ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Courses Videos 906 videos
What do you get when the guy who wrote “The Raven” makes a serious effort to write in verse? Poe-try… Now, when you’ve detached your eyes f...
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, abridged. Ready? Go.
Emily Dickinson: Along with Van Gogh, proof that you’re never really famous until you’re dead.
American Literature: No Paine, No Gaine 118 Views
Share It!
Description:
So the revolution was pushed along by… pamphlets? Sure, what the heck, let’s go with it.
Transcript
- 00:04
no paine, no gaine....
- 00:22
.......alright well
- 00:24
just picture it your country is going to war against a much stronger better [Colonists going to war]
- 00:28
funded more established more organized enemy your chances of survival are low
- 00:33
you could probably use a little pick-me-up well that's where I come in
Full Transcript
- 00:37
I'm vol 1 of the American crisis pamphlet series written by Thomas Paine [American crisis pamphlet]
- 00:42
Paine was a political activist who wanted to get rid of England like it was
- 00:46
a malignant melanoma he was one of those guys who was wavering about whether or [Thomas with britain shaped melanoma on his hand]
- 00:50
not war should be you know done it was a good idea or not he felt that the
- 00:55
decision to engage in all-out war with Britain was just common sense he even
- 00:59
wrote a pamphlet about it called a cleverly titled common sense yes, sorry if
- 01:03
that title came out of left field well common sense is Paine's most famous work
- 01:07
and we suggest you give it a read some time but today we're going to focus on
- 01:11
moi... American crisis so what is this other pamphlet Paine wrote and why did he
- 01:17
write it why on earth are we studying it well he'd already done his part to [Paine perusading America to go to war newspaper cover]
- 01:21
persuade America to go to war with the Brits, so mission accomplished right well
- 01:25
sorta but Paine's goal wasn't just to get Americans to fight the British it was
- 01:29
get the Americans to win so even after shots were fired Paine felt like he still
- 01:35
had a load of work to do he knew that warring colonists most of whom were
- 01:39
farmers were probably pooping their knickers in fear these weren't lifelong [Farmer scared to go to war]
- 01:43
military men they had inferior weaponry in training but some of them still slept
- 01:48
with stuffed animals..So Paine wanted to be a calming voice amid the first
- 01:52
wave of panic he wrote me along with 12 other volumes to lift the spirits of [American Crisis pamphlet talking]
- 01:58
American soldiers and encourage them to push forward make them feel like they
- 02:02
could and would win this thing despite the massive odds against them and you
- 02:07
know he'd give him something to read on the toilet and man did it work well Paine
- 02:11
was accompanying George Washington and his army as they trudged across cold [Paine and Washington walking in the snow with an army]
- 02:15
snowy New Jersey, these guys were downtrodden mentally in bad shape
- 02:19
physically and not feeling you know super positive about their chances...
- 02:24
many Washington's men had already been killed in battle and those who survived
- 02:28
knew that many more would soon join their fallen friends.. they were sick of
- 02:32
the death sick of the bloodshed sick of their underwear freezing through their [Soldier with freezing underwear]
- 02:36
backsides well on Christmas Eve 1776 the gang rode across the Delaware River in
- 02:41
preparation of launching a surprise attack against a sleeping enemy ok maybe
- 02:46
not particularly sporting to do a surprise attack but you know war is hell
- 02:50
well the men were filled with dread Washington could see it in their eyes he
- 02:54
knew that if they marched into formal mono-a-mono Battle in their current
- 02:59
mental state bad things were going to happen so he asked Paine to read from his
- 03:03
new pamphlet American crisis well by the time Paine finished his speech
- 03:08
the militia man were pumped and ready to rumble like the greatest halftime [Colonist men celebrating ready for battle]
- 03:12
locker room pep talk of them all....So what exactly was it Paine said in the pamphlet
- 03:16
and why did it affect Washington's men so profoundly, only one way to find
- 03:21
out let's take a good long look at me and break down everything I have to say
- 03:25
let's do it in the form of a dialectical journal, a dialectical journal is a
- 03:30
format for note keeping but allows you to organize a neat and tidy easy-to-read
- 03:35
record of your thoughts on a piece of writing see that's where you're going [Example of a dialectical journal]
- 03:38
with that that's what you're learning here it's not the same as personal
- 03:41
journal you might cave I don't need to know your innermost thoughts and desires
- 03:44
trust me I don't want to know them so yeah there's no reason to divulge who's
- 03:48
dating Trevor this week a dialectical journal consists of three columns
- 03:53
on the left like you write down any interesting or important [Quotes title on left column]
- 03:57
quotes that jump out at you in the middle you write the page or paragraph
- 04:01
number and then there on the right you jot down any analyses, impressions or
- 04:06
opinions you form about the quote or portion of the passage you transcribed
- 04:10
on the left side don't worry there will still be margins there for you to doodle in
- 04:14
Although make sure your teacher is pro doodle before you start scribbling [Teacher telling off boy for doodling]
- 04:18
okay back to me and all the brilliant inspiring things I have to say, here's the
- 04:22
template for our journal now let's peruse crisis one and see which quote
- 04:27
strike us as especially important you know how when you're writing an essay
- 04:31
your teacher always tells you to make sure you start with a grabby opening [Paine swinging on a wrecking ball]
- 04:35
something that will snag your audience's attention and make them thirsty for more
- 04:39
well Paine was a pro at this move in fact by the time he finished reading the
- 04:43
first couple of lines many of his listeners were already beginning to feel
- 04:47
their adrenaline pumping so let's write this one down in left column these
- 04:52
are the times that try men's souls the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
- 04:57
will in this crisis shrink from the service of his country but he that [Quote from American Crisis pamphet in quote column]
- 05:02
stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman... in the middle
- 05:08
column we write the paragraph number in this case 1 and in the column on the
- 05:12
right we note our reactions to the text so what would be your reaction if you
- 05:17
were sitting on silly hillside icicles forming on your eyebrows teeth
- 05:20
chattering and someone spoke to you these words these are the times that try
- 05:23
men's souls yeah pretty famous line and with it pain is connecting right away [First sentence highlighted]
- 05:29
with the men's plight he's saying look I know this is hard our hearts and souls
- 05:34
are in the toilet right now but this is a test we're being challenged to hold [Paine giving a speech to soldiers]
- 05:38
our heads up high and fight even when the night is darkest yep in just eight
- 05:43
words he's told the men he knows how they feel and that it's time to rise to
- 05:46
the challenge so in the right column of our journal we can write something like
- 05:50
Paine quickly connects with his audience by acknowledging their hardships and [Impressions of Paine's first sentence in analyses column]
- 05:55
downcast attitude but at the same time he encourages them to look at the task
- 06:00
before them as an opportunity to prove their worth there you go perfect
- 06:04
alright moving on what's another goodie ...Here's another one in the first
- 06:07
paragraph what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly it is dearness only
- 06:13
that gives everything its value so what we obtain too cheap ie if we get
- 06:19
something that comes to us too easily we esteem too lightly or [Man carrying guitar to a woman sitting at a desk]
- 06:23
it won't make us feel all that great it's dearness that gives everything its
- 06:28
value in other words the more passionately we want and fight for
- 06:32
something the more it's worth fighting for Paine knew exactly what the men
- 06:36
needed to hear with all the nasty weather and physical ailments they'd [Paine standing with soldiers by a campfire]
- 06:39
lost sight of what they were doing and why they were doing it this war would
- 06:43
earn them their freedom seize power from an oppressive regime, provide a better
- 06:48
life for their loved ones and so on well nobody said it would be easy in fact
- 06:52
Washington probably told them straight up they better get their life insurance [Soldiers standing in a boat and water leaks in]
- 06:56
paperwork in order but if freedom and liberty weren't ideals worth risking
- 06:59
one's life for well none of the militia men would even be there... Paine
- 07:03
reminded them of how heroic they were for even attempting this mission it was
- 07:08
on the same page with Patrick Henry with whole give me liberty or give me death
- 07:11
but I'd prefer Liberty business all right how about this one in the third
- 07:15
paragraph - God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction or
- 07:20
leave them unsupportedly to perish who have so earnestly and so repeatedly
- 07:25
sought to avoid the calamities of war by every decent method which wisdom could
- 07:31
invent when trying to cheer someone up it's never a bad idea to mention that
- 07:35
God things to their the cat's pajamas and totally has their back but what does [God cheering for colonists with a big foam finger]
- 07:39
all that other stuff mean well Paine is talking about how hard the colonists
- 07:43
tried to settle matters with England by diplomatic means ie by trying to reason
- 07:49
with them and present nonviolent solutions before the question of war
- 07:53
ever arose, he's telling him that because they made such good faith effort to
- 07:57
avoid all the horrors of war God certainly wouldn't abandon them in their
- 08:01
time of need his men are morally right and thus have extra bullets, that God will
- 08:06
be right there with them all the following day helping them to kill all [Colonists entering a house]
- 08:11
those soldiers in their sleep because you know that's right God plays sides as
- 08:15
a God fearing bunch Paine's Words were choir music for the men's ears to think
- 08:20
that the good Lord him or herself wanted them to win even not having them wage
- 08:24
war with the British was part of his master plan was a huge load off their
- 08:29
mind how can you lose with God on your side if you've ever seen a post football
- 08:33
game sideline interview you know we're [Man interviewing football player]
- 08:35
talking about all right well here's a doozy from the sixth paragraph Voltaire
- 08:39
has remarked that King William never appeared to full advantage but in
- 08:42
difficulties and in action the same remark may be made on General Washington [Paragraph from American Crisis appears]
- 08:47
for the character fits him...We can tell by the way that Paine refers to this
- 08:51
King William he was a person to be admired never appeared a full advantage
- 08:55
but in difficulties and in action and in other words when there were tough times
- 08:59
or you know when action was required the King was at his best and then he goes on [King William rides by]
- 09:04
to compare King William to George Washington for whom the character fits
- 09:08
him so why is he going on on about the general how does that help the other men
- 09:12
shouldn't he be buttering them up well yeah he's already checked that box here
- 09:17
he's making the men feel as if they're in capable hands if you were in their [Person ticks off a checklist]
- 09:20
shoes wouldn't you feel safer if you had a general leading the way who thrived on
- 09:24
difficult situations, who excelled at navigating his army through dangerous
- 09:29
waters and all that yeah so once again Paine is doing all he can do to resurrect [Paine resurrecting a spirit]
- 09:33
the men's spirit they've already got God on their side and now Washington rock
- 09:37
star general is going to see them through their safety as well those two [Washington playing air guitar]
- 09:41
are killer team captains... okay we are well on our way to understanding just how
- 09:45
powerfully Paine's words affected Washington's army your turn look over
- 09:49
the rest of the paragraphs and see which other quotes demonstrate Paine's artistry
- 09:52
with the English language and plug them into your journal don't forget the [Arrow points to paragraph numbers column]
- 09:56
paragraph numbers and jot down your thoughts and ask yourself these
- 10:00
questions how might this line have encouraged or motivated the men? How did
- 10:05
Paine's particular phrasing or word choice drive the point home? Is the essence of
- 10:11
this line repeated elsewhere in the pamphlet? Would Paine's message have been
- 10:16
any less effective if this line had not made the cut...Well as you read
- 10:22
onward and keep on journaling think about why this pamphlet was so important [Pamphlet asking why it was so important]
- 10:26
other than the fact that the men could use it to you know keep their cheeks
- 10:29
warm.. It was written for a bunch of guys who were long dead whether or
- 10:33
not they died in that sneak attack at Trenton so what do we care well if you
- 10:37
believe that Paine's words gave the troops the boost they needed to emerge [Troops firing rifles]
- 10:40
victoriously from battle then we might be able to blame our entire country's
- 10:43
independence on just a few little pages of text...
- 10:47
Also this thing is practically a master class when it comes to improving
- 10:50
someone's mood want to make your sister feel better about face-planting at her [Sister face plants on stage]
- 10:54
ballet recital yeah want to make your friend feel better about being picked
- 10:58
last for dodgeball....Want to make your dog feel better about the fact
- 11:03
that you didn't share your rawhide bone with him because you're kind of fat [Man with a rawhide bone]
- 11:06
shaming him and that's just evil yeah well might helps take few tips from the
- 11:10
master, he can make you feel so much better about things that there will be
- 11:13
no need to crisis over spilt milk....
Related Videos
And you thought a nymph was a naturally lovely woodland creature. To be fair, so did we. But boy did Jonathan Swift prove us wrong.
“Happy Hunger Games!” Or not. Katniss’s Hunger Games experiences left a not-so-happy effect on her. This video will prompt you to ponder if...
Who's really the crazy one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
Sure, Edgar Allan Poe was dark and moody and filled with teenage angst, but what else does he have in common with the Twilight series?
¿Por que es el 'Gran' Gatsby tan gran? ¿Porque de su nombre peculiar? ¿Porque de el misterio que le rodea? Se ha discutido esta pregunta por muc...