Gettysburg Address Versus Declaration of Independence Essay

One reason that The Declaration of Independence was so influential was that Thomas Jefferson’s claims against the King of England were easy to understand and logical. Typical complaints include “For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;” and “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Jefferson uses plain language that everyone can understand to point out large injustices done by the king. His statements about the King are short and to the point. He does not waste any words or bore the reader with abstract writing or excess words and thoughts. He goes from one point to the next to the next in such a fashion that the reader’s concentration is never broken. His points are logical and everyone living in the colonies at that time and many people around the world probably had some idea of the incidents behind all his grievances against the king. Jefferson raps up the injustices done by the king by declaring the United Colonies to be free and independent states.

The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are two very important documents in the founding of our nation. This essay compares how these two documents are linked together, but also how they are clearly different. Though both documents were created near the same time, the Declaration of Independence was actually written first. It was written by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by congress on July 4, 1776, what we know today as Independence Day. The U.S constitution though, was not adopted until eleven years later in 1787. After these two documents were written, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1801.

Before the Declaration of Independence was signed, colonists were treated very unfairly by their mother-countries leader, King George III. King George had not helped the 13 colonies in any way and really only used them to gain wealth for Great Britain and himself. George’s method of gaining wealth from the 13 colonies was that they could only trade to Great Britain, which did not help the 13 colonies expand as a country. Also, he heavily taxed colonists on the western hemisphere because he needed aid to pay off his former war debts. The colonists were not happy about his acts because it gave them little opportunity of expanding their wealth or fortune which, is the main idea of coming to the “New World.” This made colonists very angry now was thickening the hatred for their leader they were now just as motivated as the politicians; resulting in, plenty of change, leading to the American Revolution. Jefferson understood the colonists and he was able to express or summarize their ideas, thoughts, and motivations through the document; “We the People”. Even though the Declaration of Independence was a main contribute to the ending of the American Revolution, the war had lasted an extra five years with Britain. Britain did not want to lose the 13 colonies

In Jefferson’s declaration, both the organization and the use of logic are effective and adequate. He begins with the colonists’ fundamental beliefs that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” He addresses that the role of the government is to secure and protect the rights of the people. As he proceeds, he states that if the government fails to “secure these rights,” then “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and institute new Government.” Jefferson then creates a list of ways in which the British government has violated and stripped the colonists of their rights. Through the inductive proof, he explains the reason in which the colonists must become independent from Britain to gain freedom and to be treated fairly.

Before anything else, it is very important to analyze the intentions behind his speeches. This will give insight into what exactly Lincoln’s vision of America was and how he strives to obtain that. The Gettysburg Address speaks mostly of equality of all men and what that means during The Civil War. On the other hand, The Second Inaugural Address addresses his thoughts after America has been through over four years of fighting in The Civil War. These thoughts include the conflicting views about war on either side and the mention of slavery as well. With all this being said, both speeches seem to hold the same intention. Lincoln mentions slavery and equality in both excerpts and his thought seem not

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. The History Place indicates that on November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln went to a battle field positioned in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where three dreadful days of battle occurred called the Battle of Gettysburg. While he was attending the battle field to dedicate it as a national cemetery, he read his speech to the public. After the main orator, Edward Everett of Massachusetts, delivered his speech that lasted about two hours, it was Lincoln’s turn. Everyone was shocked that it only lasted a little over two minutes. The speech talked about the men who fought in the Civil War to help create the nation people have today: that it is only fair to honor them

There has been many important strides in equality in this country all the way back to the founding of this country. There has been many things that have represented our beliefs as a country and two believed to be of the utmost important. The Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches ever given and The Declaration of Independence, we as a nation wanting to be free of the tyranny of Britain. The Gettysburg Address because It was such a short speech that it was never believed it would have the impact it has today but as we all know that thought was wrong. In the speech Abraham Lincoln was able to express so much with so little commemorating the soldiers who had fought the battle and used the ideals in which our country was founded. The Declaration of Independence was where these ideals of Freedom and Equality came from at least for our country that is. That the men who died and fought in the civil war were fighting for a country to have freedom, unity, and the ideal that all men are created equal.

“The Gettysburg Address,” a speech written by Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech states the importance of freedom and equality. Martin Luther King message to his audience In order to communicate their message of freedom and equality, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln used allusions in their speeches. One major similarity in their use of allusions is their reference to the Constitution of Declaration of Independence. Yet, a difference is that King alludes to the Bible while Abraham Lincoln refers to the Civil War. In 1787 the Constitution of Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia by our Founding Fathers. The importance of the Constitution of Declaration of Independence is that it

Elmore, AE.; Lincoln’s Gettysburg address: Echoes of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, Southern Illinois University Press, 2009

The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802 are similar yet different in multiple ways. The three documents were descriptively and precisely written. Each one play distinctive rolls in the foundation of our government and country. They all contribute a vital part to the freedom one has in the United States. Each were written at different times. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, when the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia were meeting, and was established by the Second Continental Congress. The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 in the same place that the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, during the Philadelphia Convention. Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists was written on January 1, 1802, which answered a letter from the Baptists to him.

He believed that it was time for America to break away from Britain’s rule and become its own nation, which could govern itself. To do this, though, it was necessary to write some sort of document which would state to the world the basic beliefs on which the nation’s new government would be built. This document was the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson felt that Britain was doing nothing but hurting America with unfair rules and all sorts of ridiculous taxes. The colonies and colonists had no rights in determining the very laws which dictated the way they led their lives. The Declaration of Independence was a formal document stating that the people of America were breaking away from Britain and that the American colonies were now “Free and Independent States.”

The Gettysburg Address was created by President Lincoln and is one of the most important speeches in American history. According to Barr, (2015) the Gettysburg Address was a remarkable endeavor for Lincoln and the president utilized it to his political advantage. Before he arrived at the Gettysburg cemetery to deliver it to the American people, Lincoln composed five different drafts of the Gettysburg Address.(Dirck, 2015) The Gettysburg Address came from a time of uncertainty, war, and change in U.S. history. It was just a time Americans were confused non the less. The old

The Gettysburg address was not so much focused on an issue or debate. When Lincoln started writing this speech, its intention was to be in memory, devotion and honor to those who died, and also to declare the ground as a cemetery. He says “We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might

Jefferson began the document by explaining that the rights of the Americans had been brutally molested by the unjust King of Britain. Following this accusation, he provided evidence of this abuse by listing not just a mere handful, but 27 grievances that the King had inflicted against the colonies. Lastly, the conclusion of this article publishes and declares that the United Colonies have the right to be freed from the British and that they have the right to govern themselves as any free country does. The strategic organization of the Declaration of Independence allowed the colonies to be powerfully represented by such a clear and prudently worded

When looking at the Declaration of Independence and the justifications which Jefferson used in order to encourage the dissolve of the ties between the United Colonies and Great Britain, it becomes apparent how much of the theories of John Locke that Jefferson used as the basis for his argument. Focusing particularly on the second paragraph of the Declaration, the arguments for the equality of each man and the formation and destruction of governments come almost directly from Locke's Second Treatise of Government. The other arguments in the Declaration of Independence deal primarily with each citizen's rights and the natural freedoms of all men, two areas that Locke also spent