Engaging with American Democracy » August 26th: Attention on the Second Continental Congress

August 26th: Attention on the Second Continental Congress

Announcements

  • Charlotte Debate Team and Speech Team
    • Charlotte Speech & Debate Interest Meeting
      Wednesday, 8/27, 5:300pm-6:30pm
      Room: Colvard 5090
    • Debate Practices for Fall 2025: TBA
    • First Tournament is Online
      Friday, September 26th, and Saturday, September 27
    • More than a month to practice!
  • Italian-American Association Interest Meeting
  • American Studies Minor
  • Thursday’s (8/28) reading is longer than the previous readings
    J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur. “What is an American?”

Please check out the Debate team. We’re relatively new but have grown out of the long-standing Charlotte Speech Team: Instagram and NinerEngage.
Charlotte Debate Team: Instagram

Benefits of joining include…

  • Expressing ideas thoughtfully
  • Learning to think about perspectives
  • The pinnacle of intellectual engagement
  • Continuing a 2500-year tradition of Western Civilization

Plan for the Day

More on Rhetoric

As mentioned last class, rhetoric is often associated with lying, deception, and political speech, but, time permitting, let’s discuss some more over on the Rhetoric Introduction page or, at least, discuss these major rhetorical appeals:

  • logos: appeal to reason or logic
  • ethos: the presentation of one’s character (usually to show the speaker/author is credible)
  • pathos: appeal to emotions

Rhetoric for Engaging with American Democracy

What’s the relationship between rhetoric and the course goals? Let’s remind ourselves of the prevailing course focus we have:

Area of Focus 1: Theoretical Frameworks, Ideals, and Principles of American Democracy

  • Define core principles of American democracy
  • Analyze how core principle(s) of American democracy have been interpreted and redefined over time 
  • Analyze how the principle(s) of American democracy differ from other democratic models
    • As mentioned last week, we won’t do an extensive comparative analysis of other systems, but I may point to examples, such as parlimentary forms of democracy.

Although no communication situation is devoid of rhetoric, there’s no universal, unfiltered human-to-human transmission of meaning. Meaning is socially constructed and, more importantly, reproduced. Arguing one’s point, attempting to persuade others, trying to inform, etc. all involve rhetoric. As members interacting with the culture of the United States, you engage with (or are subject to) American Democratic principles. Unfortunately, there are no exact definitions for prevailing values (freedom, liberty, pursuit of happiness, etc.), but we can identify general assumptions. Let’s take a look at the Thirteen Colonies.

  • How do they communicate?
  • What behaviors do they have in common?
  • Does geography make a difference in their needs, values, and assumptions?
  • How about population? Resources?

Furthermore, as we consider the compromises that the Founders made in approving the Declaration of Independence and, eventually, the Constitution, what rhetorical strategies will work best to convince these independent colonies to band together? What warnings does the John Adams quote offer? A way to think about this, especially in the context of John and Abigail as husband and wife, is through a relationship lens:

  • Partnership, paternalism
  • Deal breakers, expectations
  • Reciprocity
  • Trust
  • Sacrifice
  • Breakup, divorce, reassessment of the arrangement

Why Compare to a Relationship?

Engagement requires being informed about the needs, rules, and assumptions about the community, State, or Country. With an informed opinion, you can better engage with the information vying for your attention and draw your own conclusions. Unfortunately, we may never have the appropriate amount of time* to devote to the issues to make the perfect decision. Guess what? I’d argue that even with full information and all the time to sift through it, we won’t ever make “perfect” decisions…we strive for good enough.
*What is the appropriate amount of time to devote to becoming informed on the issues germane to democratic engagement?

A relationship is a microcosm of forming a nation, a Union. Two parties, formally and informally, draft contracts that pledge agreement and support. Expectations are set, and consequences are codified. But just like a relationship, the parties involved cannot account for all possibilities, so there’s a need for compromise and flexibility to have a working relationship.

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

Let’s head over to a new page that houses our discussion points and notes about this perplexing document.

Abigail Adams to John Adams “Remember the Ladies”

I’ve put up a separate webpage for discussing this famous letter between this important founding couple.

Next Class

As I mentioned, J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s [krev-kur] “What is an American?” (on Canvas) is a bit longer than our readings to date, so set aside extra time. We’ll catch up on Thursday with anything we’ve missed.