Alfred M. Green Speech Analysis

In Green’s speech to Philadelphia in 1861, he uses a fervent tone and appeals to the patriotism of his audience to develop his argument for allowing African American men to join theUnion forces.Green initiates his speech with a fervent tone, one in which he speaks to the patriotism of his Philadelphian audience. His mention of the words “bravery and patriotism” along with the phrase “whose hearts burn in the love of a country of freedom, and of civil and religious toleration” appeals to the core values of American society. He addresses the common principles which the American people cherish, creating a solid framework from which the rest of his argument flows. He captilazies on the zeal he has created by exclaiming “My country, right or wrong, I love thee still!” emphasizing his unconditional allegiance to his country. The use of “thee” highlights the intimate connection Green feels to the U.S, as “thee” carries an informal or familiar connotation to it. It creates the impression that Green is not speaking to an enormous landmass of millions of people, but rather, an entity with whom he has a close relationship.In addition to his patriotic tone, Green is able to appeal to the Philadelphians’ sentiments in a variety of ways, such as highlighting the logical benefits of allowing black men to serve in the Union forces and juxtaposing the current brutal reality of the lives which African Americans lead agsinst the vast improvement which service in the forces will provide. In the middle of his speech, he points out the hardwork and goals of the founding fathers, and follows up on this by 

saying “let not the honor and glory achieved by our fathers be blasted or sullied by a want of true heroism among their sons”. By laying forth the intentions of the founding fathers - the men that the American people hold in a high regard - Green is able to logically conclude what must be done in order to follow their wishes. By illuminating the honor and glory which the founding fathers have achieved, he establishes the two qualities as being central to the growth and success of America. When he follows this up by stating “be blasted or sullied by a want of true heroism among their sons”, it shifts the focus to the new defenders of the nation, the young men of his generation. Similar to how many young men were needed to fight in the Revolutionary War to gain America’s independence from Brittain, a battle which the founding fathers led, Green urges that the Union forces do not neglect all the young black men who seek to defend their nation. He supplements this by appealing to his audience’s emotions the other set of benefits which letting black men serve in the Union Forces would offer: inspiration for the young enslaved black men of the South. He exclaims “Remember, too, that your very prescence among the troops of the North would inspire your oppresed brethen of the South with zeal for the overthrow of the tyrant system, and confidence in the armies of living God - the God of truth, justice and equality to all men”. Green appeals to the human side of his audience, the part which extends beyond their rigid prejudices and believes. He address the horrible condition of black people in the South, naming it a “tyrant system”. This is especially sure to arouse the sentiments of his audience as much of America’s early struggles were freeing itself from Brittain’s tyranny, so seeing the same conflict reappearing but being caused by members of their own nation would be truly heartbreaking. He then juxtaposes this sorrow by higlighting the postive effects of allowing young black men to serve in the Union forces, how it would inspire the oppresed black people of the South and encourage them to actively particpate in the battle for their liberation. By ending his statement with an appeal to God and the core values of America, it delivers the message that Green’s cause is just, and that they are acting in both the 

best interests of the divine and their nation, creating a strong sense of solidarity within his audience.Another set of effective strategies Green uses in his speech can be observed in the syntax of his argument. A common syntactical pattern of his argument which is prominent in the second half is his repeated use of commas and semicolons in creating extended sentences. For instance when he says “Let us, then, take up the sword, trusting in God, who will defend the right, remembering that these are other days than those of yore;” he strings together many ideas in one sentences while establishing a steady rhythym which keeps the audience engaged. In the following sentences he repeated this process, making increased use of semicolons to transition from one idea to the next in his sentence. This is done because the audience will typically perceive sentences as distinct ideas, but by stringing multiple “sentences” together as one by using semicolons, he is able to connect all of his ideas and highlight their interrelated nature. He  also makes use of parallel sentence structure when he says “Let us drive back the advance guard of civil and religious freedom; let us have more slave terriotory; let us build stronger [...]”. The repetitive use of “let us” and his shift to each of his proposed goals for America allows the audience to follow each of them easily, and develops a sense of purpose and a call for action which channels the patriotism of his audience.