TOW 2- A Law of Acceleration (Written)

In 1905 Henry Adams wrote, The Education of Henry Adams. This eventually won a Pulitzer Prize and an excerpt titled, "A Law of Acceleration" was printed in the Best American Essays of the Century. This essay captures the idea of progress through time and what the future may hold as seen by the past. I struggled through this read a little bit. It is heavier than previous texts and organized in a strange way. The first time I read through all I really was able to catch was Adam's purpose in writing it, to convince that motion continues and America accelerates in growth. After some research I discovered Henry Adams is the descendant of 2 United States presidents and that contributes to creating a broad audience for his work. He is looking to motivate the educated "New American".

Adams applies rhetorical strategies to support his argument. Extended metaphor is the most prominent technique. The Law of acceleration states, "The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force." In simple terms, the more force applied the greater the acceleration. This idea is applied to Adams' observation of coal-output growth, and the growth of his nation overall. By using an extended metaphor is keeps a consistent thread for the entire piece and allows the reader to piece all Adam's ideas.

Adams establishes ethos by being who he is. Like how the Language of Composition explained that a king has built in ethos, Adam's does as well with his familial connections.  But Adams also appeals to ethos when he explains his ideas in scientific fact. Many believe that science and fact are equal, so by taking a scientific approach, his thoughts appear to be fact.