Rhetorical Analysis Of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies of the United States unanimously agreed upon a Declaration of Independence to free themselves of Britain’s tyrannical grasp. This Declaration, authored by Thomas Jefferson, had one sole purpose: to declare the colonies as independent from Britain. To do this successfully, Jefferson skillfully utilized multiple aspects of rhetoric to convey his message. Among the many aspects he uses, the most prominent are his use of tone and pathos, logos and ethos, and makes many stylistic choices throughout the document.

Jefferson uses logos, pathos, and finally ethos to support his claim. First, Thomas Jefferson uses logos. He tells his audience why he is writing this document. Furthermore, Jefferson uses logic to help the King, and any other readers of the declaration, understand why it is being written.

In 1776 America’s founding fathers decided to separate from their mother country, Great Britain, and live as independent states. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson writes that the “United colonies...ought to be free and Independent States,” (lines 131-133) after they have undergone a long string of abuses by King George. As he writes the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s purpose is to give reason to the colonists, the King and the foreign worldly powers of why the colonists feel the need to separate themselves from Great Britain. In the Declaration Jefferson faces the challenge of persuading his audience that the colonists need to dissolve from Great Britain, he overcomes this by using rhetorical devices to convince the audience that the colonists have certain rights the British are not protecting, the colonists have long been abused by King George and the colonists have tried to reason with the British, but they need to become independent states.

In 1776 america colonies were in turmoil. The question on everyone's mind was do we stay loyal to the British Empire or gain their sovereignty. They decided the latter, and on July 6, 1776 the Continental Congress approved Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. The goal of the declaration of independence was to explain to the world why they felt they need to gain sovereignty. In trying to explain why the colonies had gain their independence from Great Britain Jefferson and the Continental Congress used the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos in the Declaration of Independence.

The word “declare” is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “announcing or expressing something publicly”. On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson, along with the Second Continental Congress, announced the independence of the American colonies from British rule. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson expresses the humanitarian foundations for an autonomous government due to the tyrannical British king in order to unite the colonists together in their battle for freedom.

In The Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson, uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the world leaders to let the United States be a free country to break away from the power of the king. In this essay we will see how he used the three from logos stating fact of what the king has done wrong, pathos appealing to the world's emotions with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and ethos letting the world know that they have the right to question anything about government or whatever they feel like they should question.

He uses logos to make it clear to the American people as well as the British people why the colonies took such drastic action. In the second paragraph Jefferson stated, “...That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…”He later goes on stating, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” Jefferson manages to establish the need for revolution and convince the world that those supporting this radical view are indeed

In 1607, Englishmen settled in Jamestown, Virginia, creating the first permanent English settlement in North America. Over a century later, after thirteen strong colonies had been established, the monarchy of Great Britain was still dictating colonial actions. Finally, in 1776, delegates met at the Second Continental Congress and adopted the Declaration of Independence. Although the engrossed copy of the document was supposedly a unanimous decision, Thomas Jefferson was hesitant about signing it. This was because he was the author of the first draft and did not agree with the new wording and diction. Slight changes in word choice and order contributed to the shift in tone and meaning because they caused the first draft to sound more harsh

Americans all over the country pride themselves on the rights and freedoms that their ancestors have fought for. To the American people, freedom is expressed in multiple documents from our history, these including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The first sentence of the third paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is compelling and inspiring to the American People because of the strong language it uses, the power it gives to the people to make them feel safe and secure, and it makes the people feel like the country truly belongs to them.

As stated before, Jefferson listed twenty eight reasons as to how King George ruled as a tyrant instead of a prince to the free people. He cut off trade across the world, limiting supplies as well as business and also imposed taxes without any consent of the colonists. Jefferson’s logical reasoning throughout the document helps grab the attention of the people to realize they all deserve the same rights and should fight for those rights. He displays this great use of logos mainly within the first sentence of the second paragraph of the document: “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. (2)” The premise of the entire second paragraph is to prove to the people that being under rule of a government that fails to protect your rights is a government that should be overturned and the colonists have the right to make that

To begin, in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, Logos evolves through parallelism. "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." The last two phrases in this statement reinforce John Locke's ideas of basic human rights as a component of his notion. These statements repeat the same concept, but wording prevents it from being monotone. Another example is the section that lists grievances against the king. "He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance" is one. Or, consider "he has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people." Both are examples of parallelism. Both

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.

Thomas Jefferson appeals to logos as a rhetorical device in order to justify their reason of separation from Britain. Logos is when the author or writer appeals to the audience through the use of logic and reasoning. Jefferson in the Declaration Of Independence, states “Suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever”. Jefferson is trying to show that British has absolute power over the colonies and it is not giving them any freedom. During the Colonial Era, the colonies established a self-government in order to maintain and take control of their colonies. Even though the

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.