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Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Independence Essay

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On the eve of a modern era, July 4, 1776, a select committee of five representatives sat down to document the separation of the American colonies from the despotic reign of the English Monarch, King George. It was on this day that Thomas Jefferson put pen to paper to write “The Declaration of Independence” and courageously declared autonomy from Great Britain and their harsh and unlawful actions which, the colonists, can no longer be content with. Jefferson proclaims the separation of what will later become the United States of America from Imperialistic Britain. Jefferson addresses King George directly to state his intentions as well as the Patriotic Colonists in order to persuade them in favor of the liberation of colonial America and obtaining …show more content…

In the next section Jefferson begins to list off all of the reasons that the English monarchy has hurt the colonies. Jefferson uses parallel structure to be blunt and to the point by making each complaint its own paragraph and starting each one with “He has”. This is an effective strategy to quickly list off the innumerable justifications on why the colonists seek independence. The parallel structure allows for King George and the Colonists to quickly read the long list of complaints and after finishing it becomes clear what the English are doing wrong. All of these rhetorical strategies serve to assert the logic in Jefferson’s argument. After Jefferson completes listing off his complaints he goes back to painting the colonists up as the victims of the British Empire. Jefferson dictates that “in every stage” of Britain’s oppressions they have asked “in the most humblest of terms” for a repeal of their laws and acts. He uses the image of the colonists as innocent people with the image of Britain as a “prince whose character” is corrupted. This comparison works well to have the reader sympathize with the colonies. Throughout the last section of the declaration of independence Jefferson plays with point of view. Near the end, he uses a lot of the pronouns we, us, and our, this allows for the reader to see the declaration as a document with the voice of the people

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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

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British King’s Tyranny over the American Colonies---Is It Real The declaration of Independence claims that “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” with a list of grievances of American colonists. Even though the grievances can be proved to be facts, the ruling of the King George III of United Kingdom over the American colony should not be properly called “Tyranny”. “Tyranny” means “arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. ”People blamed King George III for supporting taxation, limiting the colonists and other laws not issued by him, while he made his decisions over

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Jefferson goes on to list all twenty eights reasons why the colonists are angry with the British government. He lists all twenty eight to really drive the point home that Parliament and the British monarchy have wronged them. One of the grievances listed, “He has plundered our seas, ravages our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. The parallel structure gives more emphasis to each thing that the king has supposedly done and presents it in a way that appears all the events are connected or possibly occurring at the same time. Jefferson uses diction such as “plunders” and “ravages” to make the king’s crimes seem worse than if Jefferson had just said stolen or taken.

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Throughout the years there has been many individuals whom have helped shape The United States of America into the independent country it is today. It’s hard to believe that this country was at one point governed by a distant British king, and that before Americans claimed equal rights, they were subject to British tyranny. Americans were in desperate need of a leader who would step up for his people and declare independence, Americans were in desperate need of Thomas Jefferson. ‘ Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 at his family home in Shadwell, not far from Charlottesville. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a planter while his mother, Jane Randolph, was a stay at home mom.

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The Declaration of Independence pushes for change through the more violent means of war. Through the separation of the colonies from Great Britain, Jefferson calls for the establishment of a new government that will secure the rights of the people. He states that when a government begins to impede the peoples’ rights, “it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future society. (Jefferson 42). Jefferson’s diction alludes to a more violent solution to the problem.

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Yet while the Colonists tried to mock the King, they also needed to find a way to express their views about England and its unjust actions. The result was that the American Declaration placed a strong emphasis on the negatives of the previous tyrannical ruler, similar to how the English Declaration points out the negatives of the previous English ruler(King James II). In fact, in both documents, the flaws of King James II and the flaws of King George III are mentioned first and foremost to demonstrate how any change could be better than past circumstances. For example, in the English Declaration, the document uses anaphora of the word “By” followed by a flaw in King James’ kingdom (“Avalon” Avalon). Similarly, the American Declaration repeats the words “He has” followed by the unjust ruling King George III (“Declaration” Ushistory).

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This piece of evidence shows how Jefferson is making it clear to the reader of reasons why they have to fight for independence using parallelism. Even though both authors use parallelism with the goal to persuade the reader into wanting independence, they use this rhetorical device in different ways. Paine uses this device to remind the reader of what they need to do. Different from Paine, Jefferson uses this device to structure the three main reasons why the colonists are going to retaliate. In conclusion, even though the two authors approach the use of parallelism differently, they both use it to make clear to the reader that the colonists need

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During the revolution, Jefferson had been a lawyer who was selected to be on the board because of his literary persuasiveness. He got involved in the revolutionist group, the committee of correspondence, who gave him the mission of creating a declaration of independence from the colony’s motherland, England. His persuasive literary ability allowed him to give his readers a new sense of freedom from British customs that hadn’t been thought of by the other committee members. Though some of Jefferson’s ideas were drafted out by these members, most of his ideas were still present in the final document. Jefferson had expressed his own principles, which allowed other delegates to further implicate his ideas.

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It helps the reader to feel the emotions known as pathos, and the ethics known as ethos behind the writer. In the declaration of independence we can see how Thomas Jefferson and the rhetorical triangle work together by Jefferson bringing together the emotions, the logic and the ethics behind this very important document we call the Declaration of Independence The ethos part of The Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson talks about, “we; therefore, the representation of the United States in general congress, assembled, appealing to the supreme judge of the world,” he is making it known that it is not only himself, Jefferson, that wants this but all Americans want to be free from British rule and

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Ajah Yee Professor Wilson African American Studies 22 November 2015 Word Count: 1200 The Declaration of Independence Affect on Black Freedom On July 4th 1776 during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence was issued to explain the principles and rationale to the break from the English kings ruling. The Declaration of Independence is a legal document that was originally created to establish independence for white landowners from the British Rule.

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On January 10, 1776, the piece was anonymously published and it was an instant sensation. Many colonists were wondering what they should do regarding Great Britain, and Common Sense encouraged many to think deeper into the idea of America’s independence. Today, Common Sense remains

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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.

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If it weren’t for Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, America would look so much different than it is right now. Who knows if the United States would even exist. Arguably, if Jefferson hadn’t written the Declaration, is someone else had, it wouldn’t have been as strong. And possibly, the new colony would have needed to wait longer to become independent, if they became independent at all. But Jefferson’s strong rhetorical appeals help persuade his audience that new colony deserves independent, and his use of allusions contribute greatly to his argument, making his appeals powerful and capture the attention of his audience, and to get them to agree with him.

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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.

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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.

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