Answer key for “The American Crisis”
1. B to rally American Patriots and persuade them not to give up.
The following are not sample answers. I am providing you with what should appear in your answer. It is
up to you to determine if you have in fact answered the questions correctly and used sufficient evidence
from the text.
2. A strong phrase to use to answer this question would be the line “the harder the conflict, the more
glorious the triumph” because Paine is trying to convey to the reader that even though they may be
losing, the hardship will be worth the end results. In your response, make sure that regardless of the
phrase selected, you explain how it is trying to convey his purpose which is to persuade people to not
give up the fight.
3. Paine is using the phrases “the summer soldier and sunshine patriots” as a reference to people who
only want to fight when they are winning and everything is going well for their side. Your response
should explain this as well as discuss what this reveals about his purpose and point of view.
4. For every conflicting point of view given, Paine provides a counterargument. How does he do this?
Make sure that your response indicates this and provides at least one example but preferably two.
5. loaded language – words with strong emotional implications / appeal to emotion / bias
Your response should indicate that by saying the king is no better than a common criminal, Paine
is trying to get people commit to fighting back against the king’s tyranny. He is trying to insight their
anger and their patriotism. But you need to explain how he does this!
6. Paine sees panic a tool that could be useful. Your response should explain why and use information
from the text to show how he is making this point.