CONFEDERATES IN THE ATTIC

WALT'S ARGUMENT: On page 81 of Confederates In The Attic Walt's argues by saying that, "I'm not an American, I'm a citizen of the Confederate States Of America, which has been under military occupation for the past hundred thirty years."

Although Walt is saying this to Tony Horwitz, he is making a claim essentially against the State, trying to make a point to the fact that he is a rebel and thus mainly intends to address the whole State, the whole nation as matter of fact.

He is claiming that the Confederates are being treated unfairly and are being oppressed by the nation and he supports it with the fact that the State had decided to remove the Confederate flag, their symbol of pride, from the Capitol Dome in South Carolina. Walt's argument that the Confederates were being controlled by the State or nation is a generalization based on his personal feelings or views as to how his life is. Based on his views he generalizes and claims that all the confederates are being oppressed and thus his argument is not extremely effective although it is an emotional appeal, it is not very convincing.