Junior English
Patrick Henry's Persuasiveness
The Speech of the Virginia Convention was written and delivered by Patrick Henry in March
23, 1775. It was one of the most important speeches in American history. Henry uses both logos
and pathos in his speech. At the beginning of his address, Henry appeals to logos to establish
himself as worthy when he opens up his speech with the words, No man thinks more highly I
do of the patriotism. Still, different men often see the same subject in other lines. By saying this, he
first clarifies that he is a patriotic man. He also goes on about how he does not mean any
disrespect as he speaks about his beliefs so freely. He wanted the colonists to feel sympathy and acknowledge them with plenty of facts. Henry mentions and states his logical
reasoning. The purpose of his speech was to convince men to fight against the British because of
all the things the British had done wrong; he also said that they have done nothing but put
down and make themselves superior to others. His speech is persuasive that Britain
isn't on their side and wants to conquer more power over people. Although pathos is included in
his remarks, logos are the most effective persuasive techni...