American Literature

Journal 6 Watch video clip of The Patriot. Write down 2 rhetorical devices you hear OR list 3 points Benjamin makes to support NOT going to war. http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-patriot/i-will-not-fight

Learning Targets CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

Learning Targets CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

Unit 1 How are writers influenced by the social, political, and philosophical ideas of their time? What are the effects of persuasive techniques used in writing?

The Revolutionary Period: Historical Background

The Age of Reason The eighteenth century is often characterized as the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. The writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment valued reason over faith.

The Age of Reason Unlike the Puritans, they had little interest in the after life, believing instead in the power of reason and science to further human progress. A perfect society to them seemed to be more than just an idle dream. The American statesmen of the Revolutionary period, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson, were themselves figures of the Age of Reason. They not only expressed the ideas of the Age of Reason, but also helped put them into practice.

Toward a Clash of Arms THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1763 – French and Indian War ends 1765 – The Stamp Act 1767 – The Townshend Acts 1770 – The Boston Massacre The Boston Tea Party The Coercive Acts (a.k.a. Intolerable Acts) 1774 – First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia (war is set)

Toward a Clash of Arms On April 19, 1775, 700 British troops met 70 colonial minutemen. Shots were fired at Lexington, and later at Concord. The first shot is referred to as “the shot heard round the world.” The American Revolution had begun.

Toward a Clash of Arms The war lasted 6 years. On October 19, 1781 the British troops finally surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia.

The Birth of a Nation The path to self-government was not exactly smooth. After the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation established a “league of friendship” among the new states. This did not work too well….

The Birth of a Nation The Constitution replaced the Articles, and was also ratified after a long fight. Even then, the Bill of Rights has to be added to appease those who feared centralized power.

Literary Terms For Unit 1 Oratory- speech given aloud Aphorism- a general truth or observation about life Oxymoron- a figure of speech with two opposing ideas

Parallelism- Repetition in grammatical structure

AT THE END OF THE WEEK Analyze the rhetorical devices used and the claims made by Patrick Henry in his Speech at the Virginia Convention, Mel Gibson in The Patriot, and those within Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Using specific references to the texts and documenting their supports, you will choose two texts and discuss which would have had a greater effect on colonists’ perspective of the burgeoning country, had all the people been exposed to both writings.

Take Out A Sheet of Paper & Copy Text Pg. & Para. Quote Rhetorical Device Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention

Patrick Henry Bio page 99 Speech pg 100 Take Notes Where I Stop You & Look For Persuasive Techniques

Performance Tasks Patrick Henry’s Speech in The Virginia Convention Recall: What are some reasons Henry gives for being willing to risk his own life for liberty? Evaluate: Discuss if this speech would have been effective if given in the middle of a town square instead of to politicians. What could have been added or eliminated at the time to make it appeal more? Synthesize/Evaluate: (Performance Task): Imagine if America was being attacked by another country in an effort to colonize it. Write a speech using Patrick Henry’s rhetorical devices that convinces Americans to enlist in the army and be willing to die for their country.