpose for both speeches was to separate from Great Britain, they both used different methods or strategies in their speeches like the tone, and how they appealed to the situation.

Thomas Paine was born to Joseph Paine and Francis Cocke Paine in January, 1737. Paine’s father was Quaker, and his mother was Anglican. The religious controversies haunted Paine throughout his life. His personal life ended in divorce and destitution. After barely avoiding debtor’s prison in 1774, a mutual friend introduced Paine to Benjamin. This introduction would change the course of Paine’s life. Franklin was immediately impressed with Paine and wrote a letter of introduction for him. Paine suffered physical illness on his journey that very nearly killed him, but he managed to survive the trip and arrived in Philadelphia September of 1774.

In the years leading up to the revolutionary war, there was much conflict over the rights and wrongs of the British Empire towards the colonists. There were a few important factors and a few more minor factors that influenced patriots’ decisions to turn against their homeland and beloved monarch back in England. Thomas Paine’s childhood in England left a strong impact on him and influenced his mindset when he turned against the British. The unfairness of political and societal norms made him desire a new society that disregards social classes and allows more people to vote. Again, much of his decision to turn patriot, and his writings convincing most others to turn patriot was caused by life circumstances of being on the bottom rung of society and suffering the injustices of the government towards the common folk.

Thomas Paine’s makes the most interesting argument for separation of the colonies from England when he wrote, “Can ye give to prostitution its former innocence? Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America” (Paine 997). At first, I thought Paine was merely asking a rhetorical question and using the answer to illustrate the impossibility of reconciliation between America and Great Britain. However, after more thought, I found this most interesting because I thought that it best describes the nature of the relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies seeing as Great Britain was essentially pimping out the American colonies. Analogous to the reasons in favor of reconciliation between America and Great Britain being based on fear,

America today is not a happy utopia of agreement and friendship. Thomas Paine's 1791 description of America no longer proves to be true, if it ever even was true. In 2016, America has large political tensions, unfair distribution of wealth, and unjust laws can cause violent riots.

¨Give me Liberty or give me death!¨ Patrick Henry demanded in the Speech of the Virginia Convention. Henry and Thomas Jefferson both important figures in getting Americans to move forward and take a stand against Great Britain, presented an important speech and moving document. Both talk about how they had petitioned for freedom of the king, how the king had sent troops over and how he constantly made them feel weakened.

What does it mean to be an American? In today's day and age, the general perception of an American is to be free, free to practice any religion, free to speak your mind, free in general. However, America has only been able to be perceived as a promised land due to the obstacles and barriers that have been challenged by early Americans. From having to accept others religious beliefs to the abolishment of slavery. A good example is J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer (1782). Letters from an American Farmer is a collection of twelve letters written from the perspective of a fictional character. These letters do a magnificent job at emphasizing on how America is similar to the environment and the people who feed

In 1776, many colonists had very different viewpoints on whether or not the colonies should, in fact, disassociate themselves from Great Britain to become their own independent nation. The Pamphlet, Common Sense, written by philosopher Thomas Paine in 1776, provided the insight that would soon play out to be a major role in the beginning of the American Revolution. Thomas Paine helped many of the colonists envision a future of control, unity, and self-reliance. He portrayed the colonists to be victims of Great Britain, the land in which most of the original colonists settled away from, and encouraged them to begin the war in which they would fight for their liberty. Common Sense caught on so swiftly that almost everyone who could read at the time already had, and even those that could not read began visiting specific gatherings so that the pamphlet could be read to them. The main focus of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet was to not only educate the common people of the affairs occurring between Great Britain and the colonies, but also to briefly elaborate the vital situation that most had been oblivious to. The colonies had to withdraw from under Great Britain 's monarchy.

“In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense…” (Paine, 455), the opening line of a book which changed a nation. The renowned American author Thomas Paine writes this straightforward sentence with one task in mind, persuade the American people to declare independence from Britain. Discussing the controversy between the separation of England and the newly formed America 's, the author conveys that America must not only isolate herself from England, but America must also reject a monarchical government. Emphasizing that “Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honor,” (Paine, 456), Paine stresses the urgency of the topic, that what is written must come to pass in the near

less than a month before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Patrick Henry addressed the

Once the United States declared independence from Britain in 1776, they immediately started to create a government. Tomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was the first ever pamphlet to advocate American independence. It started many ideas that began the Revolution. In 1777, Congress submitted the Articles of Confederation which is the nation’s first constitution even though it was ratified a few years later. Congress could not handle the country’s economic affairs under the Articles because most state currencies were useless due to the wartime inflations. They even tried to print and use their own Continental dollars so they could keep the economy alive but that had also failed.

“FREEDOM should not be highly rated”~ Thomas Paine. This quote is about freedom is very important. Thomas is being truthful to his audience because he wants them to know how much freedom is actually important. Patrick Henry both did a great job but thomas was more descriptive than patricks speech. This quote changes the people because hes telling them that freedom is important and it is. He wants the audience to know how important it is that people can be free. Thomas used logos reason being is that freedom for a fact is important if you wernt free then you cant do things