Describe a persuasive moment that you can recall from a speech, an editorial, an advertisement, a YouTube clip, or a blog posting. Or research one of the following famous persuasive moments and describe the circumstances — the historical situation, the issues at stake, the purpose of the argument — that make it so memorable.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention (1848)
Chief Tecumseh’s address to General William Henry Harrison (1810)
Winston Churchill’s radio addresses to the British people during World War II (1940)
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Ronald Reagan’s tribute to the Challenger astronauts (1986)
Toni Morrison’s speech accepting the Nobel Prize (1993)
Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” song/collage on YouTube (2008)