Compare and Contrast Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry Speeches

Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry were two of the most influential Americans in our history. With the help of them, America was successfully able to break away from Britain and create the great country we have today. They both made a speech that helped spark the American Revolution. There are many similarities and differences between the two great speeches. In this paper, I will compare and contrast three aspects of the two speeches. The three aspects are the use and reference of God in both of their speeches, the same and different rhetorical strategies both individuals used, and how they claim support to the war.

Henry and Paine both reference God to help successfully deliver their message in their speeches. Henry and Paine both state that God is on their side in the war. They are saying God wants them to be independent. Henry shows this by saying "Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations" (Henry 4). Henry is telling the people that God will protect them and be on their side. Paine uses God in a similar way by stating the following: "I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction" (Paine 3). Although they both reference God in their speeches, Henry relies more heavily on God. He makes more statements about God such as: "Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us." Henry is justifying the uprising. He is calling it "the holy cause of liberty" (Henry 4).

Paine and Henry both use rhetorical strategies to get across their points. They both use pathos to their advantage. Paine and Henry use emotionally loaded words to help spark fire in the readers hearts. They want to inspire Americans to fight and beat the British. Henry sparks the Americans by saying: "The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave" (Henry 4). Paine ridicules and mocks the British by stating: "....but should the Tories give him encouragement to come, or assistance if he come, I as sincerely wish that our next year's arms may expel them from the continent"(Paine 10). They also each use their own strategies to their advantage. Henry relies on ethos to help support his argument. He uses his own experience to back up his claim. He starts his speech off by telling the president that he supports the men in the white house, but that he respectfully disagrees with them. He agrees that a subject can be looked at in many different ways. This instantly helps build credibility for Henry, because it makes his seem as a reasonable person.