Rhetorical Devices In The Declaration Of Independence

The product of patriotism and diligent acts, a country truly defined by its individuality and unmistakable glory. These few but finest accomplishments were significantly dependent on the document, the one that transformed the true value of what we have become as an independent country: The Declaration of Independence. Many individuals felt a need for change when being governed by the British. Some of these individuals included our Founding Fathers who created this document to make known that the thirteen colonies would fight independently and eradicate being ruled under Great Britain. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson uses allusions, parallelism as well as anaphora to express the struggle and fight for singularity and

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.

The physicality of an individual can endure many trials, but the resilience of the soul can overcome the greatest obstacles. The hearts of many American colonists grew weary as they continued their path of adversity for independence. The American colonists faced the toughest battles toward the end of the 18th century, where they experienced physical hardships and faintness of their soul. To overcome British tyranny, the deteriorating colonies needed to unite with one internal desire. The Declaration of Independence consisted of many key components that gave the colonists reason to join arms and fight for their independence.

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

In this essay, I will prove how Jefferson uses a rhetorical structure in his work to attract his audience about the usurpations of the King of Great Britain (King George III). I feel that Jefferson’s rhetoric is justly what makes the Declaration of Independence so significant because he emotionally draws in his readers by presenting them with a lengthy list of grievances that Great Britain had on the United States colonies. I will then show how Jefferson uses literary terms such as the warrant to state his belief on the conflict with Britain, gives supporting facts (list of grievances) to support his belief, and then makes a claim for independence after his exhausting list of grievances to make a solution to the conflict with the British. By having such an effective rhetorical structure in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson eventually leads the U.S. colonies to independence from Great Britain.

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.

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.

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 “The Declaration of Independence,” pathos evoked sympathy as Jefferson described many of the agonizing events in the colonies that were the misconduct of the British. Diction is word choice, or how an author uses certain words to develop their own style. The diction used by Jefferson helps to strengthen the feeling of sympathy and sorrow that the reader feels. Jefferson writes in the declaration about the many injustices that the colonies had experienced because of the King of England. Jefferson states, “He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country,

Works from The Age of Reason are often very logical and persuasive, appealing more to logic and reason than emotions. "The Declaration of Independence", delivered by Thomas Jefferson, was written during this period of time to inform Britain and other countries that the colonies were breaking away from British rule. "The Declaration of Independence" is a document from The Age of Reason which can be shown through the use of persuasiveness, logical appeal and argumentative points.

Thomas Jefferson uses rhetorical features to write an effective argument in “The Declaration of Independence,” by using diction to convey a tone and by using repetition. The rhetorical features help hima have an emotional impact on the audience and to really enforce the idea he is trying to convey to the colonists. For instance, in the text Thomas Jefferson states how the King of Great Britain”sent..officers to harrass our people”(61-62). This evidence demonstrates how erroneously the king treated the colonists. The word “harras” shows that the king really damaged the colonists both physically and emotionally. The king let the guards go inside peoples homes and take their food. Most colonists were not wealthy and could barely make it through

This document served as an overall reaction of the Americans against the clutches of Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson used distinctive words to outline the causes and reasons of independence, and even took advantage of several rhetorical strategies, mainly anaphoras. The middle of the declaration is filled with a list of everything King George III has ever done against the colonies. Each injury that the king made on the American’s begins with the phrase “He has”. Jefferson wrote, “He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors...He has refused to pass other laws…”. The use of anaphora allows for a deeper impact and understanding of why America should break away from Britain. The constant repetitiveness of “He has” makes the injuries sound extremely significant and point out that King George III is the one to blame for the current atmosphere. These anaphoras emphasize the list of complaints but make them more believable . This rhetorical strategy gives the American people a reason to fight because they have been enslaved for so long. There's no doubt that all Americans feel the same about the king as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, but Jefferson gives everyone the common ground everyone needs to fight back. Jefferson expressed his ideas in the Declaration of Independence using anaphoras to create a powerful message that would unite the colonists and make them want to