Persuasion

Arguments are a natural part of life; almost no one sees everything exactly the same so they disagree, and argue their point. Some of the most important things in an argument are the persuading techniques. 

In The Crisis, Thomas Paine uses a mixture of emotional, and ethical appeals, as well as appeals to authority and association to prove his point and try to convince Americans to join the war cause. He succeeds in doing so because his persuasion techniques were so effective; for example he wrote, "There are persons too who see not the full extent of the evil that threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if they succeed with be merciful." which is an emotional appeal of fear. He persuades his audience in the same way Jonathan Edwards did in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by using fear to make people think they have to do something.

Using fear to persuade someone is still widely used today. For example, when little kids do something wrong their parents would say something like, "I'm going to count to three, and then you're going to be in BIG trouble missy!" or "You better come here now, or else!" The child, of course, doesn't want to find out what "BIG trouble" is or what "or else" means, so they come running back to their parents.