Chanrithya Nolan Ngim
Dr. Cole
AP Humanities
1/25/2021
Alfred M. Green Speech
In the era of the American Civil Wars, African Americans
were yet to be permitted to join or enlist in the Union Army; however, Alfred
M. Green felt otherwise. He delivered a speech that urged his fellow African
Americans to strive to be admitted to the ranks and prepare to enlist. In his
speech, Green skillfully persuade his fellow African Americans through
different means of rhetoric--some of which involved historical allusions and
appealing the audience’s emotional values and feelings of patriotism—to adhere
to a higher duty and fight for their nation again.
Towards the beginning of the speech, Green sought to appeal
to the audiences national and patriotic values. Employing pathos, Green spoke
about the nation which they felt strongly about. He wanted his audience to
remember …. By invoking the audience’s feelings of patriotism, they would feel
obligated to enlist and be willing to fight for their nation. This further gave
a sense of duty to African Americans; if they love their country, they should
be willing to put their life on the line for me.
Throughout his speech, Green also made several allusions to
the founding fathers of the United States and what they fought for. While Green
concedes and acknowledges the fact that the battle fought by their founding
fathers had failed to bring African Americans equal rights and recognition as
proper citizens, Green also points out that their duty is to not quibble and
“cavil” over the past; but to prove themselves and adhere to a higher duty.
With this, the audience again would feel compelled to prove themselves and
enlist in the army.
While appealing to his audience’s pathos and alluding to
historical references, Green gave his fellow African Americans a sense of
obligation to prove themselves and follow their duty as a patriot. During a
time where African Americans were viewed as lesser citizens, they would surely
feel the need to show they were more than just slaves and fight for what their
“fathers” tried to establish.
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