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What terms shall we find, which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon, until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained-we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak-unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?

Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature has placed in our power. 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. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

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It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry Peace, peace "but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

To what land did Henry refer when in the second paragraph he spoke of treason to his country?

Does Henry offer sound arguments for immediate action? Had the injustice of the British government materially affected living conditions in America?

Does Henry anywhere appeal to the ambitions of his hearers or hold before them financial or material arguments for independence?

Discuss the persuasive value of Henry's offering to stand alone unto death, if need be, rather than submit. Refer to other instances in history or literature of similar emotional appeal.

Point out the many biblical phrases and comment on their persuasive value.

To what motives and emotions did Henry address his appeal? As compared with Otis, is his speech chiefly argumentative or persuasive?

Is the current popularity of this speech due chiefly to its literary value, to its historical associations, or to its appreciation of liberty?

WEBSTER'S FIRST BUNKER HILL ADDRESS

June 17, 1825

THERE came to the United States of America in 1815 a remarkable period of peace and prosperity. The War for Independence had been carried to a successful conclusion and the thirteen original states under enlarged Federal authority had been drawn into a well-organized union. Minor difficulties with France. or England had been removed through war or diplomacy. At this happy time, state after state was added to the Union. In territory, in population, in wealth, in education, unexampled progress was made. It was a period when undisturbed by rumors of war, for the anti-slavery contest had not yet become critical, Americans turned again at their leisure, as in the colonial days, to consider the fundamental principles of government and sought to shape anew their expanding political ideals.

It was fitting, therefore, that when a vast assemblage of Americans met at Bunker Hill on June 17, 1825, to lay the corner stone of a monument commemorating the heroic deeds of the men of 1776, that Daniel Webster, the orator of the day, should use the occasion to inspire his countrymen with the spirit of true patriotism. He reminded his hearers of the power of public opinion to make right supreme over might, and he urged them to emulate the example of their forefathers, that the young and growing nation—" the

last hope of mankind "—might have a beneficient effect on the progress of the world.

This oration is the finest example of commemorative address, ancient or modern, that the world has seen. It was not a speech, that in a dramatic crisis moved men to perform an act or make a decision that would turn the course of history to a new direction; but not on that account should its influence be belittled. It helped to shape American ideals. It formulated and made dynamic the first fifty years of American history, and recorded for all time some of the dearly-purchased principles of democracy.

It

The occasion in itself was most impressive. was a mild June morning. Rain the previous day had brought to trees and grass their brightest green. Overhead was a sky almost cloudless; and in the distance shimmered the blue harbor, the scene of the Boston Tea Party. The great audience was gathered on the very eminence where the Battle of Bunker Hill had been fought. At the left was marked the spot where Warren fell. On the platform beside Webster was Lafayette, most beloved among the distinguished foreigners who had come to America during the Revolution to serve in the cause of freedom. Nearby were forty survivors of the battle, some of them dressed in their old uniforms-men who were now aged and feeble.

When the orator arose to speak the vast assemblage was silent with reverent attention. Never was occasion more fit for a great commemorative address.

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