Download Speech

3
1
Speech in the
Virginia Convention
Critical Viewing
Answer: Some students may say that
the painting shows dramatic impact,
with the speech causing incredulous
characters to talk among themselves
or to rise in reaction. Other students
may classify those same depictions as
examples of inattention.
4
Literary Analysis
Speeches and Diction
PATRICK HENRY
• Ask students to identify both the
speaker’s purpose and his audience.
Then, in view of these, ask students
to discuss what diction they would
expect the speaker to use.
Answer: Henry is trying to
persuade listeners to fight for independence. His audience is made up
of Virginia statesmen. Henry’s diction would most likely be formal
and sophisticated.
Background
In this speech, delivered in 1775, Patrick Henry
publicly denounces the British king and urges the colonists to fight for
independence. Making such a declaration took tremendous bravery.
England was the world’s most powerful country at the time, and the odds
against the colonists were overwhelming. If the colonies had failed to win
independence, Henry could have been executed for treason.
4
Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just
addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in
different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining, as I do, opinions of a character
very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and
without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the
house is one of awful moment1 to this country. For my own part, I
consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery. And
in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom
of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth,
and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our
country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear
of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward
my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven,
5
which I revere above all earthly kings.
1. moment importance.
• Remind students that diction is a
writer’s (or speaker’s) choice of
words. A speaker’s word choice
often depends on his or her
subject, the occasion, and the
audience.
Literary Analysis
Speeches and Diction
Identify three phrases
from this section that
show Henry’s use of
sophisticated diction.
• Ask the Literary Analysis question:
Identify three phrases from this section that show Henry’s use of
sophisticated diction.
Possible responses: “No man
thinks more highly than I do . . . “;
“I shall speak forth my
sentiments . . . “; “ . . . in
proportion to the magnitude of the
subject ought to be the
freedom of the debate”
5
Reading Check
Answer: Henry disagrees with those
who spoke before him.
Does Henry agree or
disagree with those who
spoke before him?
Speech in the Virginia Convention � 203
Strategy for Special Needs Students
Have students work in pairs to read through
the speech, stopping at the end of each paragraph to review Henry’s oratory techniques.
Have students use the Two-column Chart in
Graphic Organizer Transparencies, p. 315. In
the left column, have theme for write the technique in each paragraph. In the left-hand
examples of each technique as they read.
Enrichment for Gifted/Talented Students
Challenge students to write a speech to be
delivered in the United States Congress on an
important contemporary issue. Suggest that
students write a persuasive speech that appeals
to both reason and emotion and deliver it to
the class in much the same way Patrick Henry
may have delivered his speech.
203
6
Literary Analysis
Speeches
• Remind students that asking a
rhetorical question is one technique
a speaker can use in a speech.
Rhetorical questions are questions
to which the answer is evident.
Because the answer is evident,
these questions are often used to
stir the emotions of listeners.
• Have a volunteer read aloud the
bracketed passage. Encourage students to think about how these
questions make them feel as they
listen to them.
• Then, ask students the Literary
Analysis question: What is the effect
of the five rhetorical questions in
this paragraph?
Answer: These questions counter
any possible argument from those
who still hesitate about going to
war. They also help to stir up the
indignation and frustration of the
listeners.
6
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of
hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to
the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.2 Is this the
part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?
Are we disposed to be of the number of those who having eyes see not,
and having ears hear not,3 the things which so nearly concern their
temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost,
I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and to provide
for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the
lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the
past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in
the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those
hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves
and the house? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has
been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet.
Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.4 Ask yourselves how
this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike
preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets
and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we
shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called
in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are
the implements of war and subjugation—the last arguments to which
kings resort.
I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose
be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the
world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir,
she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other.
They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the
British ministry have been so long forging.
And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir,
we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new
to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in
every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we
resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find
which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir,
deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be
done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned;
we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition5 to arrest
the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions
Vocabulary Builder
arduous (är« jØ ßs) adj.
difficult
Vocabulary Builder
insidious (in sid« è ßs) adj.
deceitful; treacherous
Vocabulary Builder
subjugation (sub« jß gà«
shßn) n. the act of
conquering
Literary Analysis
Speeches What is the
effect of the five
rhetorical questions
in this paragraph?
2. listen . . . beasts In Homer’s Odyssey, the enchantress Circe transforms men into
swine after charming them with her singing.
3. having eyes . . . hear not In Ezekiel 12:2, those “who have eyes to see, but see not,
who have ears to hear, but hear not” are addressed.
4. betrayed with a kiss In Luke 22:47–48, Jesus is betrayed with a kiss.
5. interposition intervention.
204 ■ A Nation Is Born (1750–1800)
The Year 1775
The year 1775 was a momentous one in
American history. It was on March 23 of 1775
that Patrick Henry rose to address the Virginia
Convention. The issue before the legislative
body was whether to arm the Virginia Militia in
order to be ready to fight Great Britain. Less
than a month after Henry’s speech, on April 19,
British troops marched to Lexington and
Concord in search of hidden colonial arms and
leaders. Before the year was over, the colonists
appointed George Washington as Commander204
in-Chief of the Continental Army. In Virginia,
the local militia forced the Royal Governor to
flee to the safety of a British warship off the
coast. By the end of the year, it was clear to
colonial leaders that there was no turning back.
Patrick Henry’s call for freedom or death had
become reality.
8
have been slighted; our
remonstrances have
produced additional violence and insult; our
supplications have been
disregarded; and we
have been spurned with
contempt from the foot
of the throne! In vain,
after these things, may
we indulge the fond6
hope of peace and
reconciliation. There is
no longer any room for
hope. If we wish to be
free, if we mean to
preserve inviolate those
inestimable privileges for
which we have been so
long contending, if we
mean not basely to
abandon the noble
struggle in which we
have been so long
engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until 7
Critical Viewing
What details in this
the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained—we must fight! I
political cartoon convey
repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts
the artist’s opinion?
is all that is left us!
[Analyze]
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? Shall we acquire the means of
effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the
delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand
and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means
which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of
people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as
that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy
can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone.
Vocabulary Builder
vigilant (vij« ß lßnt) adj.
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who
alert to danger
will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to
7
the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir,
7
Critical Viewing
Possible response: The depiction
of Britain with an “evil genius,” and
America with an olive branch are
two elements that reveal the artist’s
opinion.
8
Reading Strategy
Evaluating Persuasive Appeals
• Direct students’ attention to
Henry’s use of the words God and
destinies. Ask students to analyze
what Henry is saying here.
Possible response: Henry argues
that God, who is on the side of the
just, will favor their cause.
Monitor Progress: Have students evaluate Henry’s emotional
appeal. How well do students think
this appeal suits his audience and
occasion?
Possible response: Students may
say that listeners who foresaw the
establishment of a new nation
would have responded well to
Henry’s appeal.
9
Reading Check
Answer: The colonists have tried
organizing protests and petitioning
the king for justice.
9
What measures, short
of war, have the
colonists tried?
6. fond foolish.
7. The battle . . . alone “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Speech in the Virginia Convention ■ 205
Vocabulary for
Less Proficient Readers
Vocabulary for
English Learners
Enrichment for
Advanced Readers
Direct students’ attention to
the paragraph on page 204
that begins “I ask gentlemen .
. . .” Have the students work
in pairs to use context clues to
find out the meaning of martial and forging. Direct them to
use armies and navies and
implements of war to find the
meaning of martial, and to use
chains and rivet to find the
meaning of forging.
Have students use each of the
following vocabulary words in
a sentence: arduous, insidious,
subjugation, and vigilant.
Then, have students work in
pairs to write a paragraph
about the American colonies
in which they use each word.
Have students work in pairs to
write a speech in rebuttal to
Patrick Henry’s. Have students
do historical research to
develop point-by-point rebuttals and encourage them to
develop their own persuasive
appeals, which should include
appeals to emotion.
205
Answers
1. Students may say they would be
swayed by the power of Henry’s
rhetoric and logic. They should
refer to Henry’s powerful appeals
to patriotism and freedom.
2. (a) Henry says he thinks highly of
their patriotism and abilities.
(b) Henry wants to give the
impression that he has considered
their arguments.
3. (a) Henry says they have
“petitioned,” “remonstrated,”
“supplicated,” “prostrated,” and
“implored” the throne.
(b) The crown has shown it will
not compromise and is intent on
using force to gain submission.
4. (a) He wants the colonists to prepare for war. (b) He says that
delay will allow the British to
grow stronger.
5. (a) Students may say that Henry
was committed to independence.
In making that statement, in the
context of the times, he was
bringing a death sentence on himself if the colonists lost the war.
(b) Students may say it shows
Henry was a man of courage who
cared deeply about his country.
(c) Students’ responses should
show they understand the historical context of the speech.
6. Students should recognize that
many people with close emotional
ties to England likely supported
the Tories.
we have no election;8 if we were base enough to desire it, it is now too
late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission
and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanging may be heard on the
plains of Boston! The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir,
let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry,
“Peace, peace”—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The
next gale that sweeps from the north9 will bring to our ears the clash of
resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we
here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains
and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others
may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
8. election choice.
9. The next gale . . . north In Massachusetts, some colonists had already shown open
resistance to the British.
Critical Reading
1. Respond: If you had been in the audience, how would you have
responded to Henry’s speech? Why?
2. (a) Recall: What does Henry say about the previous speakers?
(b) Infer: What does he hope to accomplish by commenting on the
earlier speakers?
3. (a) Recall: What measures does Henry say the colonists have already
tried in their dealings with England? (b) Analyze: What examples
does Henry provide to support his position that compromise with the
British is not a workable solution?
4. (a) Infer: What course of action does Henry want the colonists
to take? (b) Draw Conclusions: What is Henry’s answer to the
objection that the colonists are not ready to fight against the British?
5. (a) Speculate: Do you think Henry was prepared to stand behind
his words when he exclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death”?
Why, or why not? (b) Deduce: What does his willingness to make
such an assertion reveal about his character? (c) Extend: If you had
been in his place, would you have made such an assertion? Why,
or why not?
6. Speculate: What types of people living in the colonies at the time of
Henry’s speech might have reacted negatively to his words? Why?
For additional information about Patrick
Henry, have students
type in the Web Code, then select H from
the alphabet, and then select Patrick
Henry.
10
For: More about Patrick Henry
Visit: www.PHSchool.com
Web Code: ere-9206
206 ■ A Nation Is Born (1750–1800)
About the Selection
Benjamin Franklin uses his years of
experience to urge his colleagues to
accept the Constitution. Franklin
admits that he does not entirely
approve of the newly framed
Constitution. He says that any legal
document created by committee will
have some inherent weaknesses
although the government will more
likely fail because of the people who
administer it than because of the
document that established it.
206
The Constitution
Following the American Revolution, the newly
independent states created their own constitution that gave most of the power to each
state’s elected legislative officials.
Congress was able to pass limited laws, but it
had no power to tax the states or to regulate
issues regarding trade and boundaries between
states. These problems and other weaknesses
inherent in the confederation resulted in the
states sending delegates to a Constitutional
Convention. This convention gave national
government more power.
During the debate over ratification, two
major sides emerged: the Federalists and antiFederalists. Anti-Federalists were worried that
the Constitution would give too much power
to the federal government. The Federalists
promised to add a Bill of Rights, which helped
win ratification.