Jackson Harnett
P5
12/11/17
Rhetorical Analysis Final
Black People in America had been oppressed for since the dawn of the nation, and finally, the civil war breaks out, giving African Americans a possible chance to fight for their rights, and their freedom from slavery. Alfred M. Green’s speech in Philadelphia in 1861, He uses passionate tone, anaphora, and allusion, in order to argue that Black People during the civil war shouldn't hesitate to fight for their country because they were mistreated in the past, they should instead prepare to join the Union army and fight for their God-given rights, and for their right to be freed as slaves, and to be Citizens of the United States. He argues this in order to empower black people to stand up and join the military, and not settle, or be angry about the lack of rights and mistreatment that they currently have.
Green passionately argues that black people should still love their country, and join the civil war in order fight for their rights, even after years of mistreatment. He uses a passionate outspoken, and patriotic tone to really get the message across to the people of the time. He uses phrases such as “My country, right or wrong, I love thee still!” By being passionate and outspoken, as well as positive in a time of possible distress, people will feel more compelled to relate to what he is preaching. By being outspoken, and patriotic in his message, he helps to convince black people that they should really join the army and fight for their country. Green continuous to use this tone and motivational style in the rest of the speech. He states “Let us, then take up the sword, trusting in God, who will defend the right”, showing a metaphor intertwined with passionate tone. This phrase appears to be animated, and excited, as if green is very convinced of what he is saying himself, further instilling a positive thought in the listener's mind. This speech really comes across as persuading effectively, and it could be seen as a good motivator to black people to join the war, by using this tone he instills enthusiasm and motivation towards black people to fight for their rights. This tone influences the way that his message comes across, and it makes for a clearer as well as a more convincing message.
Another rhetorical strategy that Alfred Green uses to further his argument is allusion, or reference to something to help support a point. When Green is starting his speech he talks about the past, and he alludes to and mentions US history. He states “The brave deeds of our fathers… the immortal Washington of 1776 and by Jackson…1812… have failed to bring us into recognition as citizens” Green, while acknowledging the greatness of the founding fathers shows how they lack in helping with the rights of African Americans. This acknowledgment of how the founding fathers were great, ties into Green's message of patriotism, and how even though black people have been mistreated by America, they are still part of the country, and they should fight to make the country great for them. This sort of idea is necessary when convincing people to fight to the death for their country; In order for people to put their lives on the line, even if victory means freedom from slavery, the people fighting still need to be patriotic. With his rallying speaking style, and passionate tone, combined with an allusion to the founding fathers, and patriotic nature, Green’s message becomes clear, as well as effective. The strategies combined are enough to truly persuade many black people to forget about the past and join the Union army in order to fight for the future.
The last strategy used by green is anaphora, which he uses to strengthen his argument as well as to get more support. He repeats the phrase “let us/let not” throughout 6 consecutive phrases, showing a clear example of anaphora. This repetition of the beginning of each phrase is a way of asserting power over his audience, and by doing this he is showing that he is very clear of his message and what he firmly believes in what he is saying. By repeating “let us, let us, let us” It makes it so that the reader can latch on to what the author is saying in that moment, and the syntax of repeating this phrase is actually a good way to form a very convincing argument. While Green is repeating this phrase at the start of the sentences he is making his final claim as to why black people should stand up and fight in the civil war. He is giving everyone a push towards joining the army, and a push towards agreeing with his ideas by using this strategy of anaphora. This strategy and the tone that it is said in helps build Alfred Green's argument, and helps him better convince black people to join the Union army.
Overall, there Alfred Green uses passionate tone, allusion, and anaphora, in order to convince black people of his argument that they should not get hung up on what happened in the past, and instead work toward building a better future for themselves. He is convinced that by fighting in the Union army, black people can achieve this goal of a better future, free from slavery, and join the US as citizens.