The rhetorical purpose of John Downe's letter to his wife Sukey is to convince his wife to emigrate to America from England with their children to live with him. Downe left his family in England to travel to America in pursuit of a more fortunate life for his family. In his letter, he highlights America's advantageous qualities in attempt to get his wife to come live with him.

John Downe uses emotional appeal to persuade his wife to move abroad. This emotional appeal is shown first in lines 36-38: "My dear Sukey, all that I want now is to see you, and the dear children here, and then I shall be happy, and not before." He reminds his wife that he loves her and the children very much, and obviously misses them. By saying "then I shall be happy, and not before," he...