In Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” he uses the rhetorical devices rhetorical question and restatement  to inspire the American colonists to take action in their fight for freedom. Rhetorical questions make Patrick Henry’s speech more effective and they get the point across. In Henry’s speech, he uses rhetorical question to instill fear on the colonists: “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 next week, or 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 back, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?” (Henry) In this quote, Henry is appealing to pathos because he is instilling fear upon the colonists and telling them that they are weak. This accomplishes his goal of convincing these people to go to war, because he is saying that it is the perfect time to go and that they cannot wait until the British are stationed in colonists’ homes to go to war. Using rhetorical questions in this quote accomplishes Patrick Henry’s goal of convincing the colonists to go to war. Another rhetorical question in Patrick Henry’s speech talks about being fooled by the British: “I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, it its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of natives and armies? No, sir, she has none. (Henry) In this quote, Patrick Henry is advising the colonists to not be fooled by the friendly behavior of the British, because they will betray them and make the colonists prisoners. He is asking the colonists why the British would be in their region of the world on battleships, because Britain does not have an enemy in that region. He is telling them the only reason the British are there is to capture them and make them slaves. This appeals to the colonists logos because it focuses on the logical aspect of this idea. Patrick Henry uses rhetorical questions to make his claims more clear and to further explain them.

Patrick Henry also uses the rhetorical device, restatement, to make his speech more effective. In Henry’s speech, he often used terms such as “chains and shackles” to represent the colonists being brought into slavery if they do not act to save their freedom. “Our chains are forged.” (Henry) Using restatement makes Henry’s speech more effective because the more you hear something the more you have to think about it. This appeals to the colonists pathos because it is inspiring them to take charge before it gets to where they are in submission. Another quote symbolizing slavery is about the passion Patrick Henry has about ending slavery: “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!” (Henry) This shows that Britain does not care about them as people, but just as slaves. The last line of the quote is saying that Patrick Henry is so passionate about ending slavery, that he would rather die than be a slave for the British. This is applying to the colonists pathos because it applies to their passion and how they feel. Patrick Henry uses rhetorical questions to make his claims more clear and to further explain them.