Revolutionary Literature Review

Mr. FeracoAmerican Literature14 November 2007

Quick Capsule Review The quiz will be tomorrow, and will be worth

approximately 30 points A mix of short answer, fill-in, and multiple-choice Material from PowerPoints Material from actual selections – quotes, names, etc. No notes on this one! Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Virginia Convention Thomas Paine’s Crisis, No. 1 Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence

We Already “Previewed” Henry Let’s return to our study of Patrick Henry

before we move on to the other authors The Speech Itself

The main point is that the colonies have run out of time to “negotiate” with Britain

Militias must be organized before the Empire can strip them of their military prowess.

At the time, many feared that the formation of militias would simply irritate Britain, and encourage them to retaliate against the colonies with military force

Más Henry!

Some features of the Speech Urgency Militia Disregards “Provocation” Argument Using Either/Or Fallacy for Effect Image-Heavy Filled with Allusions

Más Henry! Notice the way he introduces his

opponent’s argument – then refutes it What sort of appeal is he using throughout

the piece – ethos, pathos, or logos? What rhetorical device does he use to close

the speech? When a persuasive speech or essay features a

particularly memorable conclusion, we call that conclusion a peroration

When you write your persuasive speeches, remember to go for the glory!

OK, We’re Done With Henry! Next up on the docket is Thomas Paine and

his “Crisis No. 1” Henry and Paine deal with similar subjects –

the need to stand up to Britain before the colonies are crushed – in different ways After all, Henry was speaking to a convention;

Paine was stationed with Washington’s troops As a result, it’s nice to be able to compare

the two, as well as compare those works to the Declaration

Paine!...Without Love Paine had something of a rough life

Born in England, but poorly educated Drifted through life until the age of 37 Was fired from his tax-collection job for trying to

“organize” (form a union) his fellow workers, and came to America seeking a new life

Immediately became one of the great American patriots

“Common Sense” ended up in the hands of about a fourth of the American population

Paine!...Can’t Get Enough Unfortunately, Paine went back to Europe in

1787 He was tried for treason in absentia in England in

1791 for publishing “The Rights of Man.” Paine was safe because he was living/hiding in

France…until the French arrested him for being “a citizen of an enemy nation”

James Monroe made a deal for his release, and he returned to America…which was a curse disguised as a blessing, really

We’d Rather Feel PAINE!!! His final work, “The Age of Reason,”

convinced Americans that he was an atheist (he wasn’t) As a result, he lost all of his money, was stripped

of his right to vote, and was shunned or harassed for the rest of his life

The harassment continued into death, when he was denied burial in consecrated ground in 1809

After being buried on his farm, someone dug up his body and stole it

A furniture dealer in England bought his coffin and bones in 1844

No one has heard of him since

Uh… Although Paine’s existence was

somewhat miserable, his writings were incredibly influential

Part of this is due to his inflammatory writing style – he accuses Britain of intending to enslave the colonies, and labels those who don’t want to fight as enemy sympathizers Colonists who openly sympathized with

the British were called “Tories”

About That Piece Like Henry, Paine advocates the

formation of a militia A militia was merely a group of citizens

who organized to combat something when faced with an emergency

A standing army, on the other hand, is just that – a permanent military force

He does so in a slightly less emotionally charged way than Henry He’s also fond of parallelism

Homework Questions! #2: Paine mentions the “summer soldier”

and “sunshine patriot.” He uses these images because the summer soldier isn’t brave enough to keep fighting when the going gets tough (i.e., winter), and the sunshine patriot will turn on you when faced with strong opposition (i.e., in stormy weather) Basically, if everything’s pleasant, these guys

are the loudest, bravest folks around When the chips are down, however, they’re

nowhere to be found

Homework Questions!

#3: “Mutual fear is the principal link in the chain of mutual love.” What does that even mean?

Well, namely that people will stand together if they’re seeking protection from an external threat In other words, self-preservation and

self-interest is the best reason to stay united as a whole

Homework Questions! #4: The “thief analogy” exists so Paine’s readers can

see “Britain” in a different light. The empire may seem monolithic or intimidating – or

perhaps his readers don’t see the Empire’s actions as egregious or criminal

By comparing the fight against Britain to the fight against a thief, Paine is underscoring the two parties’ mutual danger – namely, that they both overstep their legal right to act in such a manner, and that both pose a threat to one’s home, even if that home is a country whose independence has not yet been established An opponent may point out that the rule of law is on

Britain’s side, and not on that of the “rebellious” colonists (since, by definition, people rebel against something - control or rules)

Reading Check! A. Paine believes God will favor the

colonists because they make no claim to God’s authority (we only want “peace”), whereas King George claims Godlike authority over the lands of the British Empire (and abuses that authority).

B. The anecdote about the Tory tavern keeper highlights a simple truth: Maintaining allegiance to Britain out of fear is not only short-sighted, but merely delays the inevitable conflict Paine does a good job of using pathos here

Reading Check! C. As mentioned earlier, Paine accuses Britain of

harboring the long-term goal of enslaving the colonies. He also mentions ruined countryside, cities without people, and German mercenaries swooping in to attack the colonists’ families. (More pathos!)

D. The main idea of the Crisis is that it’s too late to back down now – the die has been cast, the hands have been dealt, and war is coming. The colonies can choose either to lay down in the face of opposition and suffer the consequences, or stand their ground and fight the tyrannical British Empire. In order to stand firm, the colonies must be united behind that common purpose! Details include: Independence is inevitable; we’re

facing external (British/Germans) and internal threats (Native Americans); God is on our side

The Declaration! Like Henry and Paine, Thomas Jefferson

uses a number of rhetorical devices to great effect in his writing For example, the Declaration of Independence is

a study in parallelism Jefferson skillfully combines parallelism with

pathos (particularly on page 119) to create a document that withstands the test of time.

However, the Continental Congress redacted a substantial portion of the document in order to make it softer – as I’m sure you noticed while reading the underlined portions

Homework Questions! #2 is about the underlined portions of the Declaration of

Independence, and how certain portions of the removed material indicate that the Continental Congress wasn’t ready to completely sever ties with Britain. Lines regarding the colonies’ submission to the English

Parliament were deleted (page 122) The line “renounce forever these unfeeling brethren” (page

123) was cut A reference to the “people” of Great Britain on page 123 was

also scrubbed The Congress was reluctant to cut ties with the Empire

because many of the colonists still felt at least some connection to it, or had family members still living overseas Also, the colonies’ entire existence had been preserved by

close economic, political, and military ties to Britain It wasn’t easy to throw these away

Homework Questions! #3 also refers to the deleted material; in

this case, it’s trying to see if you can tell the difference between a politically motivated edit and a “pure” edit There are a number of “pure” edits, including

“begun at a distinguished period” and “and continually” on pg. 118

There are also a number of “political” edits; for example, “expunge” was softened to “alter” on pg. 118, and a reference to slavery was cut

Reading Check! A. The main idea of the Declaration is

pretty simple: Britain’s turned evil, and we won’t take it anymore. Time for independence and war!

B. Jefferson believes the following truths are self-evident: All men are created equal We have inalienable rights Governments gain power by the consent of the

governed, rather than the other way around The governed have the right to alter or to

abolish their government

Reading Check! C. According to Jefferson, the King hasn’t

agreed to make necessary changes to laws, nor has he agreed to make new ones that will benefit the colonists. Jefferson also accuses the King of harassing and breaking up legislative bodies that could protect the colonies; of preventing the new states from being properly settled; of coercing judges into corrupt rulings; of robbing our coasts and destroying coastal settlements; capturing and “coercing” Americans who were captured on the open seas; and inciting slaves and Native Americans to rebel against the colonists

Reading Check!

D. The independent countries have the power to levy war, the power to conclude peace, the power to form alliances, and the power to establish free commerce.

That Just About Does It for the Review!

I would re-read the pieces, if I were you Hint, hint

The pages you should review are 100-104 (Henry), 106-111 (Paine), and 114-123 (Jefferson) The Jefferson selection isn’t actually

much longer than the others – its pages are usually short or filled with pictures

When Re-Reading the Texts When you re-read these pieces tonight, remember to

run the “persuasion check” on each The persuasion check consists of the following

questions: What is the thesis or purpose of the piece? How does the author go about “defining” key terms? What assumptions does the author use as

foundations for his/her argument? What reasons or evidence does the author use to

support his/her argument? What sort of appeal (L/E/P) is being used? How is the

author trying to win over the audience? How would you describe the tone/style of the piece? Is the author a legitimate or believable authority on

the topic at hand?

Final Straw

If you can answer each of those questions for the pieces, you probably understand them well enough to do well tomorrow!

Study your PowerPoints Re-read your selections E-mail me if you have questions