The Declaration of Independence is taught to children as a letter sent from America to Britain almost like a breakup note, but this is not really what it was. The intent of the document is to convince a disparate group of British farmers and tradesmen, who lived in a colony far from England, that they had no choice but to unite in revolution against the tyrannical King. The Declaration of Independence artfully sought to find common ground among slave and free colonies, rich landowners and poor settlers by reminding them that they could all agree that the King was their enemy. Jefferson carefully used his words to single out the King as a tyrant that abused all colonists collectively. His patient recounting of a long list of intolerable acts of the King portrayed the dangerous and rash prospect of a rebellion as their only option and a sacred duty all colonists had to each other. Thomas Jefferson begins the Declaration by asserting the then radical notion that the government serves the people instead of accepting the concept that colonial citizens should serve their King. He then declares that …show more content…
Though Jefferson was a proud Virginian, he never mentions a single colony nor even any constituency among the colonies. He does not directly mention tobacco, cotton, slaves, or grain because he shrewdly speaks only of subjects that unite all interest among his diverse audience. Jefferson is adamant that his readers not view the proposed rebellion in the light of their individual interest. In great contrast to this, Jefferson singles out The King as the target of his argument. He chooses to spare the British people because they were “common kindred,” (2), “our British brethren,” (2), and suffered as subjects of the same tyrant. He omits a discussion of why treating the colonists better will benefit England, because he is not negotiating, and in doing so makes it clear that England is not his target
In the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson may have wrote the best “breakup letter” ever. Jefferson included in his letter a long list of grievances against the British and King George. In the long list of grievances he included: America's Declaration Of Independence against Great Britain. While Jefferson was writing the Declaration Of Independence; he felt like he was writing his death sentence and so did the signers of the document. Some topics that he included in the Declaration were how Thomas Jefferson was tired of how the king treated the American citizens, Equality, The Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, Consent of the Governed, and Alter or abolish the government.
“ I wish nothing but good; therefore, everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor or a scoundrel.” - King George III. That quote speaks to the kings inability to understand the colonists. First, taxes and the acts that the king and parliament passes creates tension between Britain and the colonists. Second, the British expects the colonist to pay for Britain's debts.
These two pieces of evidence emphasize how Jefferson’s work for our country was crucial for our country’s development each in their own way. The Declaration of Independence was America's first act of becoming a separate nation of Great Britain. It contained the ideals of our nation, the complaints against the British king, and the arguments the colonists used to explain why they wanted to be free of British rule. Only the most patriotic men wrote it because they knew what they wanted in a
His claim was evident in the first paragraph of the text with the statement, “…in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them to another.” Its placement as the first line of the document also directly contributed to the persuasion of the Declaration. This guaranteed that the French leaders reading the document were immediately and clearly informed of the motive behind the penning of the Declaration which XXXXx. Furthermore, similar to the colonists in America, the people of France had experienced numerous conflicts with the British which severed the ties between the nations. The claim’s use of mythos with this shared cultural connection ensured that the audience would be keen to listen to, and perhaps heed, Jefferson’s request for assistance.
While writing the declaration the problem Thomas Jefferson was trying to address was the unjust treatment of the English colonies. For the most part, the English colonies where bullied and not given the right treatment by England. As a solution to this miss treatment Thomas Jefferson decides that the colonies should run them self as a completely separate country. Even if that means going to war. Jefferson chose the evidence he did to highlight the unfair treatment of the colonies.
The Declaration of Independence Rhetorical Analysis In his 1776 articulate and cleverly crafted document, The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson expressively and emotionally establishes himself as a powerful speaker and persuades his audience through his use of parallelism and metaphors to advocate the freedom of a new nation and the rights of the people. Thomas Jefferson established himself to be a motivated and powerful speaker by asserting his credibility at the beginning of the document. Jefferson cites, ¨...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…¨ Through a statement of fact, Jefferson is able to justify his reasoning of why we have the right to declare independence while accordingly undermining the power of the British monarchy. Repeatedly throughout the document, Jefferson addresses the reader using pronouns such as ¨We¨ or ¨Us¨ to bring a sense of unity, portraying our nation as a whole while constantly addressing the king as ¨He¨ to belittle the king, indicating he has no power.
The colonists were fighting for something that meant the world to them; their freedom. Winning this war was a life or death situation. In England’s eyes, however, they were only halfheartedly committed to the war. In “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine supports this idea by saying, “They cannot defeat an idea with an army.” Due to their success in easily terminating two past rebellions that they had already dealt with, they thought that they could do the same to this one.
Many of the reasons the American colonies believed they were justified in their rebellion from England lay in trade and taxes. When George III inherited the throne at the end of the Seven Years’ War England’s debt had risen to 145 million pounds and his chief minister believed that the American colonies needed to help shoulder the debt. (Nash, et al., 2007. , p. 134) In attempting to collect these taxes from the colonies to relieve the mounting debt Parliament passed a range of acts, which led to discontent among the colonists as many of them restricted trade, their political maneuverability and left many believing they infringed upon their “right to be taxed only by their own consent.”
“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” (U.S.). This quote, from the Declaration of Independence, is probably one of the most well-known quote there is. It speaks of man’s right to be free and equal of any one man out there. As we have all learned in our history class back in junior high, the Declaration of Independence was written mainly by Thomas Jefferson to explain why the colonies wanted independence from Great Britain. This document is a list of complaints by the English colonists’ against King George III.
The Declaration of Independence acts as the American Colonies’ formal set of grievances against the King of England. Before citing the injustices experienced, the statement begins with a formal introduction contending that the people have the right to create their own government when necessary. Following is a more philosophical assertion which argues that when a state begins to harm the given rights of the population, it is completely justifiable to begin a revolution to overthrow the subjugator. Next comes the list of complaints directed at the Crown, which range from the abolition of American charters to the dissolution of the Representative Houses. Finally, it concludes with a denunciation of the situation and announce the United States
The Declaration of Independence is a document written mainly by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration was a list of grievances to Great
Declaration of Independence Precis Thomas Jefferson in his historical document, The Declaration of Independence (1776), asserts that the colonies should break free from Britain’s tyranny. Jefferson supports his assertion through the use of anaphora, parallel structure, imagery, emotional appeal to patriotism, and logical appeal to the colonist’s basic rights. Jefferson’s purpose is to advocate for the separation of Britain and the colonies in order to escape the British tyranny that King George imposes on the American colonists. Jefferson writes in a measured tone for the British parliament, King George, and for colonists who have been a victim of Britain’s oppression.
Thomas Jefferson wrote this document that the declared the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer under British rules. The colonies became independent states. Their purpose was to create an ideological nation because in an ideological nation the people and the government are hold together by a set of ideas. The solution that the Declaration of independence declared that all people have inalienable rights, requiring life, liberty, and
In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence,” he uses rhetorical devices to convey his purpose which is to say that colonies have decided to break their bond with the King and Great Britain and to explain their reasoning. One of the devices used the most to convey his purpose was parallelism. Jefferson also uses repetition to make his reasons clear. Some might think that his use of restatement further makes his points clear; however, they are wrong. Jefferson uses rhetorical devices like parallelism and repetition to explain the reasonings of the Colonists decision to break their bonds with the King and Britain.
During the writing of “The Declaration of Independence”, Thomas Jefferson go to great lengths to describe why the colonies were choosing to separate themselves from Great Britain. This is done not only so readers will have a detailed description of what the American people were facing while being ruled by the King. The vivid depiction of all the cruelty he has shown towards the people. Furthermore, the lengthy, highly descriptive examination of all the wrongs and showing that the colonists made many appeals to the King but also the people of Britain that the reader now feels as if it is wrong for the Colonies to be under Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson begins by detailing the ethical standings of all people that live within the colonies.