Rhetorical Analysis Of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Independence

Many would say that America was built on the principle that “all men are created equal” and that U.S. citizens are all given equal treatment, opportunities, and so on. But, is that really the case? Was Thomas Jefferson’s famous words, forever inscribed in the Declaration of Independence, meant for everyone? Taking a look back into America’s short (at least when compared to other countries) history, the phrase “all men are created equal” doesn’t really seem to correlate with the circumstances of that century. Africans were enslaved and forced to do hard, strenuous labor or else be forced to endure a beating by the slave master. But don’t forget, all men are created equal. It says so in the constitution. Fast forward a couple of hundred years where all men still aren’t equal, but are close to it.

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.

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.

When Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence he writes it to explain why the American colonies will be separating from Great Britian. He does that by using logos. An example of this from the Declaration of Independence is when he writes about the king of Great Britain changing things.“For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:”. This passage explains some of the reasons why they separate from Great Britain, Jefferson uses actual facts so that Great Britain can’t deny it. Through out the entire declaration he uses logos to back up why the American colonies leave. He doesn’t want people to think they are leaving just for no reason.

The Declaration of Independence is overall a rebellious document because Jefferson expressed how he and the colonists were treated wrongly. He displays how being fair to Parliament has gotten them nowhere. Using rhetorical devices in his piece, he presents how he and the colonists are fighting for their rights to achieve what they deserve. Thomas Jefferson uses parallelism and logos to express the purpose of the Declaration of Independence to explain why the colonies chose to separate themselves from Great Britain.

Finally, towards the end of the Declaration, Jefferson wrote that they were “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World, for the Rectitude of our Intentions…And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Again, the similarity to Locke is found. “Wherein the appeal lies only to Heaven, and in that state the injured party must judge for himself” (Locke 1690, XIX, 242). Thus, men “unite for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates” (Locke 1690, IX, 123).

The Declaration of Independence was written for the purpose of separating the American colonies from the British Empire. In context of history, The Declaration was the first step into a modern representative democracy. In addition, the makers of the declaration, primarily Thomas Jefferson, constructed an argument to state the problems they had with Britain and tell how the new American government was going to deal with the problems. The argument Jefferson constructed was one made with all the wrong evidence; however, he built the argument in such a way to rally a people for war. The Declaration of Independence is a well-written example of argument and persuasion with its use of structure as a whole, use of specific fallacies, and use of appeals.

“A treasure that we should continually use for our decisions on the new challenges we face.”(Esposito) Frank J. Esposito echos the purpose of The Declaration of Independence(DOI)in this new era and how it should be implemented in a modern government. The DOI is the most influential piece of writing that has ever come to be. It served it’s purpose in 1777 by uniting the colonists against Great Britain in a bold declaration of independence. This persuasive essay was written by Thomas Jefferson and edited by important figures, which are now known as the founding fathers. Not only, is the DOI an important part of history, but it has also become the model for many other persuasive writings. Thomas Jefferson used techniques like siding with the acrimonious reader, considering the historical precedent and the conceding of a point, to create a compelling argument to persuade the reader’s of The Declaration of Independence.

1B) The Declaration of Independence uses several rhetorical strategies, making the argumentative testament of the wrongdoings of the king an effective in pursuing equality for all men. Jefferson utilizes logos, pathos and ethos to prove his point to the country holding their liberty prisoner. Jefferson’s use of logos begins with stating the obvious reason the king should set the people free: the people have the right to the pursuit of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (2). The King has not done good to the people, in fact he has refused to pass the laws necessary to create order, dissolved representative houses, cut off trade, and imposed unlawful taxes upon the people. They have the basic human rights given to them by God that should set them free from the tyrannical king. Some of the emotional side of Jefferson’s views slip into this argument, such as "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable" (5). While stating further wrongdoings, Jefferson’s use of pathos increases, raising the rage of the republic at the injustice of the rules they have been subjected to. “He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation” (26). Jefferson calls for a sense of empathy from the crown and establishes a sense of severe discontent

As a reader, I found this sentence very powerful, and I’m sure when it was written, it was even more so, seeing as the writers/readers were the ones experiencing the suffering. Another place that Jefferson appealed to pathos was in the last sentence. He says, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” By showing how much everyone is willing to sacrifice (lives, fortunes, and honor), it illustrates the amount of heart and passion that went into this document. Logos of the document: Logic/reason The entire first paragraph is telling the readers why this declaration of independence needs to made in the first place. He states that there is a time when a society needs to break away from its past leader (Britain) and rely on the powers of God and the earth to create a new community. He is using logic to help his readers understand the meaning of this document. He continues to use logos in explaining why this declaration is important as he explains that it will “secure these rights,” which pertain to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Another time, logos is used in the declaration is when Jefferson is addressing all the wrongs the King of Britain did, and he lists them. He presents his evidence very

Thomas Jefferson and the colonist believe this was possible, and they join together to create their view on independence. Thomas Jefferson begins the Declaration of Independence, by stating the purpose of writing it. It was message to not only to the King of the British Empire, but it was also a message to the rest of the world. Thomas Jefferson examples that separation from the British Empire was the only choice that the colonist had left. Thomas Jefferson uses Pathos, when he gives a very detail description of the abuse the colonist has been facing while under the British control.

In the beginning, Jefferson claims the fundamental beliefs and goes on to explain that the government is to protect the rights of the people; when the government fails to do so the people have the ability to modify it (Jefferson 770). He then discusses how the British government has taken the rights of the colonists and logic urges them to conclude that they have no other choice but to overthrow the totalitarian government (Jefferson 770). These strong claims help build logos by convincing the colonists to stand up for themselves and their rights. Jefferson then goes on to list the evidence and ways in which the British government, especially the king, has deprived and trampled on the colonist’s rights (Jefferson 771-772). This evidence helps illustrate the logical appeal by opening the citizen’s eyes about their rights and why they should stand up for them. Jefferson’s logical appeal is persuasive with the use of claims and evidence, which successfully allows him to achieve his purpose of persuading the thirteen colonies to break away from

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

Thomas Jefferson was the author of The Declaration of Independence, and according to Bellis, Jefferson was also a jurist, a diplomat, a writer, an inventor, a philosopher, an architect, a gardener, a negotiator of Louisiana Purchase, but he only requested three of his many accomplishments to be noted on his tomb. (2005). Thomas Jefferson was a very smart politician and he knew what to say to whom in order to enhance their support. This essay will be an analytical paper discussing Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence. It will also clarify the basic ideas contained in The Declaration of Independence; the influence of the Declaration upon American War of Independence,

In the Declaration of Independence (US 1776), Thomas Jefferson introduces a statement accepted by the Second Continental Congress to declare the causes that compel the thirteen colonies to separate themselves from the British Crown and form their own individual states. This revolutionary document is organized into six sections. The Declaration of Independence (US 1776) opens with an introduction, declaring the reasons the American colonies want to leave the British Crown. They also state that their independence is absolutely necessary and unavoidable. The second section includes the preamble which provides the reasons for writing the Declaration of Independence (US 1776). Also included in this section is the colonist’s beliefs about government and John Locke’s theory on natural rights and social contract. In the third section, 29 grievances are listed against England and King George III. These complaints include taxation without representation, forcing the colonists to keep British soldiers in their homes, restricting the colonist’s trade, shutting down colonial legislatures and their attempts to seek redress from the king for their problems. The fourth section is stating the colonist’s efforts to appeal various decisions made by King George III and how their requests were met in vain. The fifth section is a formal declaration stating that the colonies are now “Free and Independent States” (¶ 6). The colonies state they will rule themselves and discontinue their loyalty to