Reflection: Patrick Henry's speech exemplifies the Rationalism

Patrick Henry's speech does a good job of displaying the Rationalism writing style. It is very different from the Puritan writing style. Thomas Marshall thought that his speech was very bold and was one of the most animated speeches ever delivered (Wilhelm 114). It must have taken a lot of guts and feelings to give a speech as good as the speech he gave.

According to Boucquey, rationalism was born from Enlightenment. Enlightenment originated in the 18th century. Rationalism was the idea that formed the basis of Enlightenment (Boucquey). Rationalism led to a lot of great works because it showed creativity and it was skeptical of the things people believed in at that time.

By standing up to the people, Patrick Henry showed that he fit in with the rationalism period. He was very skeptical and unwilling to compromise his high ethical standards (Wilhem 114). He seemed like a smart, stubborn man with very high standards for himself and for his country.

After the parliament passed a lot of new taxes on the people. Thousands of British people went to protest. Patrick Henry led the growing opposition of this (Wilhem 115). The speech gave Patrick Henry a new reputation. After he gave that forceful speech, he became a forceful proponent of liberty.

Patrick Henry wants to go to war. He feels very strong about the subject. He does not think they should raise the taxes. Giving this speech was hopefully going to be his moment of glory and the start of the war. He already had everyone's attention with the interesting subject. Everyone wanted to hear his opinion and get all the facts together. With a great introduction, he kept their attention and even attracted some other's who were not interested I am sure. He gave a very rational speech. Even though it was a rational speech, he occasionally used an emotional appeal. He also gave a lot of information and ideas. After he gave an idea, he backed it up. This is very different from Puritan writing. In Puritan writing, they just said God had everything in control. God does this, God made that a certain way. During the rationalism period, the people tended to find a logical reason for something. That is what Patrick Henry did. He gave a reason why they should go to war, and then he backed it up with facts. He rationalized his speech, and I think that worked out for the best. The phrase which is known today, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Was a great way to end his speech. It was very powerful. Even though it was a bit of a hyperbole, it still got the point across. Hyperboles are very popular and an awesome tool to use to persuade someone. His speech had a lot of nice techniques that were used to help get his point across in a great manner.

He did do something that was some what dangerous, though. He called the government "tyrants" (Wilhem 117). Calling the government a bad name can knock people off board. If they were just considering it, they would have probably stopped listening after he insulted something that they still believed in. It was a poor move on that part.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "rationalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GEWWII0240&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 22, 2011).