Roosevelt to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States... was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” What is the exigence?

The Declaration opens, “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands...” What exigence does that opening name?

Douglass asks in 1852, “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?” Which circumstance provokes that question?

Paine opens The American Crisis, “These are the times that try men's souls.” Which exigence makes that sentence an urgent appeal?

At Seneca Falls, the Declaration of Sentiments says “all men and women are created equal.” What exigence pushed that revision of Jefferson's wording?

At the 1775 Virginia Convention, as delegates debated whether to prepare militia, Henry ended, “Give me liberty or give me death!” What is the exigence?

Lincoln spoke in November 1863 at the dedication of a cemetery for soldiers killed at Gettysburg, with the war still unresolved. Which statement names the occasion?

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address was delivered March 4, 1865, as the Civil War neared its end. Which phrase names the occasion rather than the context or message?

Washington's Farewell Address was published in 1796 as he declined a third term while party conflict and European wars shaped U.S. politics. Which is the occasion?

At Seneca Falls in 1848, delegates met in a women's rights convention and adopted a Declaration of Sentiments. Which names the occasion?

Douglass delivered “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” on July 5, 1852, to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Which is the occasion?

King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail in April 1963, answering eight clergymen during a campaign against Birmingham segregation. What does wider context add beyond the occasion?

Swift's 1729 “A Modest Proposal” appears amid Anglo-Irish poverty and policy debate. Its occasion is a published pamphlet. What does context supply?

Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman appeared in 1792 amid debates about reason, education, and rights. What does that context supply?

The Declaration was adopted in 1776 after armed conflict had begun and after petitions to the king had failed. What does that context add beyond the signing occasion?

If Paine's “These are the times that try men's souls” were first printed after victory at Yorktown, what rhetorical force would be lost?

If Roosevelt's “a date which will live in infamy” appeared first in a history textbook decades later, what would be lost?

If the Gettysburg Address were detached from the cemetery dedication and read at an unrelated school ceremony, what connection would weaken most?

A principal texts families after a gas leak closes the building for the afternoon. Which is the exigence for the message?

A hospital posts an overnight notice because a storm has knocked out the main entrance and ambulances must use the east bay. What is the exigence?