Syntax In Speech In The Virginia Convention

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Well-known orator and attorney, Patrick Henry, in his speech, “Speech in the Virginia Convention” (1775), asserts that Americans must fight for their independence against Britain. Henry’s purpose is to take a stand against the British government. He adopts an acrimonious tone in order to call influential Virginian landowners to action and persuade them to advocate the revolution. Henry appeals to emotions through the use of syntax in order to emphasize the British government’s refusal to acquiesce with the colonists’ requests. For instance, Henry begins his speech by asking if Great Britain has an “enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies” not to receive an answer, but to indicate that the

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