1. Tyrannical Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: harsh; oppressive (think: like a tyrant)
Sentence: In the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, many colonists thought that the British government was extremely tyrannical.

2. The Road to Independence
Date

3. The French and Indian War
War between French and British
Colonists fought for British, Native Americans fought with France
The British won and received all land east of the Mississippi
The colonists were not allowed to settle in the land they helped to win - west of Appalachians were off-limits (Proclamation of 1763)
To avoid conflict with Native Americans
Colonists were taxed to pay the war cost

4. Sugar Act Lowered tax on imported molasses
Hurt the colonists’ sale of their own molasses

5. Stamp Act Took effect on November 1, 1765
Taxes for stamps that would be placed on paper products - anything from books, to wills, to playing cards
Made colonists very angry...
Repealed in 1766

8. Townsend Acts
Taxes on imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, tea, etc.
Most of these goods HAD to be imported (no production in the colonies)
This led to protests...

9. The Boston “Massacre”
Encounter between British troops and citizens of Boston
Colonists antagonized British soldiers
Snowball -> soldier -> fired -> 5 colonists dead
Propaganda

13. Tea Act
1773
Permitted the British East India Tea Company to sell their product at a lower price than the colonial tea companies
The colonists boycotted...refused to unload the tea from the ships
Led to the Boston Tea Party

14. Coercive/Intolerable Acts
Closed down state legislatures
Closed down Boston Harbor
The Quartering Act

15. So...why would any colonist NOT want to fight?
Remember, they were FROM Britain
Tradition of loyalty to the British crown
Family ties
Hope for a peaceful negtotiation

16. Patrick Henry’s Speech
This man’s goal was to PERSUADE colonists on the fence to FIGHT
Virginia Convention of 1775
He constructed a speech that used powerful rhetorical devices to convince his audience. How?

17. Using Argumentative Appeals *Write this down!*
Logos - Appeals to LOGIC
Appealing to rationality - this may include facts, statistics, logical reasoning, etc.
“We should go to war because the British are taxing us too much. It is bad for the economy.”

18. Argumentative Appeals, Continued…
Pathos - Appeals to EMOTION
Appealing to the audience’s feelings - in persuasive speeches, authors often evoke strong emotions like anger, fear, pride, hope, etc.
“We should go to war because we have to house and feed British soldiers – doesn’t that make you ANGRY?”

19. Argumentative Appeals, Continued…
Ethos - Appeals to ETHICS
Appealing to the audience’s sense of what is moral and right OR appealing to credibility…why can we TRUST that this is the right thing to do/believe?
“We should go to war because we need to fight for the principles of liberty and justice!”

20. Let’s Practice... Logos (LOGIC) Ethos (ETHICS/ CREDIBILITY)
Pathos (EMOTION)

21. Persuasive Techniques
Elevated Language
Formal words and phrases can lend a serious tone to discussion, when appropriate.
Rhetorical Questions
These are questions that don’t require answers. Writers pose these questions to show that their arguments make the answers obvious.
Repetition
Repeating a point tells the audience that it is especially important; repeating a form of expression (parallelism) tells the audience that the ideas expressed in the same way are related.

22. Let’s Practice