Text Analysis #3

The Olive Branch Petition

Who is writing?
~ The Document was presented by the Continental Congress.

Who is the audience?
~The document is a petition written to the King of England.

Who do the writers represent?
~The writers represent the colonists. Every member of the Continental Congress represent a colony, and they all came together to represent America as one.

What is being said, argued and/or requested?
~The Olive Branch Petition was an attempt to settle the conflicts between the British and the American colonists in a respectful way without war. The Americans wanted to keep their relationship with Great Britain, their mother country, for the British have done great things for the Americans, but now they don't appreciate the way the King is treating them and they want to settle it.

How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
~This document seems long and stretched out. At first it was hard for me to understand what the Continental Congress were actually asking. After reading through background information and rereading the document, I realized that they were asking the King to stop treating them with disrespect. They stated the bad acts that the King has done to them, and then they asked that they would stop the acts. The Continental Congress seemed to act like this is their last chance to resolve this problem with words, so they were pleading for the kings mercy.

What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
~Many men from the Continental Congress signed the document stating that themselves and the colonists they represent will stand by Britain and be loyal subjects to the King of England, only under the request that they be treated with more respect and less like slaves.