Thomas Paine Superstition

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 comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in

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 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.

Few documents through American history have withstood the test of time and have become statement pieces for our society. In this group, the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson and Common Sense by Thomas Paine both hold high positions. Thomas Paine wrote “The Crisis”, which was a chapter in his pamphlet Common Sense, which advocated that the thirteen original colonies gain independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was a government document written in 1776 that proclaims America a state of democracy not connected to Britain. Although they share a general topic, both feature a wide range of similarities and differences to each other. These similarities include the times they were written, similarities in the

Thomas Jefferson considers himself a contributor to the Age of Enlightenment. Through many of his writings he expands on the philosophies of the great European writers of that era - Rousseau, Locke, Hume, and Leibniz. In “The Declaration of Independence,” Jefferson directly adopts several themes found in the work of French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau’s “The Origin of Civil Society,” provides a foundation for most of Jefferson’s ideas in “The Declaration of Independence.”

Thomas Paine, in his renowned work Common Sense, unambiguously uses pathos to call the founding fathers, and the American colonies as a whole, to action against the oppression of the British government. By using explicit figurative language, passionate diction, and the persistent parallel structure used to create correlation between citizen and governing powers, Paine masterfully manipulates the rhetorical appeals and devices in this piece in order to inspire action.

The first similarity between Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson is that both documents called for the independence of American colonies under the British crown. Thomas Paine explained to the colonist the reasons why they should become free from British rule. One of the topics Paine focused on was how the king of Britain abused the rights of the colonist. Some of the mal-practices the crown imposed on the colonist include, the heavy taxation on the colonist to help Britain recover from its war expenses against the French and to help rebuild the nation and wellbeing of its citizens back

This is consistent with the idea of “a government needing the consent of the people.” The reason Jefferson, among many others, wanted independence is because the monarcy was becoming too oppressive. For instance, the Tea Act, set a tax on tea. Within it, he including words, such as: equality among all men. Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation can be traced back to these words. In “Jeffersonian Democracy and the Origins of Political Antislavery in the United States: The Missouri Crisis Revisited,” Sean Wilentz writes, “They believed that the institution was an affront to God, democracy, equality, and human progress- “the definitions and axioms of free society” that Lincoln traced back to Thomas Jefferson.” At this time, it is important to note that Thomas Jefferson wanted to go past these axioms. He wanted to write within the Declaration, that the slave trade was extremely immoral. Though, on page 105 of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Jon Meacham writes, “The denunciation of slavery was also eliminated.”

During this time the articles of confederation were in motion, these proved to be a failure as they called for a confederacy which placed sovereign power in the hands of the states. It was this anchored bias that had been imbedded into the American will against anything reflecting English parliament that almost lead to Americas ruin. “For the colonists having dealt with the British Crown and the unfair parliament they feared they might create yet another out-of-touch, national government”( Colbert, 92). Thus, came the idea of the Declaration of Independence. It was Thomas Jefferson who was to write this declaration due to him being a Virginian, well educated man, and a better writer than John Adams. “Congress cut off about a quarter of it” (Colbert, 92) due to its remarks about the repeal of the importation of slaves and too personal remarks about the tyranny of King George. Jefferson received a life lesson from Franklin about how “Whenever in one's power, to avoid becoming the draughtsman of papers to be reviewed by a public body”(Colbert, 93). Although Jefferson speaks of an abhorrence of slavery, many historians believe him to be two-faced on the

In 1776, Paine published his “Common Sense”, encouraging American independence, self-rights, and to push from the British government. Additionally, Philip S. Foner writes an article saying, “...Common Sense pamphlet

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 Paine, a revolutionary, intellectual, and supporter of American independence from England published a book titled, “Rights of Man” which deals with the government shielding the natural rights of its people. Initially, the book captures the diverse aspect of this nation, but it fails to reveal the struggles that arise to preserve and adapt to such a society. Paine expresses his optimism towards the supposed perfection of American society, as one “made up...of people from different nations,” with certain expectations. Additionally, the time gap between “Rights of Man” and modern America cannot be neglected. Paine wrote during an era in which “constructing a government on the principles of society and the rights of man” was the essential objective of the country. However, modern-day America experiences opposite ideals and Paine’s theory no longer remains true because of the educational gap between the rich and poor, terrorism, and racial profiling.

“Vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty”(Hamilton). Alexander Hamilton(1755-1804) was a prominent founding father and wrote a collection of essays with James Madison and John Jay called the Federalist Papers. Hamilton believed in a strong central government, and wrote these essays to persuade the ratification of the Constitution. Historically, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson( were fierce opponents in politics with having completely different visions for the future of America, they agreed on the central goal of government. In The Declaration of Independence (DOI), Jefferson’s goal was to persuade his british readers that the American colonies were separating from the British Empire, and that the colonists had no choice. In The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson challenges his audience’s beliefs through the use of persuasive techniques.

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine contends for American autonomy. His contention starts with more broad, hypothetical reflections about government and religion, at that point advances onto the specifics of the frontier circumstance. Paine starts by recognizing government and society. Society, as indicated by Paine, is everything valuable and great that individuals consolidate to finish. The administration, then again, is an organization whose sole reason for existing is to shield us from our own indecencies. The administration has its birthplaces in the fiendishness of man and is, along these lines, an essential malevolence, best case scenario. Paine says that administration's sole reason for existing is to ensure life, freedom, and property and that a legislature ought to be judged exclusively on the premise of the degree to which it