The Great Persuader

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Convincing Strategies

There are countless ways to persuade others, but some techniques are more effective than others. Simply telling people they are wrong does not have much impact. Further, telling people they are “dumb” for their beliefs can only deepen divides and limit a path toward a deeper understanding of different ideas. Fortunately, the art of persuasion has been around for thousands of years. In this activity, you will identify the strategies Frederick Douglass uses to argue for African Americans’ right to vote, right to combat duty, and right to stay in the U.S.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle identified three main categories for persuading others. First, writers, speakers, politicians, advertisers can promote their authority or reputation as a credible source. Even if the facts are not true, people can try to argue that their character or intelligence makes their argument correct. This technique is called Ethos.

A second technique is appealing to their audiences’ emotions. Knowing what might anger or excite an intended audience helps the writer or speaker use these vulnerabilities to further argue their point. This technique is called Pathos.

A third technique is focusing on the logic of the argument itself by using data, statistics, or other types of sources to further strengthen a claim or weaken a counterclaim. This technique is called Logos.

Application of Strategies

Frederick Douglass used all three of these techniques when arguing for African Americans’ rights as citizens in the United States. Examine the excerpts that follow and identify which technique us being used by dragging it to the correct sentence.

Congratulations! Now that you have completed this module, reflect back on the 5 requirements for citizenship you explored in the first activity: Good Moral Character, Born in the U.S., Speaks English, Knowledge of U.S. History, Patriotic. Choose one requirement and offer an argument about its importance by creating a statement that reflects one of the persuasive techniques you learned about in this activity: Ethos, Pathos, or Logos.

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