Perkins 1

Christopher Perkins

Mrs. Crandall

AP Lang, Block 2

18 December 2019

How Rhetoric Transformed Toussaint’s Story

In his speech, Wendell Philips brings recognition to the life of Hatian general/leader

Toussaint-Louverture. Philips praises Toussaint’s achievements and effectively persuades his

audience to praise the as well through his usage of parallel structure when discussing

hypothetical situations and his optimistic tone.

Philips uses the parallel structure of hypothetical statements to first introduce his

audience to Toussaint. He first theorizes topics he could be making his speech on--“the story of

Napoleon” and “the story of Washington”-- but eventually settles on making his speech about

Toussaint-Louverture, “a negro who has left hardly one written line”’ (1, 4-5, 8-9). Philips puts

Toussaint’s story next to the stories of widely known and appreciated leaders, Napoleon and

Washington, to convince his audience that Toussaint’s story is of equal, if not greater, merit than

Napoleon and Washington’s; placing Toussaint next to great leaders causes the audience to draw

the conclusion that he must be a great leader himself. This strategy convinces the audience to

side with Philips before he has even provided any substantial evidence. Two paragraphs later

Philips employs the same strategy: “I would call him Cromwell...I would call him Washington,”

(27-30). Inn this statement, Philips makes a direct comparison between Toussaint and other

historical figures, opposed to the implied comparison he gave previously. Philips exposes the

Perkins 2
faults of Cromwell and Washington when explaining why he does not call Toussaint

“Washington” or “Cromwell,'' giving the impression that Toussaint had no faults.

Philips concludes his speech with accusations against the audience followed by a sense of

optimism. He claims that the audience has been “read[ing] history, not with [their] eyes, but

with [their] prejudices,” (33-34). Philips’ assumption that his audience has prejudices is

presented in a way similar to an accusation, but, in the following sentence, he gives an optimistic

tone, stating, “but fifty years hence, when truth gets a hearing,” (35). Philips’ optimistic tone

alludes to the audience having the choice to change their perception of others, persuading the

audienceto see toussaint as not just a “negro”, which was the prejudice at the time, but another

Washington, a true hero.

Philips’ incorporation of repetitive, hypothetical thoughts with his optimistic tone

transforms Tousssaint’s story into a story more familiar to the audience and results in his

audience praising Toussaint’s story as well.