A study of Patrick Morris's political rhetoric

White, P. Maureen (Paula Maureen) (1987) A study of Patrick Morris's political rhetoric. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Patrick Morris (1789-1849) was a prominent figure in the mercantile, literary, and political life of nineteenth-century Newfoundland. From ordinary beginnings as an immigrant-Irishman, he rose to become one of the leading merchants in the Irish-Newfoundland passenger and provisions trade and a major political and official figure in the colony. In the 1820s he joined William Carson in the fight for representative government and promoted this and other causes through a series of nine pamphlets, published between 1824 and 1847. -- This thesis focuses on the political rhetoric of Morris's pamphlet literature. It examines the context, nature, and purpose of his rhetoric, its major characteristics, his pivotal arguments, and the rhetorical strategies and devices he employed in his efforts to persuade administrators in the colonial office and elsewhere of the validity of his arguments. -- Chapter 1 presents a biographical account of Morris's life with emphasis on his mercantile and political careers. Chapter 2 summarizes the pamphlets and places them in the context of Newfoundland history. An attempt is made to relate the pamphlets to the social, political, and economic events of the period, since without such a context Morris's arguments and strategies cannot be properly interpreted or assessed. Chapter 3 is an analysis of the arguments and devices that form the substance of Morris's rhetoric. The main intent of Chapter 4 is to compare Morris's rhetoric with that of other notable political spokesmen of his day, and to trace briefly his influence on future Newfoundland historians and commentators.

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