How Does Jefferson Use Ethos In The Declaration Of Independence

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, explains to his readers why the colonies chose to abolish Great Britain’s government. His goal is to inform the readers that the government has certain responsibilities to the governed and that the British failed to adhere to its responsibilities to its colonists. His second goal is to justify their actions by explaining why it was not considered treason. By establishing his credibility and appealing to ethos, pathos and logos, Jefferson successfully wrote an informative, impactful, and inspirational document.

In the Declaration of Independence, when Jefferson writes “he has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands” it shows that the citizens of the colonies need to align with each other and nevertheless not with the king.

1. Thomas Jefferson explains the reason for a formal Declaration of Independence why stating the causes which impel them to separation. This is done because, according to Jefferson, without proper reasoning you cannot honestly request separation from a nation; “…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” I do believe it was necessary for Jefferson to do so because it gives insight on the colonial minds at the time. The first reason why I believe this was necessary is because many other nations other than Britain were interested in America at the time. Examples of interested settlers included France and other European nations. Independence would have backed up the competition and officially had America as a solid nation. Another reason why I believe this was necessary is because Jefferson knew that he could plead a solid case as he came from a lawyer background. This means that he knew how to form arguments as if he were pleading for the jury of the world. In conclusion, for these reasons is why it was necessary for Jefferson to state the “causes” which impel them to separation.

The Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, is the document that gave America its freedom. The document had to be very well written as each person signing their name was committing an act of treason to Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote two drafts of The Declaration of Independence and in those two drafts there are many rhetorical differences. The ones I found the most important were: the difference in appeals, the stronger diction in the final draft, and the proper grammer in the final draft.

In “ The Declaration of Independence “ Thomas Jefferson use of rhetoric was to persuade to the world that the American Colonists deserved the right to part ways from Britain and to gain freedom. Jefferon makes his point to the world by using many persuasive appeals and literary terms. In paragraph one of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson brought up the need to give reasoning on why the colonies rebelled against their king. Jefferson says that he realizes the need to state “the causes which impel them to separation”, ( Textbook pg.117) showing that he is aware of his responsibility to explain the actions of the colonist and that he has “ a decent respect to the opinions of mankind”( Textbook pg. 117). With the use of the greek appeal

Jefferson outlines the “repeated injuries and usurpations” through anaphora to castigate the king of his wrongdoings against the colonists: “He has” obstructed administration of justice, “He has” made judges dependent of his will alone, “He has” abdicated government here. By listing all the grievances committed by the king, Jefferson creates a credible assertion against oppressive British rule. After his list of grievances, he takes a further step and cites specific measures against the colonists by utilizing another form of anaphora: “For”. He references concrete facts against the king to demonstrate tangible evidence of the King’s abuses: “For” cutting off our trade with all parts of the world, “For” imposing taxes on us without our consent, “For” altering fundamentally the forms of our government. By listing specific acts and misdemeanors such as the Navigation Acts and taxation without representation, Jefferson evokes yet another sense of injustice among the colonists. He once again utilizes personal pronouns to provoke feelings of abuse from the king to the colonists: harassing “our” people, depriving “us” of trial by jury, abolishing “our” most valuable laws, constraining “our” fellow citizens, also displaying harsh connotation in his verb usage. After Jefferson carefully articulates his acumen on colonial sentiments, he

His objective is to inform the American people that the government has the responsibilities to the governed and that the British failed to respect its responsibilities to its colonists. He continues to defend his actions by explaining that it will not be considered as a disloyalty. The Declaration of independence is considered as the foundation of the United States country. Thomas Jefferson expresses his concerns in a new and

In the Declaration of independence it shows many logical appeals, it shows authority, and it shows examples. In the Declaration of independence on section four it goes in detail about the laws of the government and it said “ he has forbidden his government to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend them.”( Capital BAC 187) Which means that we the people have some authority in this country. Thomas Jefferson provides an example by saying “ We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.”(Capital BAC 188) Thomas Jefferson is saying that time and time they have tried to settle the differences the British and the American colonist but there response was nothing.

To capture the interest of their audiences, both Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Stanton alluded to previous Declarations which were influenced by the 17th century philosopher, John Locke, to persuade America into enacting more liberal ideas such as independency and voting rights for women. In “The Declaration of Independence”, Thomas Jefferson argues that the “…United Colonies are...Absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown” (line 110), and that when a government or political leader, such as King George III, becomes abusive by denouncing colonial legislation and parliamentary representation through enacting unfair laws and coercive acts, it is the natural right of the oppressor’s subjects to separate from and abolish that form of government. Jefferson alludes to John Locke to establish what rights people are inherently entitled to. In 1689, Locke published “Two Treatises of Government” win which he stated that “…Reason…teaches mankind…that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” This idea that equality and freedom are rights that should not be infringed upon was reiterated when George Mason wrote the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” in June of 1776 and incorporated John Locke’s philosophy on human rights by arguing, “That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights…the enjoyment of life and liberty.” Jefferson alludes to both Locke and Mason by writing on line

Thomas Jefferson, in his well-known Declaration of Independence, conveys his message through belletristic devices. He employs imagery, language, diction, and syntax in an organized and straightforward manner, which gets the audience intrigued. Jefferson’s tone is formal and adamant and his purpose is to convince the colonist that loyalty to Britain is futile, and that help from other nations is needed. Jefferson, in The Declaration of Independence furthers his purpose by adequately employing ethos, logos, and pathos.

The declaration justified the colonial separation from Great Britain in many ways. Among these, were the expression of ‘Unalienable Rights’ and the ‘List of Grievances’. Not only did Thomas Jefferson declare that men had rights, but he did so while committing high treason. The shear idea that someone would publicly criticize king Gorge, was simply unheard of, at least from a British standpoint. While the congress had no idea as to whether the Colonies would win the war for independence, they did know that this new born country needed something to bring meaning to the endeavor that they were to undertake.

Jones contends that the so-called “indictment” section of the Declaration, in which Jefferson and his fellow delegates to the Second Continental Congress denounce King George III for twenty-six acts that revealed him to be a tyrannical leader, is overly hyperbolic. Jefferson, according to Jones makes a caricature out of the King by “picturing George III as a modern Nero waging war in ‘circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages.’” He also criticizes Jefferson’s use of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for he believes it inaccurate to call them unalienable rights. He scrutinizes this diction Jefferson uses and states, “No one, not even, I suggest Jefferson, thought of liberty as an absolute right, since, pushed to its logical extreme, it would result in total anarchy.” In other words Jones believes the logic in the Declaration is not valid due to Jefferson’s word choice. Regardless of these main criticisms of Jefferson and his work in drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jones also acknowledges the fact that he does indeed think that it is a “literary masterpiece” and “one of the great products of the American Enlightenment” . Because of this major discrepancy in Jones’ critique, his own claim is somewhat invalid. Despite his analytical review of the document, Jones does a rather poor job in his critique both by failing to acknowledging the general purpose of the document and by

Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” was a defining political statement that would go on to shape the identity of politics and standard rights in America, and even revolutions across the world. The goal of the document was to justify the reasons why the colonies believed a separation from the British monarchy was necessary. These reasons pertained to their God given right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, and stated that the system of government in place; which retained it’s power from the people it governed, had failed to protect and serve them, thus giving them the justification to seek new forms of government that would better serve their sense of safety and happiness. The document then proceeds to list the grievances made by the King and Great Britain itself, despite the colonies numerous petitions for reparation and pleas for

Thomas Jefferson’s ideas of equality and a government that is ran for and by the people were established in the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Specifically, he proposed a doctrine of natural rights rather than divine rights. To elaborate, Jefferson worded it as such, in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Additionally, Jefferson campaigned to have the Bill of Rights added during the Constitutional Debate. However, because the way he lived his life and personal decisions he made, the question of if Thomas Jefferson believed in the principles detailed in the Declaration of Independence has long been a topic of discussion. Jefferson was known a genius level writer who also possessed the ability to speak many languages. His elaborate yet concise writing style was only outshined by the lavish preference to luxury goods Jefferson endured throughout his life. Jefferson’s morals are a common topic of debate in American literature. I examined many articles containing details of Jefferson’s propensity to live life against the principles he assigned to the nation he helped found. Jefferson traded and owned slaves throughout the span of his lifetime. Contrarily, Jefferson was an advocate for equality as well. Additionally, Jefferson was a constant

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence had the intention of changing minds. Signed on July 4, 1776, this historical document was meant to reach beyond oceans. First, Jefferson opens up the declaration by presenting why the actions of rebellion by the American people were legitimate. Secondly, it targeted citizens of foreign countries such as France and mentions universal values such as “sacred Honor” and “the voice of justice” to effectively connect with the prospective readers. Jefferson describes in detail injustices the British king committed against the colonists to justify their separation from the “Crown” as he puts it. Furthermore, the potential reader whether an average citizen or foreign leader is see the thirteen colonies