Political Rhetoric During the American Revolution
Political rhetoric has been used since the ancient times. It has been used by public speakers from everywhere and to spring their audience to action. A great public speaker or writer is determined by his or her choice of words. In American history there have been documents that have had a tremendous impact on public opinion. Political rhetoric is extremely important because it can bring a society together for one common cause. When someone uses rhetoric effectively the reader starts to have a stirring in their heart because they feel inspired by what is being said. This usually leads them to take action and support the cause their referring to which in this case was the American Revolution. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the VA Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence were documents that greatly shifted public opinion and led the colonists to support the revolution with their use of rhetoric. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was a political pamphlet written at the heels of the America Revolution that became extremely popular among the colonies. Thomas Paine was a Pennsylvania journalist during the time of the American Revolution. He began working on it in late 1775 and it was published in 1776. The rhetoric of this pamphlet along with its popularity greatly turned the tide in favor of rebelling against Great Britain. Paine wrote this pamphlet in a style that a common person could understand. The title itself contains rhetoric. By making the title Common Sense it implies that the contents of the pamphlet contain many common sense ideas that everyone reading it should understand. The wording of his pamphlet was very simple and contained many biblical references so it was also relatable to the colonists. It was extremely important that all colonists could understand the pamphlet because it would create a sense of unity and understanding among the rich and poor colonists. Paine’s main arguments were that it is foolish for such an island to rule
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