Raechel Jarrett

Mrs. Tatum

AP Language, 4th Period

17 December 2019

Rhetorical Analysis

As tensions grew between the White and African-American communities and with the

Civil War on the horizon, the Union was faced with a difficult decision on whether or not they

should allow African-Americans to serve in the war. However, Wendell Phillips, a white

abolitionist, strongly believed that they should be allowed in the military and decided to share his

opinions. In 1861, Phillips delivered a speech in order to achieve two goals: praise

Toussaint-Louverture, a former slave who worked to free slaves in Haiti, and convince White

Americans that African-Americans should serve in the war. Phillips’ speech was a success and

he was able to accomplish these goals through the use of historical allusions and anaphora.

Throughout his speech Phillips makes references to several well-known political figures

and countries as well. He compares Toussaint-Louverture to Oliver Cromwell and George

Washington: “I would call him Washington, but the great Virginian held slaves” (Phillips 27).

When Phillips makes this comparison he places Toussaint-Louverture on the same level as

Washington, by doing so he shows that Louverture is equally as important, heroic, and powerful

as George Washington. Phillips is also moving the audience by playing with their sense of pride

and patriotism, seeing as Washington was such an influential figure to Americans. However,

even Washington had faults like the fact that he owned slaves. Phillips brings this up to compare

the honorable work that Toussaint-Louverture did to free slaves with the fact that Washington
owned them. This allusion and comparison helps to highlight Louverture and downplay

Washington and Cromwell, making Toussaint-Louverture appear superior. Phillips also states a

long list of historical figures which include “Phocion for the Greek, and Brutus for the Roman,

Hampden for England” and the list goes on (Phillips 36-7). He then goes on to say that

Toussaint-Louverture will also go down in history as an important person. This allusion helps to

praise Louverture by comparing him to other influential people and build his credibility. This

also helps to further his argument on why African-Americans should be admitted into the

military, by showing that anybody can be successful and that race should not play a determining

factor in who can fight in the Civil War.

Another rhetorical strategy that is prevalent is anaphora which is used by Phillips to

emphasize the heroic acts accomplished by Toussaint-Louverture. For example in the second

paragraph, he starts line 16-20 with “at the” and follows the sentence with one of

Toussaint-Louverture’s accomplishments. Phillips states that “at the proudest blood in Europe,

the Spaniard, and sent him home conquered; at the most warlike blood in Europe, the French,

and put them under his feet (16-19). This form of listing and parallel structure helps to reiterate

and put a spotlight on the many things that the Haitian leader accomplished. It also demonstrates

how a simple “negro” could rise to the occasion and defeat powererful European countries.

Phillips use this logic and applies it to the Civil War as reasoning on why African-American

should be allowed in the Union Army.

During this time period filled with racial hostility, Wendell Phillips was able to deliver a

speech that made many White Americans reflect on why African-Americans should be allowed

in the military. His speech was successful because he was able to evoke this change in opinions
from the audience. Phillps’ usage of historical allusions and anaphora to praise

Toussaint-Louverture throughout his speech was powerful enough to influence the mindset of his

audience. His speech created a small, but impactful change in the sector of the abolitionist

movement that wanted to permit African-Americans to fight in the Civil War.